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Slack

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Quick setup

{
  channels: {
    slack: {
      enabled: true,
      mode: "socket",
      appToken: "xapp-...",
      botToken: "xoxb-...",
    },
  },
}

SLACK_APP_TOKEN=xapp-...
SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-...

openclaw gateway

{
  channels: {
    slack: {
      enabled: true,
      mode: "http",
      botToken: "xoxb-...",
      signingSecret: "your-signing-secret",
      webhookPath: "/slack/events",
    },
  },
}

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Token model

• botToken + appToken are required for Socket Mode.
• HTTP mode requires botToken + signingSecret.
• Config tokens override env fallback.
• SLACK_BOT_TOKEN / SLACK_APP_TOKEN env fallback applies only to the default account.
• userToken (xoxp-...) is config-only (no env fallback) and defaults to read-only behavior (userTokenReadOnly: true).
• Optional: add chat:write.customize if you want outgoing messages to use the active agent identity (custom username and icon). icon_emoji uses :emoji_name: syntax.

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Access control and routing

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Commands and slash behavior

• Native command auto-mode is off for Slack (commands.native: "auto" does not enable Slack native commands).
• Enable native Slack command handlers with channels.slack.commands.native: true (or global commands.native: true).
• When native commands are enabled, register matching slash commands in Slack (/<command> names), with one exception:
  • register /agentstatus for the status command (Slack reserves /status)
• If native commands are not enabled, you can run a single configured slash command via channels.slack.slashCommand.
• Native arg menus now adapt their rendering strategy:
  • up to 5 options: button blocks
  • 6-100 options: static select menu
  • more than 100 options: external select with async option filtering when interactivity options handlers are available
  • if encoded option values exceed Slack limits, the flow falls back to buttons
• For long option payloads, Slash command argument menus use a confirm dialog before dispatching a selected value.

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Interactive replies

{
  channels: {
    slack: {
      capabilities: {
        interactiveReplies: true,
      },
    },
  },
}

{
  channels: {
    slack: {
      accounts: {
        ops: {
          capabilities: {
            interactiveReplies: true,
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

• [[slack_buttons: Approve:approve, Reject:reject]]
• [[slack_select: Choose a target | Canary:canary, Production:production]]

• This is Slack-specific UI. Other channels do not translate Slack Block Kit directives into their own button systems.
• The interactive callback values are OpenClaw-generated opaque tokens, not raw agent-authored values.
• If generated interactive blocks would exceed Slack Block Kit limits, OpenClaw falls back to the original text reply instead of sending an invalid blocks payload.

• enabled: false
• name: "openclaw"
• sessionPrefix: "slack:slash"
• ephemeral: true

• agent:<agentId>:slack:slash:<userId>

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Threading, sessions, and reply tags

• DMs route as direct; channels as channel; MPIMs as group.
• With default session.dmScope=main, Slack DMs collapse to agent main session.
• Channel sessions: agent:<agentId>:slack:channel:<channelId>.
• Thread replies can create thread session suffixes (:thread:<threadTs>) when applicable.
• channels.slack.thread.historyScope default is thread; thread.inheritParent default is false.
• channels.slack.thread.initialHistoryLimit controls how many existing thread messages are fetched when a new thread session starts (default 20; set 0 to disable).

• channels.slack.replyToMode: off|first|all (default off)
• channels.slack.replyToModeByChatType: per direct|group|channel
• legacy fallback for direct chats: channels.slack.dm.replyToMode

• [[reply_to_current]]
• [[reply_to:<id>]]

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Media, chunking, and delivery

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Actions and gates

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Events and operational behavior

• Message edits/deletes/thread broadcasts are mapped into system events.
• Reaction add/remove events are mapped into system events.
• Member join/leave, channel created/renamed, and pin add/remove events are mapped into system events.
• Assistant thread status updates (for “is typing…” indicators in threads) use assistant.threads.setStatus and require bot scope assistant:write.
• channel_id_changed can migrate channel config keys when configWrites is enabled.
• Channel topic/purpose metadata is treated as untrusted context and can be injected into routing context.
• Thread starter and initial thread-history context seeding are filtered by configured sender allowlists when applicable.
• Block actions and modal interactions emit structured Slack interaction: ... system events with rich payload fields:
  • block actions: selected values, labels, picker values, and workflow_* metadata
  • modal view_submission and view_closed events with routed channel metadata and form inputs

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Ack reactions

• channels.slack.accounts.<accountId>.ackReaction
• channels.slack.ackReaction
• messages.ackReaction
• agent identity emoji fallback (agents.list[].identity.emoji, else ”👀”)

• Slack expects shortcodes (for example "eyes").
• Use "" to disable the reaction for the Slack account or globally.

