How do I use slack-mcp?

1. Click on "Install Server". 2. Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state. 3. In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@slack-mcp show me unread messages in #general" That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed. Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.

slack-mcp

Q: Which integrations are available for this server?

Provides full access to Slack workspace, including messages, channels, files, canvases, lists, search, reactions, and more via 220 tools across 36 API families.

by karbassi

Overview Schema Related Servers Score Discussions

Python

Remote

Slack MCP

Your entire Slack workspace — available to any AI.

Python License

A Model Context Protocol server that gives LLMs full access to Slack. Messages, channels, files, canvases, lists, search, reactions — all of it.

253 tools · 37 API families · Every Slack feature

Quick Start

1. Create a Slack App

Go to api.slack.com/apps > Create New App > From a manifest
Paste the contents of manifest.json
Install to your workspace
Copy the User OAuth Token (xoxp-...) from OAuth & Permissions

2. Add to your AI client

claude mcp add slack -- uvx --from git+https://github.com/karbassi/slack-mcp.git slack-mcp

Then set SLACK_XOXP_TOKEN in your shell environment.

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "git+https://github.com/karbassi/slack-mcp.git", "slack-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SLACK_XOXP_TOKEN": "xoxp-..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "git+https://github.com/karbassi/slack-mcp.git", "slack-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SLACK_XOXP_TOKEN": "xoxp-..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "git+https://github.com/karbassi/slack-mcp.git", "slack-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SLACK_XOXP_TOKEN": "xoxp-..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to your VS Code settings.json:

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "slack": {
        "command": "uvx",
        "args": ["--from", "git+https://github.com/karbassi/slack-mcp.git", "slack-mcp"],
        "env": {
          "SLACK_XOXP_TOKEN": "xoxp-..."
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--directory", "/path/to/slack-mcp", "slack-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Related MCP server: Slack MCP Server

What Can It Do?

"Catch me up on #engineering from today" "Reply to Sarah's thread saying we'll ship it Monday" "Search for anything about the Q3 roadmap" "Create a channel called #project-atlas and invite the design team"

Domain	Tools	Highlights
Conversations	31	History, threads, replies, create, archive, invite, mark read, team connections, suggestions
Undocumented	38	Drafts, saved items, emoji management, granular search, sidebar, threads, activity inbox, DMs, AI unread summary + digests, Today view, Connect invites
Files	19	Upload, share, edit, list, remote files, shares, recently deleted, favorites
Chat	13	Send, reply, schedule, update, delete, ephemeral, stream
Users	15	Profile, presence, lookup, list, profile extras/sections, custom statuses
Lists	15	Create, edit items, manage access, my assigned items, templates, records
Legacy	11	Slash commands, file editing, bot listing
Team	9	Info, preferences, access logs, billing
Apps	9	Manifests, connections, authorizations, activities
Workflows	8	Featured workflows, step completion, workflow/trigger listing
Usergroups	7	Create, update, manage members
Canvases	7	Create, edit, sections, access control, templates
Calls	6	Start, end, manage participants
+ 24 more		Calendar, DND, reminders, bookmarks, reactions, pins, stars, views, search, auth, bots, emoji, ...

Plus resolve_names (bulk ID→name resolution) and cache_clear (bust the response cache on demand) utility tools.

Beyond the Official API

68 undocumented and legacy endpoints — the same internal APIs that Slack's own apps use. Requires session tokens (xoxc+xoxd).

Endpoint	What it provides
`client.boot`	Full workspace bootstrap — channels, users, prefs, feature flags
`client.counts`	Unread counts per channel/DM/thread plus mention counts
`client.userBoot`	User-specific bootstrap data scoped to the authenticated user
`threads.getView`	Thread inbox — the list of threads with read/unread state
`subscriptions.thread.getView`	My threads with unread reply counts — "catch me up on my threads"
`subscriptions.thread.mark`	Mark individual threads as read or unread
`client.dms`	Open DMs and group DMs (`ims` + `mpims`)
`activity.feed`	Activity inbox — mentions, reactions, replies, reminders, invites
`drafts.list`	List all unsent message drafts
`drafts.create`	Create a message draft with Block Kit text
`drafts.update`	Edit an existing draft
`drafts.delete`	Delete a draft
`saved.list`	List saved-for-later items
`saved.get`	Fetch specific saved-for-later items by id
`saved.add`	Save a message for later with optional due date
`saved.delete`	Remove a saved-for-later item
`lists.getMyItems`	Slack List tasks and approvals assigned to me
`emoji.add`	Add a custom emoji from a URL
`emoji.remove`	Remove a custom emoji
`emoji.adminList`	Emoji with rich metadata — uploader, date, usage stats
`search.modules.messages`	Granular message search
`search.modules.files`	File-specific search
`search.modules.channels`	Server-side channel search by name or topic
`search.modules.people`	Fuzzy people search by name, title, department
`search.modules.dms`	Search within DMs only
`conversations.view`	Channel view with read state and personal config
`conversations.listPrefs`	Per-channel notification and mute preferences
`users.channelSections.list`	Sidebar organization — custom sections, favorites
`users.priority.list`	Contacts ranked by interaction frequency
`experiments.getByUser`	A/B test experiment assignments
`api.features`	Workspace feature flags
`aiApps.list`	AI applications configured in the workspace
`ai.alpha.summarize.unreadsSnapshot`	AI summary of unread messages — "summarize what I missed"
`ai.alpha.digest.list`	Slack's AI recaps/digests of activity across channels
`subscriptions.thread.get`	Subscription/read state for a single thread
`today.items.list`	Today view items (suggested to-dos, highlights)
`connectInvites.list`	Pending Slack Connect channel and DM invites
`conversations.teamConnections`	Slack Connect connections for a channel
`conversations.suggestions`	Suggested channels for the user
`conversations.bulkReacjiTriggers`	Per-channel reacji (auto-reaction) triggers
`lists.templates`	Available Slack List templates
`lists.records.list`	Records/items within a given Slack List
`calendar.getInstalledCalendars`	Connected calendars (`gcal`, `ocal`)
`calendar.user.status`	The user's current calendar status
`canvases.getCannedTemplates`	Available canvas templates
`emoji.collections.list`	Installed and available emoji packs
`files.getShares`	Where a file is shared (channels, tabs, viewer count)
`files.recentlyDeleted`	Recently deleted files
`files.favorites.list`	Favorited files
`functions.workflows.list`	Workflows and their triggers
`workflows.triggers.list`	Triggers, filterable by app
`users.profile.getExtras`	Profile extras — shared channels, onboarding state
`users.profile.getSections`	Custom profile sections
`users.customStatus.list`	Saved and scheduled custom statuses
`search.inline`	Inline/quick search scoped to a channel or user
`search.save`	Save a search
`enterpriseSearch.getConnectors`	Configured enterprise search connectors

