vercel__chat/packages/adapter-slack

@chat-adapter/slack

Slack adapter for Chat SDK. Configure single-workspace or multi-workspace OAuth deployments.

Installation

pnpm add @chat-adapter/slack

Single-workspace mode

For bots deployed to a single Slack workspace. The adapter auto-detects SLACK_BOT_TOKEN and SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET from environment variables:

import { Chat } from "chat";
import { createSlackAdapter } from "@chat-adapter/slack";

const bot = new Chat({
  userName: "mybot",
  adapters: {
    slack: createSlackAdapter(),
  },
});

bot.onNewMention(async (thread, message) => {
  await thread.post("Hello from Slack!");
});

Token rotation

botToken accepts a function returning a string or Promise<string> — the resolver is invoked per API call, so it composes with Slack token rotation (12-hour TTL) or lazy fetch from a secret manager:

createSlackAdapter({
  botToken: async () => await secrets.get("slack-bot-token"),
});

If the resolver is expensive (e.g. a vault round-trip), implement caching inside the resolver itself.

Custom webhook verification

Pass webhookVerifier to replace the built-in HMAC check — useful when verification runs in a proxy or signing layer ahead of your handler:

createSlackAdapter({
  webhookVerifier: async (request, body) => {
    if (!(await myProxy.verify(request))) {
      throw new Error("invalid");
    }
    return true; // or return a string to substitute the verified body
  },
});

If both signingSecret and webhookVerifier are set, webhookVerifier wins — it also takes precedence over the SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET env var, so an env-configured deployment can't silently shadow a verifier you wired up. When using webhookVerifier, you are responsible for replay/timestamp protection — the built-in 5-minute timestamp tolerance only applies to the signingSecret path.

Multi-workspace mode

For apps installed across multiple Slack workspaces via OAuth, omit botToken and provide OAuth credentials instead. The adapter resolves tokens dynamically from your state adapter using the team_id from incoming webhooks — or enterprise_id for Enterprise Grid org-wide installs (is_enterprise_install: true).

When you pass any auth-related config (like clientId), the adapter won't fall back to env vars for other auth fields, preventing accidental mixing of auth modes.

import { createSlackAdapter } from "@chat-adapter/slack";
import { createRedisState } from "@chat-adapter/state-redis";

const slackAdapter = createSlackAdapter({
  clientId: process.env.SLACK_CLIENT_ID!,
  clientSecret: process.env.SLACK_CLIENT_SECRET!,
});

const bot = new Chat({
  userName: "mybot",
  adapters: { slack: slackAdapter },
  state: createRedisState(),
});

OAuth callback

The adapter handles the full Slack OAuth V2 exchange. Point your OAuth redirect URL to a route that calls handleOAuthCallback:

import { slackAdapter } from "@/lib/bot";

export async function GET(request: Request) {
  const { teamId } = await slackAdapter.handleOAuthCallback(request, {
    redirectUri: process.env.SLACK_REDIRECT_URI,
  });
  return new Response(`Installed for team ${teamId}!`);
}

If your install flow uses a specific redirect URI, pass the same value here that you used during the authorize step. This is especially useful when one app supports multiple redirect URLs. When no option is provided, the adapter still falls back to redirect_uri on the callback request URL.

Using the adapter outside webhooks

During webhook handling, the adapter resolves tokens automatically from team_id. Outside that context (e.g. cron jobs or background workers), use getInstallation and withBotToken:

const install = await slackAdapter.getInstallation(teamId);
if (!install) throw new Error("Workspace not installed");

await slackAdapter.withBotToken(install.botToken, async () => {
  const thread = bot.thread("slack:C12345:1234567890.123456");
  await thread.post("Hello from a cron job!");
});

withBotToken uses AsyncLocalStorage under the hood, so concurrent calls with different tokens are isolated.

Removing installations

await slackAdapter.deleteInstallation(teamId);

Token encryption

Pass a base64-encoded 32-byte key as encryptionKey to encrypt bot tokens at rest using AES-256-GCM:

openssl rand -base64 32

When encryptionKey is set, setInstallation() encrypts the token before storing and getInstallation() decrypts it transparently.

External installation provider

For deployments that manage Slack tokens in an external system (e.g. Vercel Connect), pass installationProvider to bypass the internal state adapter when resolving tokens for incoming webhooks:

createSlackAdapter({
  clientId: process.env.SLACK_CLIENT_ID!,
  clientSecret: process.env.SLACK_CLIENT_SECRET!,
  installationProvider: {
    getInstallation: async (installationId, isEnterpriseInstall) => {
      // installationId is enterprise_id when isEnterpriseInstall is true,
      // otherwise team_id. Return null if not found.
      return await myTokenStore.lookup(installationId, isEnterpriseInstall);
    },
  },
});

When configured, the provider's getInstallation is called for every webhook event, slash command, and interactive payload. It is read-only — the adapter's setInstallation, deleteInstallation, and handleOAuthCallback continue to write to the internal state adapter, so callers using a provider should manage their own writes through their external system.

