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Question

Can we send Human in the Loop approval messages to a Slack thread instead of a new channel?

  • July 15, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 34 views

Hi , I am exploring on the Human in the loop. Here Can we send the request approval message to slack thread instead of posting it as a new channel message.

3 replies

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  • Zapier Solution Partner
  • July 16, 2026

Hi ​@Eswari 

You can try this approach:

The Two-Zap Setup

Zap 1:

  1. In your main Zap, add a Human in the Loop - Request Approval or Collect Data action.

  2. In the Notification section, set "Send to" to "Trigger a Zap" instead of "Slack" or "Email" .

Zap 2:

  1. Create a new, separate Zap.

  2. For its Trigger, select Human in the Loop and the New Approval Requested event .

  3. For its Action, select Slack - Send Channel Message .

  4. In the Slack action's "Thread" field, map the ts (timestamp) of the parent message you want to reply to .

  5. In the message content, include the URL of the first Zap's run so the reviewer can click it to take action .

Documentation:

Hope this helps you get it sorted!


SamB
Community Manager
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  • Community Manager
  • July 21, 2026

Hey ​@Eswari 👋 How did it go with Fahad's suggestion here? Did that two-Zap approach work for sending the approval to a Slack thread, or are you still working through it?

Happy to help if you get stuck at all 🙂


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  • New
  • July 26, 2026

Slack threads are addressed by the parent message's ts, so whatever posts the approval has to be handed that value.

Two practical notes. The Slack action's Thread field wants the raw ts (1785079844.123456), not the message permalink, and if the parent message was created earlier in the same Zap you can map that step's ts output straight into it. If the thread already exists from something else, you have to carry the ts along, which usually means storing it (Zapier Tables or a Sheet row keyed by the record id) when the parent message is first posted, then looking it up when the approval fires.

If the Request Approval notification section will not take a thread value at all, invert it along the lines of Fahad's two-Zap idea: let the approval step do the waiting, and post your own Slack Send Channel Message into the thread containing the link to it. The notification becomes a normal Slack message you fully control, the ts turns into a plain field mapping, and the approver's experience is the same.