slack-cli

name	slack-cli
description	Perform Slack operations using the Slack CLI for app management and the Slack Web API (curl) for messaging, channel, and user operations.

Slack CLI Skill

This skill uses two tools depending on the operation:

Use case	Tool
App management (install, deploy, auth)	slack CLI
Messaging, channels, users, search	Slack Web API via curl

Configuration

Update the Slack workspace name below before using this skill:

Setting	Value
Slack Workspace	<your-workspace>.slack.com
Slack Team Name (for CLI)	<your-team-name>

---

Tool 1 — Slack CLI (app management only)

Prerequisites (one-time setup by user)

If not already authenticated, ask the user to complete these steps manually. Do not perform these steps yourself.

brew install slack-cli                # install if needed
slack login                           # authenticate
slack auth list                       # confirm your workspace is listed

Commands

Always pass --team <your-team-name> on every command.

Command	Description
slack auth list	List authenticated workspaces
slack auth whoami	Show current authenticated user
slack app list --team <your-team-name>	List apps in the workspace
slack app install --team <your-team-name>	Install app to workspace
slack app uninstall --team <your-team-name>	Uninstall app (requires explicit user approval)
slack deploy --team <your-team-name>	Deploy app to Slack Platform
slack trigger list --team <your-team-name>	List triggers for an app

---

Tool 2 — Slack Web API via curl (messaging, channels, users)

Prerequisites (one-time setup by user)

To get started, create a Slack app at api.slack.com/apps. On the OAuth & Permissions page, add the required scopes, then install the app to your workspace. After installation, your user token (starting with xoxp-) will appear on the same page. Save it to ~/.slack/token. Never print or display the token value. Do not perform these steps yourself.

Required token scopes: channels:read, channels:history, groups:read, groups:history, users:read

echo "xoxp-..." > ~/.slack/token && chmod 600 ~/.slack/token

Base URL

https://slack.com/api/<method>

Common API Methods

List channels

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $(cat ~/.slack/token)" \
  "https://slack.com/api/conversations.list?limit=200&exclude_archived=true&types=public_channel,private_channel" \
  | jq '.channels[] | {id, name}'

Get channel ID by name (replace general with channel name)

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $(cat ~/.slack/token)" \
  "https://slack.com/api/conversations.list?limit=200&exclude_archived=true&types=public_channel,private_channel" \
  | jq -r '.channels[] | select(.name == "general") | .id'

Read latest messages from a channel

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $(cat ~/.slack/token)" \
  "https://slack.com/api/conversations.history?channel=<CHANNEL_ID>&limit=10" \
  | jq '.messages[] | {ts, user, text}'

Search messages (requires search:read scope)

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $(cat ~/.slack/token)" \
  "https://slack.com/api/search.messages?query=<search+term>&count=10" \
  | jq '.messages.matches[] | {channel: .channel.name, user: .username, text, ts}'

Post a message (confirm channel and text with user before running)

curl -s -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $(cat ~/.slack/token)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{"channel": "<CHANNEL_ID>", "text": "<MESSAGE>"}' \
  "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage" \
  | jq '{ok, ts, error}'

List users

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $(cat ~/.slack/token)" \
  "https://slack.com/api/users.list" \
  | jq '.members[] | select(.deleted == false) | {id, name, real_name: .profile.real_name}'

Look up user by name

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $(cat ~/.slack/token)" \
  "https://slack.com/api/users.list" \
  | jq -r '.members[] | select(.name == "<username>") | .id'

Checking API responses

Every Slack API response includes an ok field. Always check it:

| jq 'if .ok then . else error(.error) end'

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Rules

• NEVER target any Slack workspace other than the one configured above.
• NEVER print, display, log, or store the contents of ~/.slack/token or any credential value.
• NEVER post a message without first confirming the exact channel and message text with the user.
• NEVER run destructive operations (archive, delete, deactivate) without explicit user instruction.
• If a channel or user ID is unknown, always look it up first using the list commands above.
• If ~/.slack/token does not exist, inform the user and stop. Do not attempt to find or guess the token.