Slack (connected)

Authenticated with a bot token in $SLACK_BOT_TOKEN. Talk to Slack's Web API with curl. Base URL: $SLACK_API_URL (it stands in for https://slack.com/api), Auth header: -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_BOT_TOKEN".

Slack always answers HTTP 200; the real result is .ok in the body. Check it: | jq '.ok, .error' on anything that looks wrong. IDs (C… channel, U… user, T… team) come from the list commands below; a message is addressed by its channel plus its ts.

Setup (do this when the app isn't installed yet)

Slack apps are created from a manifest. Give the user this one: it declares exactly the scopes and events this integration needs: and walk them through the five steps on the capability card:

display_information:
  name: intentic
  description: Your agent, in Slack.
features:
  app_home:
    home_tab_enabled: false
    messages_tab_enabled: true
    messages_tab_read_only_enabled: false
  bot_user:
    display_name: intentic
    always_online: true
oauth_config:
  scopes:
    bot:
      - app_mentions:read
      - channels:history
      - channels:read
      - chat:write
      - groups:history
      - groups:read
      - im:history
      - im:read
      - im:write
      - mpim:history
      - reactions:read
      - reactions:write
      - users:read
settings:
  event_subscriptions:
    bot_events:
      - message.channels
      - message.groups
      - message.im
      - message.mpim
      - reaction_added
      - member_joined_channel
  interactivity:
    is_enabled: true
  socket_mode_enabled: true

Then: Basic Information → App-Level Tokens → Generate with the connections:write scope (that's the xapp- token), Install App → Install to Workspace (that's the xoxb- token), and paste both onto the Slack capability. Finally the user must invite the bot to each channel it should see: /invite @intentic. For the team to hand the app work by mentioning it, the owner switches on the Team assistant on Slack automation (Automations, under the suggestions).

An app made from an older manifest lacks two things this one has: Interactivity & Shortcuts switched on (without it, the Stop button on a status card shows an error) and the member_joined_channel event (the hello when it is invited to a channel). Both are toggles on the app's dashboard; Socket Mode needs no request URL.

Confirm it landed: curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_BOT_TOKEN" "$SLACK_API_URL/auth.test" | jq '{ok, team, user, user_id}'

Common commands

• List channels the workspace has (add types=public_channel,private_channel for private ones the bot is in): curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_BOT_TOKEN" "$SLACK_API_URL/conversations.list?limit=200" | jq '.channels[] | {id, name, is_member}'
• Read recent messages in a channel: curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_BOT_TOKEN" "$SLACK_API_URL/conversations.history?channel=<CHANNEL_ID>&limit=20" | jq '.messages[] | {ts, user, text}'
• Read a thread (<THREAD_TS> is the parent message's ts): curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_BOT_TOKEN" "$SLACK_API_URL/conversations.replies?channel=<CHANNEL_ID>&ts=<THREAD_TS>&limit=50" | jq '.messages[] | {ts, user, text}'
• Post a message (drop thread_ts to post at channel level): curl -s -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_BOT_TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" -d '{"channel":"<CHANNEL_ID>","thread_ts":"<THREAD_TS>","text":"hello"}' "$SLACK_API_URL/chat.postMessage"
• React to a message (a shortcode, no colons): curl -s -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_BOT_TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"channel":"<CHANNEL_ID>","timestamp":"<TS>","name":"white_check_mark"}' "$SLACK_API_URL/reactions.add"
• Resolve a user id to a name: curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_BOT_TOKEN" "$SLACK_API_URL/users.info?user=<USER_ID>" | jq '.user | {name, real_name, tz}'
• DM a person (open the conversation first, then post to the returned channel id): curl -s -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_BOT_TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"users":"<USER_ID>"}' "$SLACK_API_URL/conversations.open" | jq '.channel.id'
• Link to a message (handy when reporting what you did): curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_BOT_TOKEN" "$SLACK_API_URL/chat.getPermalink?channel=<CHANNEL_ID>&message_ts=<TS>" | jq -r .permalink

Writing for Slack

What you post with curl's text is not markdown: it is mrkdwn. *bold* (single asterisks), _italic_, ~strike~, `code`, ```block```, > quote. Links are <https://url|label>, a person is <@U123>, a channel is <#C123>. Headings, tables and [label](url) do not render there. To post standard Markdown yourself, send it as a markdown block instead: "blocks":[{"type":"markdown","text":"## Heading\n| a | b |\n|---|---|"}] (12,000 characters at most), with a short plain text beside it for the notification. Keep replies short and thread them.

Being mentioned

When a message is addressed to the app (an @mention, a DM, or anything in a thread it works in), the gateway wakes an agent conversation and posts your reply into that message's thread for you: just write your answer, in standard Markdown (Slack shows it as written, tables included), and never post it yourself with curl as well. While you work, a status card in the thread shows your steps and checklist, with a Stop button (or, when the owner chose Slack's own streaming, your steps stream into the answer and a ⏹️ reaction on the request stops you), so don't narrate each step. Use the commands above to act elsewhere: react, post to a different channel, DM someone.

Each thread is one continuing conversation: replies in it reach you with no new mention, and one sent while you work arrives in the same turn. The event's thread field is the thread's root ts; post anything else into the thread with thread_ts set to it.

Notes: not_in_channel means the bot hasn't been invited — ask the user to /invite @intentic there. missing_scope names the scope the app lacks; it needs a reinstall from the app dashboard to add one.