slack-catchup

name	slack-catchup
description	Check Slack DMs (1-on-1 and group), and public/private channel mentions for conversations still waiting on <<USER_NAME>>'s reply. Surfaces "on read" messages where someone messaged or @-mentioned <<USER_NAME>> but he never responded. Use this skill whenever the user says "catch up on Slack", "check my Slack", "am I on read", "did I miss anything", "unanswered messages", "dangling threads", "Slack backlog", "who's waiting on me", or any variation of checking for unread/unreplied Slack messages. Also use when the user asks about DMs, group DMs, or mentions from a specific time range.
tags	["slack","catchup","mentions","dangling","dms"]
user_invocable	true

Slack Catch-Up

Find Slack conversations (DMs, group DMs, channel mentions) where <<USER_NAME>> hasn't replied.

Constants

• <<USER_NAME>>'s Slack user ID: <<SLACK_USER_ID>>
• Today's date: Use currentDate from context
• Default lookback: yesterday (expand to last weekday if yesterday was a weekend)
• Bot DMs to ignore: Google Drive, HeyTaco, Slackbot, and any message with [BOT] tag
• Timezone: US Central (CST/CDT)

Execution

Step 1: Determine date range

Default is yesterday. If the user says "this week", "past few days", "since Monday", etc., adjust the after: date accordingly. Tell the user the range being searched.

For weekends: if yesterday was Saturday/Sunday, search back to Friday.

Critical: Slack's after: filter is exclusive — after:2026-03-23 returns messages from Mar 24 onward, NOT from Mar 23. To capture messages from yesterday, use the day before yesterday as the after: date. For example, if today is Mar 24 and you want messages from Mar 23+, use after:2026-03-22.

Step 2: Run 4 parallel Slack searches

Use mcp__claude_ai_Slack__slack_search_public_and_private for all four simultaneously:

Search A — 1-on-1 DMs (inbound):

query: "to:me after:{DATE_MINUS_1}"
channel_types: "im"
sort: "timestamp"
sort_dir: "desc"
limit: 20
include_context: true
max_context_length: 200

Search B — 1-on-1 DMs (outbound — <<USER_NAME>>'s replies):

query: "from:<@<<SLACK_USER_ID>>> after:{DATE_MINUS_1}"
channel_types: "im"
sort: "timestamp"
sort_dir: "desc"
limit: 20
include_context: true
max_context_length: 200

Why this is needed: Search A's to:me only returns messages sent to <<USER_NAME>>. If <<USER_NAME>> replied but nobody responded after, his reply won't appear in Search A's context window. Search B catches <<USER_NAME>>'s outbound DMs so we can cross-reference: if <<USER_NAME>> sent a message in a DM channel that also appears in Search A, that conversation is resolved even if the context didn't show his reply.

Search C — Group DMs:

query: "after:{DATE_MINUS_1}"
channel_types: "mpim"
sort: "timestamp"
sort_dir: "desc"
limit: 20
include_context: true
max_context_length: 300

Where {DATE_MINUS_1} is the day before the target start date (see Step 1 note on after: being exclusive).

Search D — Channel mentions:

query: "<@<<SLACK_USER_ID>>> after:{DATE_MINUS_1}"
channel_types: "public_channel,private_channel"
sort: "timestamp"
sort_dir: "desc"
limit: 20
include_context: true
max_context_length: 200

Search E — <<USER_NAME>>'s channel messages (to catch thread replies):

query: "from:<@<<SLACK_USER_ID>>> after:{DATE_MINUS_1}"
channel_types: "public_channel,private_channel"
sort: "timestamp"
sort_dir: "desc"
limit: 20
include_context: true
max_context_length: 300

Why this is needed: Search D only catches messages where someone literally typed @<<USER_NAME>>. But when <<USER_NAME>> posts a message or starts a thread in a channel, people often reply without @mentioning him — they're clearly responding to him but the reply won't show up in Search D. Search E finds <<USER_NAME>>'s own channel messages, then uses the Context after and Reply count fields to identify threads where someone replied but <<USER_NAME>> hasn't responded back. This catches the "thread reply to <<USER_NAME>>'s post" pattern that @mentions miss.

