managing-slack-deep

name	managing-slack-deep
description	Use when working with Slack Deep — deep Slack workspace management covering channels, messages, users, reactions, and workspace analytics. Use when auditing Slack usage, analyzing communication patterns, managing channels, or retrieving message history and user activity across a Slack workspace.
connection_type	slack
preload	false

Managing Slack (Deep)

Comprehensive Slack workspace analysis and management via the Slack Web API.

Discovery Phase

#!/bin/bash
SLACK_BASE="https://slack.com/api"

echo "=== Workspace Info ==="
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_TOKEN" \
  "$SLACK_BASE/team.info" | jq '.team | {id, name, domain, email_domain}'

echo ""
echo "=== Channels (top 50) ==="
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_TOKEN" \
  "$SLACK_BASE/conversations.list?types=public_channel,private_channel&limit=50" \
  | jq -r '.channels[] | "\(.id)\t\(.name)\t\(.num_members)\tmembers\t\(if .is_archived then "archived" else "active" end)"' \
  | sort -t$'\t' -k3 -rn | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== Active Users ==="
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_TOKEN" \
  "$SLACK_BASE/users.list?limit=50" \
  | jq -r '.members[] | select(.deleted == false and .is_bot == false) | "\(.id)\t\(.real_name)\t\(.tz // "unknown")"' \
  | column -t | head -30

echo ""
echo "=== Bot User Identity ==="
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_TOKEN" \
  "$SLACK_BASE/auth.test" | jq '{user, user_id, team, team_id}'

Analysis Phase

#!/bin/bash
SLACK_BASE="https://slack.com/api"
CHANNEL_ID="${1:?Channel ID required}"

echo "=== Channel Info ==="
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_TOKEN" \
  "$SLACK_BASE/conversations.info?channel=$CHANNEL_ID" \
  | jq '.channel | {name, purpose: .purpose.value, topic: .topic.value, num_members, created: (.created | todate)}'

echo ""
echo "=== Recent Messages (last 20) ==="
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_TOKEN" \
  "$SLACK_BASE/conversations.history?channel=$CHANNEL_ID&limit=20" \
  | jq -r '.messages[] | "\(.ts)\t\(.user // "bot")\t\(.text[0:80])"' | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== Channel Members ==="
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_TOKEN" \
  "$SLACK_BASE/conversations.members?channel=$CHANNEL_ID&limit=100" \
  | jq '{total_members: (.members | length), member_ids: .members[:10]}'

Output Format

SLACK WORKSPACE HEALTH
Workspace:     [name] ([domain].slack.com)
Total Channels: [count] ([active] active / [archived] archived)
Total Users:    [count] ([active] active / [bots] bots)

TOP CHANNELS BY MEMBERSHIP
Channel          Members  Status
#general         [n]      active
#engineering     [n]      active

RECENT ACTIVITY
Channel          Last Message    Messages/Day
#general         [timestamp]     [avg]

Anti-Hallucination Rules

1. NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
2. NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or --help output.
3. NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
4. ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
5. ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.

Counter-Rationalizations

Shortcut	Counter	Why
"I'll skip discovery and check known resources"	Always run Phase 1 discovery first	Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors
"The user only asked for a quick check"	Follow the full discovery → analysis flow	Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures
"Default configuration is probably fine"	Audit configuration explicitly	Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled
"Metrics aren't needed for this"	Always check relevant metrics when available	API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues
"I don't have access to that"	Try the command and report the actual error	Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative