Slack Reader

Read Slack messages and context by permalink URL. This skill provides read-only access to Slack workspace data.

Overview

Fetches Slack message content given a message permalink, including:

• The target message with resolved @mentions
• Thread replies (if the message is a thread parent)
• Surrounding channel context (messages before/after)
• Channel metadata (name, topic, purpose)
• Resolved user profiles

Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• @slack/web-api package: npm install @slack/web-api

Environment Variables

Single Workspace (Simple Setup)

export SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-your-bot-token

Multiple Workspaces

For accessing multiple Slack workspaces, use SLACK_WORKSPACES with a JSON object mapping aliases to tokens:

export SLACK_WORKSPACES='{"personal": "xoxb-personal-token", "company": "xoxb-company-token"}'

Workspace aliases are used for:

• The --workspace flag to explicitly select a workspace
• Error messages when workspace selection is ambiguous
• Auto-matching against URL domains (e.g., URL domain "company" matches alias "company")

Required Slack Scopes

Your Slack app must have these OAuth scopes:

Creating a Slack Token

Option 1: Create from Manifest (Recommended)

1. Go to api.slack.com/apps
2. Click Create New App → From a manifest
3. Select your workspace
4. Choose JSON and paste:

{
  "display_information": {
    "name": "Slack Reader",
    "description": "Read-only access for agent skills",
    "background_color": "#0040ff"
  },
  "features": {
    "bot_user": {
      "display_name": "Slack Reader",
      "always_online": false
    }
  },
  "oauth_config": {
    "scopes": {
      "user": [
        "canvases:read",
        "channels:history",
        "channels:read",
        "groups:history",
        "groups:read",
        "im:history",
        "im:read",
        "mpim:history",
        "mpim:read",
        "users:read"
      ],
      "bot": [
        "canvases:read",
        "channels:history",
        "channels:read",
        "groups:history",
        "groups:read",
        "im:history",
        "im:read",
        "mpim:history",
        "mpim:read",
        "users:read"
      ]
    }
  },
  "settings": {
    "org_deploy_enabled": false,
    "socket_mode_enabled": false,
    "token_rotation_enabled": false
  }
}

5. Click Create → Install to Workspace
6. Copy the User OAuth Token (starts with xoxp-)

User tokens (xoxp-) can access all channels you have access to. Bot tokens (xoxb-) require the bot to be invited to each channel.

Option 2: Manual Setup

1. Go to api.slack.com/apps
2. Create or select your app
3. Navigate to OAuth & Permissions
4. Add the required scopes under User Token Scopes (or Bot Token Scopes)
5. Install the app to your workspace
6. Copy the token (xoxp- for user, xoxb- for bot)

Available Scripts

read-message.js

Read a Slack message by permalink URL.

node scripts/read-message.js --url <permalink> [options]

Options:

Workspace Resolution:

When multiple workspaces are configured, the script resolves which token to use:

1. If --workspace is specified, uses that workspace's token
2. If the URL domain matches a workspace alias, uses that token
3. If ambiguous, returns a SLACK_WORKSPACE_AMBIGUOUS error listing available workspaces

Example with workspace flag:

node scripts/read-message.js \
  --url "https://myworkspace.slack.com/archives/C0123456789/p1706554800123456" \
  --workspace company

Output:

JSON object containing:

• metadata: URL, fetch timestamp, workspace
• channel: Channel info (name, topic, purpose)
• targetMessage: The requested message with resolved mentions
• thread: Thread replies if the message is a thread parent
• context: Messages before and after the target

Slack URL Format

Message permalinks follow this format:

https://workspace.slack.com/archives/CHANNEL_ID/pTIMESTAMP

Where:

• workspace - Your Slack workspace subdomain
• CHANNEL_ID - Channel ID (e.g., C01234567)
• TIMESTAMP - Message timestamp without decimal (e.g., p1706554800123456)

You can get a message permalink by clicking the message menu (⋮) and selecting "Copy link".

Examples

Read a message with default context

node scripts/read-message.js \
  --url "https://myworkspace.slack.com/archives/C0123456789/p1706554800123456"

Read with more surrounding context

node scripts/read-message.js \
  --url "https://myworkspace.slack.com/archives/C0123456789/p1706554800123456" \
  --context-size 10

Pipe output to jq for formatting

node scripts/read-message.js --url "https://..." | jq '.targetMessage'

Error Codes

Library Files

lib/client.js

Slack API client wrapper with methods for:

• createClient(WebClient, token) - Create authenticated client
• getMessage(client, channelId, ts) - Fetch a single message
• getThreadReplies(client, channelId, threadTs) - Fetch thread replies
• getChannelContext(client, channelId, ts, size) - Fetch surrounding messages
• getChannelInfo(client, channelId) - Fetch channel metadata
• resolveUsers(client, userIds) - Fetch user profiles

lib/url-parser.js

Parse Slack permalinks to extract workspace, channel ID, and message timestamp.

lib/normalizer.js

Format API responses into consistent output structure.

lib/errors.js

Structured error handling with codes and remediation guidance.

lib/workspaces.js

Multi-workspace token management:

• parseWorkspaces(envValue) - Parse SLACK_WORKSPACES JSON
• getConfiguredWorkspaces() - Get all configured workspaces
• resolveWorkspace(workspaces, specifiedName, urlDomain) - Resolve which workspace to use
• getAvailableWorkspaces() - Get comma-separated list of workspace aliases

Official Documentation

• Slack Web API
• conversations.history
• conversations.replies
• conversations.info
• users.info
• Bot Tokens
• OAuth Scopes