How to classify Search E results:

• If <<USER_NAME>>'s message has Reply count > 0 and Context after shows replies from others but no follow-up from <<USER_NAME>> → dangling (someone answered <<USER_NAME>>'s question or responded to his post and he hasn't acknowledged)
• If <<USER_NAME>>'s message has replies and <<USER_NAME>> also replied after them → resolved
• If <<USER_NAME>>'s message has no replies → ignore (nobody responded, nothing to catch up on)
• If the thread is purely informational (<<USER_NAME>> shared a link, announcement, or FYI with no question) and replies are just emoji reactions or "thanks" → likely resolved, not dangling

Paginate if needed (check pagination_info for cursor).

Step 2b: Targeted person lookups

When the user asks about a specific person (e.g., "how about Mimi"), search for their messages in both DMs and group DMs:

1. Find their user ID — use slack_search_users with their name
2. Search DMs: from:<@THEIR_ID> after:{DATE_MINUS_1} with channel_types: "im"
3. Search group DMs: from:<@THEIR_ID> after:{DATE_MINUS_1} with channel_types: "mpim"

Do NOT use to:me or in:<@<<SLACK_USER_ID>>> for group DM searches — these filters don't match mpim channels. The to:me modifier only works for 1-on-1 DMs, and in:<@user> targets a specific DM channel, not group DMs that include that user. For group DMs, search by from: only and let the channel_types: "mpim" filter do the work.

Step 3: Classify from search context (no thread reads needed)

The search results include Context before and Context after which show surrounding messages. This is usually enough to determine reply status without reading full threads.

For each result from a real person (not a bot):

1. Check context for <<USER_NAME>>'s reply — if Context after shows a message from <<USER_NAME>> (<<SLACK_USER_ID>>), he replied. Mark as resolved.
2. Cross-reference with Search B (outbound DMs) — if <<USER_NAME>> sent a message in the same DM channel (matching channel ID) during the search window, he replied even if it didn't appear in Search A's context. Mark as resolved.
3. Check if <<USER_NAME>> sent the last message — if <<USER_NAME>>'s message is the most recent in the context window, it's not dangling.
4. Check for closing signals — if the last message from the other person contains a closing phrase (thanks, sounds good, got it, etc.), mark as likely resolved.
5. Otherwise — it's dangling (on read).

See docs/dangling-logic.md for the full decision tree and closing phrase list.

Bot filtering

Skip these entirely — don't even mention them:

• Google Drive notifications
• HeyTaco messages
• Slackbot
• Any message tagged [BOT] in the search results

Group DM handling

Group DMs need more careful reading because <<USER_NAME>> may be a passive participant in a multi-person conversation. A group DM is "on read" only if:

• Someone addressed <<USER_NAME>> specifically (@<<USER_NAME>> or a direct question/request to him), OR
• <<USER_NAME>> was the last person asked something and hasn't responded, OR
• The conversation clearly expects <<USER_NAME>>'s input (e.g., action items assigned to him)

Don't flag group DMs where <<USER_NAME>> is just CC'd on an ongoing discussion between others.

Step 4: Present results

On Read (Needs Reply)

For each dangling conversation, show:

**{Person/Group Name}** ({relative time})
> {Quote of the message waiting on <<USER_NAME>>, ~1-2 lines}

Order by priority:

1. 1-on-1 DMs (highest — someone wrote directly to <<USER_NAME>>)
2. Group DMs where <<USER_NAME>> was specifically addressed
3. Channel mentions (@<<USER_NAME>>)
4. Channel thread replies to <<USER_NAME>>'s posts (no @mention but clearly responding to him)

All Clear

For conversations where <<USER_NAME>> replied, show a brief summary:

**You're good on:** {Name1} (replied), {Name2} (replied), ...

Likely Resolved

Bullet list of threads where the last message was a closing phrase — mention but don't flag as needing action.

Step 5: Offer follow-ups

• "Want me to draft a reply for any of these?"
• "Should I search a broader date range?"
• "Want more context on any thread?"

Edge Cases

• Weekend: Search back to Friday if yesterday was Sat/Sun
• No results: "All clear — nothing waiting on you"
• Pagination: If any search returns 20 results, paginate to get the full picture
• Ambiguous group DMs: When unsure if <<USER_NAME>> needs to reply, include it with a note like "you may want to weigh in"
• Long lookback (>3 days): Warn that older threads may have been resolved via other channels (in-person, meetings, etc.)