Agent Slack

A TypeScript CLI tool that enables AI agents and humans to interact with Slack workspaces through a simple command interface. Features seamless token extraction from the Slack desktop app and multi-workspace support.

Quick Start

# Get workspace snapshot (credentials are extracted automatically)
agent-slack snapshot

# Send a message
agent-slack message send general "Hello from AI agent!"

# List channels
agent-slack channel list

Authentication

Credentials are extracted automatically from the Slack desktop app on first use. No manual setup required — just run any command and authentication happens silently in the background.

On macOS, the system may prompt for your Keychain password the first time (required to decrypt Slack's stored token). This is a one-time prompt.

IMPORTANT: NEVER guide the user to open a web browser, use DevTools, or manually copy tokens from a browser. Always use agent-slack auth extract to obtain tokens from the desktop app.

Multi-Workspace Support

# List all authenticated workspaces
agent-slack workspace list

# Switch to a different workspace
agent-slack workspace switch <workspace-id>

# Show current workspace
agent-slack workspace current

# Remove a workspace
agent-slack workspace remove <workspace-id>

# Check auth status
agent-slack auth status

Memory

The agent maintains a ~/.config/agent-messenger/MEMORY.md file as persistent memory across sessions. This is agent-managed — the CLI does not read or write this file. Use the Read and Write tools to manage your memory file.

Reading Memory

At the start of every task, read ~/.config/agent-messenger/MEMORY.md using the Read tool to load any previously discovered workspace IDs, channel IDs, user IDs, and preferences.

If the file doesn't exist yet, that's fine — proceed without it and create it when you first have useful information to store.
If the file can't be read (permissions, missing directory), proceed without memory — don't error out.

Writing Memory

After discovering useful information, update ~/.config/agent-messenger/MEMORY.md using the Write tool. Write triggers include:

After discovering workspace IDs (from workspace list)
After discovering useful channel IDs and names (from channel list, snapshot, etc.)
After discovering user IDs and names (from user list, user me, etc.)
After the user gives you an alias or preference ("call this the deploys channel", "my main workspace is X")
After discovering channel structure (sidebar sections, channel categories)

When writing, include the complete file content — the Write tool overwrites the entire file.

What to Store

Workspace IDs with names
Channel IDs with names and purpose
User IDs with display names
User-given aliases ("deploys channel", "main workspace")
Commonly used thread timestamps
Any user preference expressed during interaction

What NOT to Store

Never store tokens, cookies, credentials, or any sensitive data. Never store full message content (just IDs and channel context). Never store file upload contents.

Handling Stale Data

If a memorized ID returns an error (channel not found, user not found), remove it from MEMORY.md. Don't blindly trust memorized data — verify when something seems off. Prefer re-listing over using a memorized ID that might be stale.

Format / Example

# Agent Messenger Memory

## Slack Workspaces

- `T0ABC1234` — Acme Corp (default)
- `T0DEF5678` — Side Project

## Channels (Acme Corp)

- `C012ABC` — #general (company-wide announcements)
- `C034DEF` — #engineering (team discussion)
- `C056GHI` — #deploys (CI/CD notifications)

## Users (Acme Corp)

- `U0ABC123` — Alice (engineering lead)
- `U0DEF456` — Bob (backend)

## Aliases

- "deploys" → `C056GHI` (#deploys in Acme Corp)
- "main workspace" → `T0ABC1234` (Acme Corp)

## Notes

- User prefers --pretty output for snapshots
- Main workspace is "Acme Corp"

Memory lets you skip repeated channel list and workspace list calls. When you already know an ID from a previous session, use it directly.

Commands

Auth Commands

# Extract tokens from Slack desktop app (usually automatic)
agent-slack auth extract
agent-slack auth extract --debug

# Check auth status
agent-slack auth status

# Logout from a workspace (defaults to current)
agent-slack auth logout
agent-slack auth logout <workspace-id>

Message Commands

# Send a message
agent-slack message send <channel> <text>
agent-slack message send general "Hello world"

# Send a threaded reply
agent-slack message send general "Reply" --thread <ts>

# List messages
agent-slack message list <channel>
agent-slack message list general --limit 50

# Search messages across workspace
agent-slack message search <query>
agent-slack message search "project update"
agent-slack message search "from:@user deadline" --limit 50
agent-slack message search "in:#general meeting" --sort timestamp

# Get a single message by timestamp
agent-slack message get <channel> <ts>
agent-slack message get general 1234567890.123456

# Get thread replies (includes parent message)
agent-slack message replies <channel> <thread_ts>
agent-slack message replies general 1234567890.123456
agent-slack message replies general 1234567890.123456 --limit 50
agent-slack message replies general 1234567890.123456 --oldest 1234567890.000000
agent-slack message replies general 1234567890.123456 --cursor <next_cursor>

