slack

name	slack
description	Read, send and manage Slack messages and channels. Requires Slack OAuth token. Tools: http.

Slack Skill

Read and send messages in Slack channels and direct messages.

Voice control: Recognising channel names

Users speak channel names without # – this is normal and expected.

User says	Means
"the general channel"	#general
"in the project channel"	#project
"the random channel"	#random
"in the dev channel"	#dev / #development

Important: Match the spoken name against conversations.list – find the channel whose name is closest to the spoken term (substring match, case-insensitive). If multiple channels match, ask: "Do you mean the channel 'project-alpha' or 'project-beta'?"

Tool: http

All requests require auth_provider: "slack".

Base URL: https://slack.com/api

List channels

{
  "method": "GET",
  "url": "https://slack.com/api/conversations.list?types=public_channel,private_channel&exclude_archived=true&limit=50",
  "auth_provider": "slack"
}

Returns channels – each element has id, name and is_member.

Read messages from a channel

{
  "method": "GET",
  "url": "https://slack.com/api/conversations.history?channel={CHANNEL_ID}&limit=10",
  "auth_provider": "slack"
}

{CHANNEL_ID} e.g. C01234ABCDE. Returns messages, newest first.

Read thread replies

{
  "method": "GET",
  "url": "https://slack.com/api/conversations.replies?channel={CHANNEL_ID}&ts={THREAD_TS}&limit=20",
  "auth_provider": "slack"
}

{THREAD_TS} = timestamp of the parent message (e.g. 1713000000.000100).

Open direct message (DM) / get channel ID for DM

{
  "method": "POST",
  "url": "https://slack.com/api/conversations.open",
  "auth_provider": "slack",
  "body": {
    "users": "{USER_ID}"
  }
}

Returns channel.id – use this ID for chat.postMessage.

Send a message to a channel

{
  "method": "POST",
  "url": "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage",
  "auth_provider": "slack",
  "body": {
    "channel": "{CHANNEL_ID}",
    "text": "{MESSAGE_TEXT}"
  }
}

Reply to a message (in thread)

{
  "method": "POST",
  "url": "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage",
  "auth_provider": "slack",
  "body": {
    "channel": "{CHANNEL_ID}",
    "text": "{REPLY_TEXT}",
    "thread_ts": "{TIMESTAMP_OF_ORIGINAL_MESSAGE}"
  }
}

Search for a user (by name or email)

{
  "method": "GET",
  "url": "https://slack.com/api/users.lookupByEmail?email={EMAIL}",
  "auth_provider": "slack"
}

Or list all users:

{
  "method": "GET",
  "url": "https://slack.com/api/users.list?limit=50",
  "auth_provider": "slack"
}

Returns members – each element has id, name, real_name and profile.display_name.

Get own profile / current user ID

{
  "method": "GET",
  "url": "https://slack.com/api/auth.test",
  "auth_provider": "slack"
}

Returns user_id, user (name) and team (workspace name) among others.

Set status

{
  "method": "POST",
  "url": "https://slack.com/api/users.profile.set",
  "auth_provider": "slack",
  "body": {
    "profile": {
      "status_text": "{STATUS_TEXT}",
      "status_emoji": "{EMOJI}",
      "status_expiration": 0
    }
  }
}

Example emojis: :car:, :palm_tree:, :calendar:, :no_entry_sign:
status_expiration: Unix timestamp (0 = no expiry).

Clear status

{
  "method": "POST",
  "url": "https://slack.com/api/users.profile.set",
  "auth_provider": "slack",
  "body": {
    "profile": {
      "status_text": "",
      "status_emoji": "",
      "status_expiration": 0
    }
  }
}

Get channel details

{
  "method": "GET",
  "url": "https://slack.com/api/conversations.info?channel={CHANNEL_ID}",
  "auth_provider": "slack"
}

Workflow: Read messages aloud

1. Match spoken channel name against conversations.list (substring match on name)
2. Call conversations.history with limit=5
3. For each message: resolve user ID to real name using users.list
4. Read aloud with tts: "{Name} writes: {Text}" – omit timestamps

Workflow: Send a message (by voice)

1. Match spoken channel name against conversations.list
   → If no match: ask "Which channel do you mean?" via TTS
2. Extract message text from voice command
3. Confirm via TTS: "Shall I write in {channel-name}: {text}?"
4. After confirmation: send chat.postMessage
5. Confirmation: "Sent."

Workflow: Send a DM (by voice)

1. Match spoken first name against users.list (real_name or display_name, substring match)
   → If multiple matches: ask "Do you mean {Name A} or {Name B}?"
2. conversations.open with the user_id → get DM channel ID
3. Confirm: "Shall I write to {first name}: {text}?"
4. Send after confirmation
5. Confirmation: "Message sent to {first name}."

Workflow: Set status while driving

1. users.profile.set with status_text: "On the road", status_emoji: ":car:"
2. Confirm via TTS: "Your Slack status has been set to On the road."

Error handling

Every Slack API response contains "ok": true/false. If "ok": false, the "error" field contains the error code:

• not_in_channel → Join the channel first (conversations.join)
• channel_not_found → Search for channel ID again via conversations.list
• missing_scope → OAuth scope missing (user must re-authorize the app)

Examples

• "Read me the latest messages from the general channel" → conversations.list → match general → conversations.history → TTS
• "What's new in the project channel?" → channel match → conversations.history → TTS summary
• "Write to Max on Slack: Be right there" → match user "Max" → open DM → send
• "Write in the general channel: I'm sick today" → channel match → confirmation → send
• "Reply to the last message from Julia" → get history → get thread_ts → chat.postMessage with thread_ts
• "Set my Slack status to vacation" → users.profile.set with :palm_tree:
• "Clear my Slack status" → users.profile.set with empty fields

Notes

• Channel names are spoken without # – always match via conversations.list (substring match)
• In TTS output speak channel names without #: "the general channel", not "hashtag general"
• Timestamps (ts) are strings in format "1713000000.000100" – copy them exactly
• Maximum sensible number of messages to read aloud: 5
• Always ask for confirmation before sending