How to Integrate Slack With Trello

Many people wonder whether they should use Slack or Trello to manage their teams. Well, now you can integrate Slack with Trello and get the best of both worlds.

Users can get Trello notifications in their Slack channels, direct messages, and private channels, thanks to the Slack Power-Up for Trello feature. Double-check for speedy communication and enhanced productivity!

In this guide, we’ll give you a step-by-step walkthrough of how you can integrate Slack with Trello.

Let’s get started!

Step #1 Install the Trello App on Your Device

You first need to have to download the Trello app from the Slack App Directory. Go to https://slack.com/apps and type “Trello” into the search bar.

Click on Trello. Several other apps may come up in the search results, including “Butler by Trello” and “Time Tracker for Trello.” Ignore those and click on the first Trello result for the actual platform.

Once the Trello page opens, click on the green Add to Slack button located on the left-hand side of your screen.

From there, all you have to do is follow the prompts to download Trello.

After this, you’ll again see the Add to Slack option on the app page on the displayed Trello website.

Follow this up by choosing a Trello team to link to Slack. After this, click on Add to Slack on the right-hand side of your team.

Once that’s done, select Allow to grant Trello access to your Slack.

Step #2 Link Your Slack Account to Your Trello Account

At this stage, your Trello account is ready, which is why the next step is to integrate it into your Slack. This is an important step, so make sure you follow it carefully.

Click on Apps located in the left sidebar menu on your desktop version of Slack. If you don’t see this option, you’ll see the three horizontal lines or More options to find it.

This will bring up the Apps page in your Slack window. Search for “Trello” using the search bar, and then select it. This will open a direct message with the app.

Once that’s done, click on the Lightning bolt icon located to the left of the message field. You’ll now see the Shortcuts menu.

Search for and select /trello from the menu to add the slash command to the message field. Send the message after that.

Finally, select Link Trello account. Then click on Allow, followed by Link Accounts.

Step #3 Finish the Process to Set up Trello in Slack

Once the Trello app is installed in your Slack workspace, and you’ve connected your account, the next step is to link your Trello boards to your Slack channels.

You can start adding cards to the board from the channel after linking even one Trello board to your Slack channel.

Now, let’s find out how to set up Trello in Slack.

Add the Trello Bot to the Slack Channel

1. Open the channel where you’d like to add the Trello bot to your desktop.
2. Click on the lightning bolt icon to open the Shortcuts menu.

1. Type /invite @trello into the search field at the top of the menu, and once you’re done, click on Send to message input.

Finally, send your message to add the Trello bot to the channel.

Link Your Trello Boards to the Slack Channels

1. Click on the lightning bolt icon located on the left of the message field to open the Shortcuts menu.

1. Search for /trello and then click on it from the menu.

Type link and the URL of the board you’d like to add after selecting /trello in the message field.
Follow this up by sending your message, and click on Link to channel.

Add Your Trello Cards to Slack

1. Click on the lightning bolt icon to the left of the message field. This will open the Shortcuts menu.

1. Type /trello to search it from the menu bar and select it.

Type add and the name of the card you’d like to include in your Slack channel following the /trello command in the message field.
Finally, send your message to add the Trello card to Slack.

So, that was all you have to do to integrate Trello with Slack. This can be particularly useful for medium-sized and large teams to ensure the smooth functioning of their daily work, so make sure you give this a try.

Additional Tips for Using Trello Integration

The best thing about integrating Trello with Slack is that you don’t have to switch between tabs.

All you have to do is enter the commands into your Slack message field, and it’ll be sent over to your Trello board automatically.

There are a few additional tips to help you maximize the efficiency of this integration. Check them out below:

Creating Cards

While we’ve already discussed how you can create Trello cards for your Slack channel, you should also know the benefits of doing this.

Once you see the confirmation on the Slack conversation chain, you can attach an archive of the conversation leading up to it. This will let you edit those involved, labels, checklists, due dates, and other notes whenever you open up the card’s settings.

Sharing Cards and Boards

Whenever you send a link to a Trello card or add a board to a Slack conversation, you can share all the updated details, as well as the attached priorities. As a result, your co-workers won’t have to go far to find out what they have to do for a specific project or other information related to it.

You can also edit your dates and update their progress notes directly from Slack.

Common Problems When Integrating Slack With Trello

The app developers for Slack and Trello have done their best to make the integration process between the platforms as seamless as possible. However, you might face a few issues during the integration process.

Problem 1: Can’t Get Trello and Slack to Work Together Despite Trying Everything

It’s possible to see the “Unable to load user details” error despite following every step perfectly to integrate Trello with Slack.

There’s no need to panic as a bug typically causes this. Go to the Trello team settings page, and disconnect the already connected team. Once that’s done, wait approximately 15 minutes and connect it again.

This should get the Trello Slack bot talking to you in no time.

Problem 2: Slack Alerts Posted From Trello Not Visible Anymore

Many users have complained their Slack alerts have stopped working at some point or another. At times, after fine-tuning your settings too much, you may see a new error message “Ran into an unknown error posting alert: no_board_access.”

What you can do here is try inviting the Trello app again to private slack channels. You’ll have to use the slash command /invite @trello for this purpose.

Are you still facing the issue? Use the command /trello reset followed by /trello setup.

If even this command doesn’t solve the issue, you‘ll have to remove the Slack Power-Up and personal settings from the board menu. Once that’s done, re-enable the integration for a fresh start.

Problem 3: Keeping Track of the Different /trello Commands

There are tons of Trello commands, so it’s okay if you may face some difficulty trying to keep up with all of them.

To make things easier for you, here’s a list of the different commands you should keep in mind after integrating Slack with Trello:

To add a new Trello card: /trello add [teammates] [card name]
To launch a search: /trello search [terms]
To link a Slack channel to a specific Trello board: /trello link [search term or board url]
For changing the list that cards are added to: /trello set-list
To get the details of a Trello card or board: /trello [url]
To send feedback to Trello: /trello feedback
To see the linked board information for a specific Slack channel: /trello info
If you want to unlink Trello and Slack teams: /trello unlink-team
- You have to be either the Slack team admin or the linked Trello team admin to use this command.
- Your team won’t be able to use Trello inside Slack, and neither can you use /trello commands, buttons, or view details of Trello items inside Slack.
To unlink a Slack channel from a Trello board: /trello unlink
To remove and deauthorize a linked Trello user account: /trello reset
To verify or confirm a linked Trello user account and team membership: /trello setup

The next three commands will update the last card shown by @trello or added through the /trello add command (the first in the list above, to add a new Trello card):

To assign other teammates to a specific Trello card from Slack: /trello assign @lary @samantha
To add a comment to a specific Trello card: /trello comment [comment text]
For adding a due date to a Trello card or task: /trello set-due next Thursday at 1 pm or /trello set-due today