Submit CommCare forms from Slack DMs
Give your team a fast private intake route for sensitive field updates.
Trigger
Direct Message Received
Triggered when a new direct message (DM) is sent to a user in Slack. Catches all DMs across all DM channels.
Action
Submit Form to CommCare
Tool to submit an XForm to CommCare following the OpenRosa standard. Use when you need to submit form data with complete XML including required metadata fields (deviceID, timeStart, timeEnd, username, userID, instanceID).
Why this helps
Important updates arrive privately and are easy to lose before they reach CommCare.
- Capture private updates quickly
- Standardize submissions from conversational input
- Reduce missed follow-up
Setup
Build it in a few focused steps.
- 1Connect Slackbot and CommCare in Notis.
- 2Create the automation and describe the form outcome in one instruction.
- 3Tell Notis to interpret each qualifying DM and submit the matching XForm.
- 4Choose Direct Message Received and set the report destination.
- 5Test with one real DM containing a complete update.
Questions about this workflow
Are all direct messages included?
The trigger catches new DMs across DM channels, so your instruction should define which messages represent valid submissions.
What happens when required data is missing?
Tell Notis to report missing values instead of submitting an incomplete form.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
Supported Triggers and Actions
Notis builds workflows that link Slackbot to CommCare. A trigger fires from one place; an action lands in another.
Slackbot triggers
CommCare actions
Recurring trigger
Notis starts this workflow on a schedule, such as daily, weekly, or during business hours.
Create Lookup Table
Tool to create a new lookup table in a CommCare domain. Use when you need to set up reference data structures like product catalogs, price lists, or configuration tables. Requires 'Edit Apps' permission.
Webhook trigger
Notis starts this workflow when an external tool or custom backend sends an HTTP request.
Create Web User Invitation
Tool to create an invitation for a new web user in CommCare. Use when you need to invite a user with specific role and permissions. Requires 'Edit Web Users & Edit Access API' permissions.
New Channel Created Trigger
Triggered when a new channel is created in Slack.
List Reports
Tool to retrieve available reports configured in a CommCare project. Use when you need to discover what reports exist before downloading report data via the Download Report Data API.
Channel Message Received
Triggered when a message is posted in a Slack channel (public, private, or multi-party IM). Does NOT match direct messages.
Single Sign On
Tool to validate login credentials and retrieve user profile for a mobile worker or web user. Use when you need to authenticate a user and obtain their profile information including roles, permissions, locations, and configuration details.
Direct Message Received
Triggered when a new direct message (DM) is sent to a user in Slack. Catches all DMs across all DM channels.
Submit Form to CommCare
Tool to submit an XForm to CommCare following the OpenRosa standard. Use when you need to submit form data with complete XML including required metadata fields (deviceID, timeStart, timeEnd, username, userID, instanceID).
Message Reaction Added
Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.
Submit Form ODK Compatible
Tool to submit form data using ODK-compatible endpoint for Android client compatibility. Use when submitting XForm data to CommCare. Requires properly formatted XML with metadata including unique instanceID.
Message Reaction Removed
Triggered when a reaction is removed from a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.
Reaction Added Trigger
DEPRECATED: use `SLACK_MESSAGE_REACTION_ADDED` instead. Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack.
Connect any two apps with Notis in the middle.
Slackbot and CommCare, or any other combination from 1,000+ integrations.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
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