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Typing reaction fallback

• channels.slack.accounts.<accountId>.typingReaction
• channels.slack.typingReaction

• Slack expects shortcodes (for example "hourglass_flowing_sand").
• The reaction is best-effort and cleanup is attempted automatically after the reply or failure path completes.

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Manifest and scope checklist

{
  "display_information": {
    "name": "OpenClaw",
    "description": "Slack connector for OpenClaw"
  },
  "features": {
    "bot_user": {
      "display_name": "OpenClaw",
      "always_online": false
    },
    "app_home": {
      "messages_tab_enabled": true,
      "messages_tab_read_only_enabled": false
    },
    "slash_commands": [
      {
        "command": "/openclaw",
        "description": "Send a message to OpenClaw",
        "should_escape": false
      }
    ]
  },
  "oauth_config": {
    "scopes": {
      "bot": [
        "chat:write",
        "channels:history",
        "channels:read",
        "groups:history",
        "im:history",
        "im:read",
        "im:write",
        "mpim:history",
        "mpim:read",
        "mpim:write",
        "users:read",
        "app_mentions:read",
        "assistant:write",
        "reactions:read",
        "reactions:write",
        "pins:read",
        "pins:write",
        "emoji:read",
        "commands",
        "files:read",
        "files:write"
      ]
    }
  },
  "settings": {
    "socket_mode_enabled": true,
    "event_subscriptions": {
      "bot_events": [
        "app_mention",
        "message.channels",
        "message.groups",
        "message.im",
        "message.mpim",
        "reaction_added",
        "reaction_removed",
        "member_joined_channel",
        "member_left_channel",
        "channel_rename",
        "pin_added",
        "pin_removed"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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Exec approvals in Slack

• channels.slack.execApprovals.enabled
• channels.slack.execApprovals.approvers (optional; falls back to commands.ownerAllowFrom when possible)
• channels.slack.execApprovals.target (dm | channel | both, default: dm)
• agentFilter, sessionFilter

{
  commands: {
    ownerAllowFrom: ["slack:U12345678"],
  },
}

{
  channels: {
    slack: {
      execApprovals: {
        enabled: true,
        approvers: ["U12345678"],
        target: "both",
      },
    },
  },
}

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Troubleshooting

openclaw channels status --probe
openclaw logs --follow
openclaw doctor

openclaw pairing list slack

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Text streaming

• off: disable live preview streaming.
• partial (default): replace preview text with the latest partial output.
• block: append chunked preview updates.
• progress: show progress status text while generating, then send final text.

channels:
  slack:
    streaming: partial
    nativeStreaming: false

• channels.slack.streamMode (replace | status_final | append) is auto-migrated to channels.slack.streaming.
• boolean channels.slack.streaming is auto-migrated to channels.slack.nativeStreaming.

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Requirements

1. Enable Agents and AI Apps in your Slack app settings.
2. Ensure the app has the assistant:write scope.
3. A reply thread must be available for that message. Thread selection still follows replyToMode.

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Behavior

• First text chunk starts a stream (chat.startStream).
• Later text chunks append to the same stream (chat.appendStream).
• End of reply finalizes stream (chat.stopStream).
• Media and non-text payloads fall back to normal delivery.
• If streaming fails mid-reply, OpenClaw falls back to normal delivery for remaining payloads.

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Configuration reference pointers

• Configuration reference - Slack High-signal Slack fields:
  • mode/auth: mode, botToken, appToken, signingSecret, webhookPath, accounts.*
  • DM access: dm.enabled, dmPolicy, allowFrom (legacy: dm.policy, dm.allowFrom), dm.groupEnabled, dm.groupChannels
  • compatibility toggle: dangerouslyAllowNameMatching (break-glass; keep off unless needed)
  • channel access: groupPolicy, channels.*, channels.*.users, channels.*.requireMention
  • threading/history: replyToMode, replyToModeByChatType, thread.*, historyLimit, dmHistoryLimit, dms.*.historyLimit
  • delivery: textChunkLimit, chunkMode, mediaMaxMb, streaming, nativeStreaming
  • ops/features: configWrites, commands.native, slashCommand.*, actions.*, userToken, userTokenReadOnly

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Related

• Pairing
• Groups
• Security
• Channel routing
• Troubleshooting
• Configuration
• Slash commands