Endpoint	What it provides
`chat.command`	Execute slash commands programmatically
`commands.list`	List all slash commands including custom ones
`files.edit`	Edit a file's title, content, or filetype in-place
`files.share`	Share a file to a channel
`bots.list`	List all bot users in the workspace
`team.prefs.get`	Team-level preferences — retention, permissions, domains
`users.prefs.get`	All user preferences — notifications, sidebar, theme
`users.prefs.set`	Set any individual user preference
`users.admin.invite`	Invite users by email (Enterprise Grid)
`users.admin.setInactive`	Deactivate a user account (Enterprise Grid)
`channels.delete`	Dead method — included for completeness

WARNING

Undocumented endpoints can break without notice. They use session tokens (xoxc+xoxd) which expire and must be re-grabbed from browser cookies.

Authentication

Variable	Required	Description
`SLACK_XOXP_TOKEN`	Yes	User OAuth token from your Slack app
`SLACK_XOXC_TOKEN`	No	Browser session token for undocumented endpoints
`SLACK_XOXD_TOKEN`	No	Browser session cookie (paired with `xoxc`)

TIP

Thexoxp token covers all Slack Web API tools. Utility tools like resolve_names and cache_clear work without additional auth. For undocumented endpoints (unread counts, workspace boot, file editing), you also need xoxc+xoxd — grab them from your browser cookies while logged into slack.com.

Caching

Responses are cached automatically to reduce API calls:

Stable data (users, teams, bots, emoji) — 1 hour TTL
Dynamic data (channel lists, members, bookmarks) — 5 minute TTL
Old threads (conversations_replies with ts > 1 hour old) — 1 hour TTL
Bounded history (conversations_history with old date range) — 1 hour TTL
Resolved names (user/bot → 1 hour, channel → 5 minutes)

Cache is stored at the platform-native location (~/Library/Caches/slack-mcp on macOS, ~/.cache/slack-mcp on Linux). Set XDG_CACHE_HOME to override.

Use the cache_clear tool to bust the cache when you need fresh data.

Name Resolution

All tool responses automatically resolve user, channel, DM, and bot IDs to display names via a resolved_names field — no extra tool calls needed. Resolved names are disk-cached to avoid redundant API lookups.

Response Compaction

15 high-volume tools automatically strip bloat from Slack API responses — blocks (duplicates text), attachments (link unfurls), thumbnails (22 per file), and metadata noise. Measured reductions:

Endpoint	Before	After	Reduction
`conversations.history`	465 KB	113 KB	76%
`files.list`	127 KB	26 KB	80%
`conversations.list`	59 KB	17 KB	71%
`reactions.list`	353 KB	167 KB	53%

Compaction is on by default. Pass detailed=True to any compactable tool to get the full Slack API response.

Development

git clone https://github.com/karbassi/slack-mcp.git
cd slack-mcp
uv sync
uv run pre-commit install            # ruff + ty on every commit
mise run check                       # test + lint + security scan
mise run test:integration            # requires tokens in .env

NOTE

~68 integration tests are skipped because they require a bot token (xoxb), Slack Connect, interactive triggers (e.g. views.open), or would be destructive (e.g. auth.revoke). Adding bot token support is a future goal.

License

MIT

Install Server

license - permissive license

quality

maintenance

How are these scores calculated?

Maintenance

–Maintainers

5dResponse time

4wRelease cycle

5Releases (12mo)

Commit activity

Issues opened vs closed

Resources

GitHub Repository

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