Slack

Slack is a business communication platform that offers teams a unified place for messaging, tools, and files.

With the Slack integration in SteelEngine, you can:

• Send messages: Send formatted messages to any Slack channel or user, supporting Slack's mrkdwn syntax for rich formatting
• Send ephemeral messages: Send temporary messages visible only to a specific user in a channel
• Update messages: Edit previously sent bot messages to correct information or provide status updates
• Delete messages: Remove bot messages when they're no longer needed or contain errors
• Add reactions: Express sentiment or acknowledgment by adding emoji reactions to any message
• Create canvases: Create and share Slack canvases (collaborative documents) directly in channels
• Read messages: Retrieve recent messages from channels or DMs, with filtering by time range
• Manage channels and users: List channels, members, and users in your Slack workspace
• Download files: Retrieve files shared in Slack channels for processing or archival

In SteelEngine, the Slack integration enables your agents to programmatically interact with Slack as part of their workflows. This allows for automation scenarios such as sending notifications with dynamic updates, managing conversational flows with editable status messages, acknowledging important messages with reactions, and maintaining clean channels by removing outdated bot messages. The integration can also be used in trigger mode to start a workflow when a message is sent to a channel.

For custom Slack apps, Install Slack app creates the bot connection, which can be shared with members or groups. Connect my Slack account creates a personal connection that only you can use. Select the app bot to post as the app, or your personal credential to post as yourself; failed bot actions never switch identities.

The bot must be in private channels. For public channels, chat:write.public lets it post without joining; otherwise invite it first. Event subscriptions still follow the app's manifest and configured channel allowlist.

Open a Slack connection in Settings → Integrations to browse Bot channels or Your Slack channels. The list includes visible public channels before joining, with separate messaging and event-access guidance. Use All visible, Ready, or Needs action, search loaded channels, and Load more channels to browse the next page. Slack only reveals private channels visible to the selected identity.

Join as bot and Join as me change membership only. After joining, turn on Enable for workflow events separately. Bot and personal event lists are independent; joining with your account does not add the bot or share your private channels. If the bot is missing from a private channel, invite it in Slack, or choose Find my private channels to invite the bot and invite it using your own connected account when Slack permissions allow. Channel managers can also track a private channel by ID; events remain pending until access is confirmed.

Public discovery needs channels:read. Joining requires bot channels:join or user channels:write. Private discovery requires groups:read; inviting the bot through your personal account requires membership and groups:write.invites (or the broader groups:write). Add permissions to the app configuration and reconnect to authorize them. Archived and unsupported shared channels explain why they cannot be used. Actions always keep the selected bot or personal identity.

Bot installations appear under Workspace integrations with a Bot badge; personal Slack connections appear under Connected accounts. Sharing a bot requires granting credential access to the intended members or groups.

Managed Slack triggers filter the app's existing event stream. Configure the single Events URL and subscriptions in app settings, then choose the event source, events to match, and optional channel/message/file filters on each trigger. These filters do not change the Slack manifest. Bot events require a bot connection; user events use your personal connection. Existing manual triggers keep their URL setup.

AI-Generated Content

SteelEngine workflows may use AI models to generate messages and responses sent to Slack. AI-generated content may be inaccurate or contain errors. Always review automated outputs, especially for critical communications.

Need Help?

If you encounter issues with the Slack integration, contact us at support@steelengine.com

Usage Instructions

Integrate Slack into the workflow. Can send, update, and delete messages, send ephemeral messages visible only to a specific user, open/update/push modal views, publish Home tab views, create canvases, read messages, and add or remove reactions. Requires Bot Token instead of OAuth in advanced mode. Use the Slack trigger block to start a workflow from Slack events.

Tools

slack_message

Send messages to Slack channels or direct messages. Supports Slack mrkdwn formatting.

Input

Output

slack_ephemeral_message

Send an ephemeral message visible only to a specific user in a channel. Optionally reply in a thread. The message does not persist across sessions.

Input

Output

slack_canvas

Create and share Slack canvases in channels. Canvases are collaborative documents within Slack.

Input

Output

slack_message_reader

Read the latest messages from Slack channels. Retrieve conversation history with filtering options.

Input

Output

slack_get_message

Retrieve a specific message by its timestamp. Useful for getting a thread parent message.

Input

Output

slack_get_thread

Retrieve an entire thread including the parent message and all replies. Useful for getting full conversation context.

Input

Output

slack_list_channels

List all channels in a Slack workspace. Returns public and private channels the bot has access to.

Input

Output

slack_list_members

List all members (user IDs) in a Slack channel. Use with Get User Info to resolve IDs to names.

Input

Output

slack_list_users

List all users in a Slack workspace. Returns user profiles with names and avatars.

Input

Output

slack_get_user

Get detailed information about a specific Slack user by their user ID.

Input

Output

slack_download

Download a file from Slack

Input

Output

slack_update_message

Update a message previously sent by the bot in Slack

Input

Output

slack_delete_message

Delete a message previously sent by the bot in Slack

Input

Output

slack_add_reaction

Add an emoji reaction to a Slack message

Input

Output

slack_remove_reaction

Remove an emoji reaction from a Slack message

Input

Output

slack_get_channel_info

Get detailed information about a Slack channel by its ID

Input

Output

slack_get_user_presence

Check whether a Slack user is currently active or away

Input

Output

slack_edit_canvas

Edit an existing Slack canvas by inserting, replacing, or deleting content

Input

Output

slack_create_channel_canvas

Create a canvas pinned to a Slack channel as its resource hub

Input

Output

slack_create_conversation

Create a new public or private channel in a Slack workspace.

Input

Output

slack_invite_to_conversation

Invite one or more users to a Slack channel. Supports up to 100 users at a time.

Input

Output

slack_open_view

Open a modal view in Slack using a trigger_id from an interaction payload. Used to display forms, confirmations, and other interactive modals.

Input

Output

slack_update_view

Update an existing modal view in Slack. Identify the view by view_id or external_id, and provide the updated view payload.

Input

Output

slack_push_view

Push a new view onto an existing modal stack in Slack. Limited to 2 additional views after the initial modal is opened.

Input

Output

slack_publish_view

Publish a static view to a user's Home tab in Slack. Used to create or update the app's Home tab experience.

Input

Output

Triggers

A workflow can start when one of these Slack events occurs.

Slack Webhook

Trigger workflow from Slack events like mentions, messages, and reactions

Slack sends the event to the webhook URL shown in the block.

Configuration

Output