How to Post a Slack Message When WordPress Core Is Updated

When WordPress updates itself, the people who look after the site should hear about it. Zapify posts to Slack when WordPress core is updated, with the old and new version and whether it was a major or minor release. It uses the free WordPress is updated trigger and the Send a Slack message action. Slack is a Zapify PRO integration.

What this automation does

The automation is one trigger plus one action:

• Trigger: WordPress is updated (WPADMIN_CORE_UPDATED, WP Admin)
• Action: Send a Slack message (SLACK_SEND_MESSAGE, Slack)

When WordPress core is updated, Zapify posts a message to the Slack channel you choose. This is also one of Zapify's ready-made templates, so you can start from Zapify → Templates and change the blanks.

Before you start

• A Slack app for your workspace with a bot user OAuth token (starts xoxb-), created under OAuth & Permissions in your Slack app's settings — see Slack's authentication basics if you're setting one up for the first time. The bot needs the chat:write scope.
• The bot invited into the channel you want it to post to — Slack won't let it post to a channel it isn't a member of.

How to build the automation

Step 1: Connect Slack

1. Go to Settings → Connections and click Add New.

2. Choose Slack, paste in the bot user OAuth token, and name the connection something like Site alerts Slack.

3. Save.

See Connections for how this screen works generally.

Step 2: Create a new automation

1. In the WordPress admin, go to Zapify → Automations.
2. Click Add New to open the builder.
3. Name it clearly, such as Post WordPress updates to Slack.

Step 3: Add the "WordPress is updated" trigger

1. Click Add Trigger.
2. Choose WP Admin as the app.
3. Select the trigger WordPress is updated.
4. In the Release type field, choose Major release (such as 6.8 to 6.9), Minor release (such as 6.8.1 to 6.8.2), or Any release.

Step 4: Add the "Send a Slack message" action

1. Click Add Action.
2. Choose Slack as the app.
3. Select Send a Slack message.

Step 5: Configure the action

Field	Required	What it does
Connection	Yes	The Slack connection you set up in Step 1.
Channel	Yes	A channel name (#site-updates) or ID. The bot must already be a member.
Message	Yes	The text to post. Insert tokens to say what changed.
Post as	No	Overrides the bot's display name for this message. Leave empty to use the bot's own name.

For example:

• Channel: #site-updates
• Message: WordPress was updated from {Old version} to {New version} ({Release type} release, automatic: {Automatic update}).

Step 6: Set the steps Live and save

1. Set both the trigger and the action to Live. A new automation starts as Draft and will not run until its steps are Live.
2. Click Save.

Tokens you can use

Token	What it holds
Old version	The WordPress version before the update.
New version	The WordPress version after the update.
Release type	major or minor.
Automatic update	yes when WordPress updated itself, no when someone did it by hand.
Actor user ID / Actor username	The logged-in person who did it. Empty (and 0) when nobody was logged in, as with an automatic update.

How to test it

Core updates cannot be triggered on demand, so test on a staging copy of the site: update WordPress from Dashboard → Updates when a new version is offered. The message should appear in the channel within a minute, or open Zapify → Logs to see what Slack answered.

Conclusion

With the free WordPress is updated trigger and the Send a Slack message action, version changes never surprise your team. To get the same news by email, see emailing when WordPress is updated. To start a follow-up checklist after a major release, see creating a ClickUp task when WordPress is updated.

FAQs

Is this free in Zapify?

The trigger is free. The Slack action needs an active Zapify PRO licence and a Connection.

Why does Slack say the channel was not found?

The bot has to be invited into the channel first. Type /invite @YourBot in the channel, then run the automation again.

Can I post only for major releases?

Yes. Set the trigger's Release type field to Major release.

Does it run for automatic updates?

Yes. WordPress installs minor and security releases on its own by default, and the automation runs for those too, with Automatic update set to yes.

Do I need to write any code?

No. Everything is configured in the Zapify visual builder.