slack-mcp
MCP server exposing 193 Slack Web API methods as tools for AI agents
Install / Use
claude mcp add karbassi -- npx -y github:karbassi/slack-mcpIf the server publishes to npm under a different name, use that package instead — check the repo README.
MCP Server
Model Context Protocol server
Quality Score
Category
CommunicationSupported Platforms
Skill content
View source on GitHubSlack MCP
Your entire Slack workspace — available to any AI.
A Model Context Protocol server that gives LLMs full access to Slack.<br> Messages, channels, files, canvases, lists, search, reactions — all of it.
253 tools · 37 API families · Every Slack feature
</div>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
<details> <summary><strong>Claude Code</strong></summary>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-..."
}
}
}
}
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>Cursor</strong></summary>
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-..."
}
}
}
}
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>Windsurf</strong></summary>
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-..."
}
}
}
}
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>VS Code / GitHub Copilot</strong></summary>
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-..."
}
}
}
}
}
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>Local clone</strong></summary>
{
"mcpServers": {
"slack": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "uv",
"args": ["run", "--directory", "/path/to/slack-mcp", "slack-mcp"]
}
}
}
</details>
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 |
</details>[!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] The
xoxptoken covers all Slack Web API tools. Utility tools likeresolve_namesandcache_clearwork without additional auth. For undocumented endpoints (unread counts, workspace boot, file editing), you also needxoxc+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_replieswith ts > 1 hour old) — 1 hour TTL - Bounded history (
conversations_historywith 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
Truncated for display — read the full file on GitHub.
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