# Update a message
agent-slack message update <channel> <ts> <new-text>

# Delete a message
agent-slack message delete <channel> <ts> --force

Channel Commands

# List channels (excludes archived by default)
agent-slack channel list
agent-slack channel list --type public
agent-slack channel list --type private
agent-slack channel list --type dm
agent-slack channel list --include-archived

# Get channel info
agent-slack channel info <channel>
agent-slack channel info general

# Get channel history (alias for message list)
agent-slack channel history <channel> --limit 100

User Commands

# List users
agent-slack user list
agent-slack user list --include-bots

# Get user info
agent-slack user info <user>

# Get current user
agent-slack user me

Reaction Commands

# Add reaction
agent-slack reaction add <channel> <ts> <emoji>
agent-slack reaction add general 1234567890.123456 thumbsup

# Remove reaction
agent-slack reaction remove <channel> <ts> <emoji>

# List reactions on a message
agent-slack reaction list <channel> <ts>

File Commands

# Upload file
agent-slack file upload <channel> <path>
agent-slack file upload general ./report.pdf

# List files
agent-slack file list
agent-slack file list --channel general

# Get file info
agent-slack file info <file-id>

# Download file
agent-slack file download <file-id>
agent-slack file download <file-id> [output-path]
agent-slack file download F0ABC123 ./downloads/

Unread Commands

# Get unread counts for all channels
agent-slack unread counts

# Get thread subscription details
agent-slack unread threads <channel> <thread_ts>

# Mark channel as read up to timestamp
agent-slack unread mark <channel> <ts>

Activity Commands

# List activity feed (mentions, reactions, replies)
agent-slack activity list
agent-slack activity list --limit 50
agent-slack activity list --unread
agent-slack activity list --types thread_reply,message_reaction

Saved Items Commands

# List saved items
agent-slack saved list
agent-slack saved list --limit 10

Drafts Commands

# List all drafts
agent-slack drafts list
agent-slack drafts list --pretty

Channel Sections Commands

# List channel sections (sidebar organization)
agent-slack sections list
agent-slack sections list --pretty

Snapshot Command

Get comprehensive workspace state for AI agents:

# Full snapshot
agent-slack snapshot

# Filtered snapshots
agent-slack snapshot --channels-only
agent-slack snapshot --users-only

# Limit messages per channel
agent-slack snapshot --limit 10

Returns JSON with:

Workspace metadata
Channels (id, name, topic, purpose)
Recent messages (ts, text, user, channel)
Users (id, name, profile)

Output Format

JSON (Default)

All commands output JSON by default for AI consumption:

{
  "ts": "1234567890.123456",
  "text": "Hello world",
  "channel": "C123456"
}

Pretty (Human-Readable)

Use --pretty flag for formatted output:

agent-slack channel list --pretty

Common Patterns

See references/common-patterns.md for typical AI agent workflows.

Templates

See templates/ directory for runnable examples:

post-message.sh - Send messages with error handling
monitor-channel.sh - Monitor channel for new messages
workspace-summary.sh - Generate workspace summary

Error Handling

All commands return consistent error format:

{
  "error": "No workspace authenticated. Run: agent-slack auth extract"
}

Common errors:

NO_WORKSPACE: No authenticated workspace (auto-extraction failed — see Troubleshooting)
SLACK_API_ERROR: Slack API returned an error
RATE_LIMIT: Hit Slack rate limit (auto-retries with backoff)

Configuration

Credentials stored in ~/.config/agent-messenger/slack-credentials.json (0600 permissions). See references/authentication.md for format and security details.

Limitations

No real-time events / Socket Mode
No channel management (create/archive)
No workspace admin operations
No scheduled messages
No user presence features
Plain text messages only (no blocks/formatting in v1)

Troubleshooting

`agent-slack: command not found`

agent-slack is NOT the npm package name. The npm package is agent-messenger.

If the package is installed globally, use agent-slack directly:

agent-slack message list general

If the package is NOT installed, run it directly using a package runner. Ask the user which one to use:

npx -y agent-messenger slack message list general
bunx agent-messenger slack message list general
pnpm dlx agent-messenger slack message list general

If you already know the user's preferred package runner, use it directly instead of asking.

NEVER run npx agent-slack, bunx agent-slack, or pnpm dlx agent-slack — a separate, unrelated npm package named agent-slack exists on npm. It will silently install the wrong package with different (fewer) commands.

For other troubleshooting (auth extraction, token issues, Keychain), see references/authentication.md.