| name | slack |
| description | Control Slack via the `slack` CLI to read, search, and manage messages, threads, files, reactions, channels, DMs, and canvases. Trigger on requests involving Slack messages, threads, URLs, channel history, unread or recent DMs, or sending/replying to messages (English or Chinese queries mentioning Slack). |
Usage
slack is a CLI on $PATH. Call it directly, for example:
slack user list
Bash command rules
- No
# in commands. Use general not #general. No # comments; use the Bash tool description field instead.
- No
'' or "". Avoid patterns like d.get('key', '').
- Only
| jq for filtering. No python3 -c or other pipes. Use single-quoted jq expressions only.
- No
|| or &&. Run separate commands in separate Bash tool calls.
- No
> or >>. Consume JSON output directly.
Messages and threads
Fetch a single message (with thread summary):
slack message get "https://workspace.slack.com/archives/C123/p1700000000000000"
Fetch the full thread:
slack message list "https://workspace.slack.com/archives/C123/p1700000000000000"
Browse recent channel messages:
slack message list "general" --limit 20
slack message list "C0123ABC" --limit 10
slack message list "general" --with-reaction eyes --oldest "1770165109.000000" --limit 20
slack message list "general" --without-reaction dart --oldest "1770165109.000000" --limit 20
message get/list and search auto-download attachments and include absolute file paths in JSON (for example message.files[].path, files[].path).
Draft and send messages
Open a browser-based rich-text editor:
slack message draft "general"
slack message draft "general" "initial text"
slack message draft "https://workspace.slack.com/archives/C123/p1700000000000000"
Send, edit, delete, react:
slack message send "https://workspace.slack.com/archives/C123/p1700000000000000" "I can take this."
slack message send "alerts-staging" "here's the report" --attach ./report.md
slack message edit "https://workspace.slack.com/archives/C123/p1700000000000000" "I can take this today."
slack message delete "https://workspace.slack.com/archives/C123/p1700000000000000"
slack message send "general" "Here's the plan:
- Step 1: do the thing
- Step 2: verify it worked
- Sub-step: check logs"
slack message react add "https://workspace.slack.com/archives/C123/p1700000000000000" "eyes"
slack message react remove "https://workspace.slack.com/archives/C123/p1700000000000000" "eyes"
Channel mode edit/delete (requires --ts):
slack message edit "general" "Updated text" --workspace "myteam" --ts "1770165109.628379"
slack message delete "general" --workspace "myteam" --ts "1770165109.628379"
Attachments for message send:
--attach <path> upload a local file (repeatable).
Channels and invites
The --limit flag controls the scan range. Use a high value to cover large workspaces:
slack channel list --all --limit 500
Use channel IDs when known:
slack message list "C0123ABC" --limit 10
Channel operations:
slack channel list
slack channel list --user "@alice" --limit 50
slack channel list --all --limit 500
slack channel new --name "incident-war-room"
slack channel new --name "incident-leads" --private
slack channel invite --channel "incident-war-room" --users "U01AAAA,@alice,bob@example.com"
slack channel invite --channel "incident-war-room" --users "partner@vendor.com" --external
slack channel invite --channel "incident-war-room" --users "partner@vendor.com" --external --allow-external-user-invites
For --external, invite targets must be emails. --allow-external-user-invites lets them invite others.
Search (messages and files)
Prefer channel-scoped search:
slack search all "smoke tests failed" --channel "alerts" --after 2026-01-01 --before 2026-02-01
slack search messages "stably test" --user "@alice" --channel general
slack search files "testing" --content-type snippet --limit 10
Multiple workspaces
When using channel names with multiple workspaces, pass --workspace or set SLACK_WORKSPACE_URL:
slack message get "general" --workspace "https://myteam.slack.com" --ts "1770165109.628379"
slack message get "general" --workspace "myteam" --ts "1770165109.628379"
DM and group DM
Open a DM or group DM and get its channel ID:
slack user dm-open @alice @bob
slack user dm-open U01AAAA U02BBBB U03CCCC
Mark as read
Mark read up to a message:
slack channel mark "https://workspace.slack.com/archives/C123/p1700000000000000"
slack channel mark "general" --workspace "myteam" --ts "1770165109.628379"
slack channel mark "D0A04PB2QBW" --workspace "myteam" --ts "1770165109.628379"
Make a specific message appear unread by setting --ts just before it:
slack channel mark "general" --workspace "myteam" --ts "1770165109.628378"
Canvas and users
slack canvas get "https://workspace.slack.com/docs/T123/F456"
slack user list --workspace "https://workspace.slack.com" --limit 100
slack user get "@alice" --workspace "https://workspace.slack.com"
References
