slack-msg

name	slack-msg
description	Read and respond to Slack messages as the authenticated user. Supports: channels, message history, threads, search, send, reply, DMs. Use when the user wants to check Slack, read messages, or respond to conversations.
invocation	user

Slack Messaging

Read and respond to Slack messages using slack-api — a shell wrapper around the Slack Web API using your personal user token.

Prerequisites

Verify the tool works:

slack-api channels public_channel

If this fails with a token error, follow the setup in README.md.

Commands

Command	Purpose
slack-api channels	List all channels, DMs, groups
slack-api channels public_channel	List only public channels
slack-api history <channel_id> [limit]	Read recent messages (default: 20)
slack-api thread <channel_id> <ts>	Read thread replies
slack-api search "<query>" [count]	Search messages workspace-wide
slack-api send <channel_id> "<text>"	Send a message
slack-api reply <channel_id> <ts> "<text>"	Reply in a thread
slack-api users	List workspace members
slack-api userinfo <user_id>	Get a user's profile
slack-api dm-open <user_id>	Open a DM channel with someone

Workflow

Reading messages

1. List channels to find the target: slack-api channels
2. Read recent messages: slack-api history <channel_id>
3. If a message has reply_count > 0, read the thread: slack-api thread <channel_id> <ts>
4. Resolve user IDs to names: slack-api userinfo <user_id>

Responding

1. Read the conversation context first (history + thread)
2. Draft a response and show it to the user for approval
3. Only after explicit approval, send: slack-api send <channel_id> "<text>" or slack-api reply <channel_id> <ts> "<text>"

Searching

slack-api search "deployment issue" 5

Returns matches with channel, user, text, and permalink.

Safety Rules

• NEVER send a message without showing the draft and getting explicit user approval
• Read operations are always safe to execute freely
• When replying, always read the full thread first for context
• Messages are sent as the authenticated user — they appear as coming from you
• Quote the message text argument to preserve spaces and special characters

Output Format

All commands return JSON. Message timestamps (ts) serve as unique message IDs — use them for threading and replies.