Socket mode

For environments behind firewalls that can't expose public HTTP endpoints, the adapter supports Slack Socket Mode. Instead of receiving webhooks, the adapter connects to Slack over a WebSocket.

import { Chat } from "chat";
import { createSlackAdapter } from "@chat-adapter/slack";

const bot = new Chat({
  userName: "mybot",
  adapters: {
    slack: createSlackAdapter({
      mode: "socket",
      appToken: process.env.SLACK_APP_TOKEN!,
      botToken: process.env.SLACK_BOT_TOKEN!,
    }),
  },
});

Slack app setup for socket mode

1. Go to your app's settings at api.slack.com/apps
2. Navigate to Socket Mode and enable it
3. Generate an App-Level Token with the connections:write scope — this is your SLACK_APP_TOKEN (xapp-...)
4. Event subscriptions and interactivity still need to be configured, but no public request URL is required

Socket mode is not compatible with multi-workspace OAuth (clientId/clientSecret). It's designed for single-workspace deployments.

Socket mode on serverless (Vercel)

Socket mode requires a persistent WebSocket connection, which doesn't fit the request/response model of serverless functions. The adapter provides a forwarding mechanism to bridge this gap:

1. A cron job periodically starts a transient socket listener
2. The listener connects via WebSocket, acks events immediately, and forwards them as HTTP requests to your webhook endpoint
3. Your existing webhook route processes the forwarded events normally

// api/slack/socket-mode/route.ts
import { after } from "next/server";
import { bot } from "@/lib/bot";

export const maxDuration = 800;

export async function GET(request: Request) {
  const authHeader = request.headers.get("authorization");
  if (authHeader !== `Bearer ${process.env.CRON_SECRET}`) {
    return new Response("Unauthorized", { status: 401 });
  }

  await bot.initialize();

  const slack = bot.getAdapter("slack");
  const webhookUrl = `https://${process.env.VERCEL_URL}/api/webhooks/slack`;

  return slack.startSocketModeListener(
    { waitUntil: (task: Promise<unknown>) => after(() => task) },
    600_000, // 10 minutes
    undefined,
    webhookUrl
  );
}

Schedule the cron job to run every 9 minutes (overlapping with the 10-minute listener duration) to maintain continuous coverage:

// vercel.json
{
  "crons": [
    {
      "path": "/api/slack/socket-mode",
      "schedule": "*/9 * * * *"
    }
  ]
}

Forwarded events are authenticated using the socketForwardingSecret config option (defaults to SLACK_SOCKET_FORWARDING_SECRET env var, falling back to appToken).

Slack app setup

1. Create a Slack app from manifest

1. Go to api.slack.com/apps
2. Click Create New App then From an app manifest
3. Select your workspace and paste the following manifest:

display_information:
  name: My Bot
  description: A bot built with chat-sdk

features:
  bot_user:
    display_name: My Bot
    always_online: true

oauth_config:
  scopes:
    bot:
      - app_mentions:read
      - channels:history
      - channels:read
      - chat:write
      - groups:history
      - groups:read
      - im:history
      - im:read
      - mpim:history
      - mpim:read
      - reactions:read
      - reactions:write
      - users:read

settings:
  event_subscriptions:
    request_url: https://your-domain.com/api/webhooks/slack
    bot_events:
      - app_mention
      - message.channels
      - message.groups
      - message.im
      - message.mpim
      - member_joined_channel
      - assistant_thread_started
      - assistant_thread_context_changed
  interactivity:
    is_enabled: true
    request_url: https://your-domain.com/api/webhooks/slack
  org_deploy_enabled: false
  socket_mode_enabled: false
  token_rotation_enabled: false

4. Replace https://your-domain.com/api/webhooks/slack with your deployed webhook URL
5. Click Create

2. Get credentials

After creating the app, go to Basic Information → App Credentials and copy:

• Signing Secret as SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET
• Client ID as SLACK_CLIENT_ID (multi-workspace only)
• Client Secret as SLACK_CLIENT_SECRET (multi-workspace only)

Single workspace: Go to OAuth & Permissions, click Install to Workspace, and copy the Bot User OAuth Token (xoxb-...) as SLACK_BOT_TOKEN.

Multi-workspace: Enable Manage Distribution under Basic Information and set up an OAuth redirect URL pointing to your callback route.

3. Configure slash commands (optional)

1. Go to Slash Commands in your app settings
2. Click Create New Command
3. Set Command (e.g., /feedback)
4. Set Request URL to https://your-domain.com/api/webhooks/slack
5. Add a description and click Save

Configuration

All options are auto-detected from environment variables when not provided. You can call createSlackAdapter() with no arguments if the env vars are set.

Option	Required	Description
botToken	No	Bot token (xoxb-...) or a function returning one (sync or async) for rotation/lazy fetch. Auto-detected from SLACK_BOT_TOKEN
signingSecret	No*	Signing secret for webhook verification. Auto-detected from SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET
webhookVerifier	No*	Custom verifier (request, body) => unknown | Promise<unknown> used in place of signingSecret. Returning a string substitutes the verified body for downstream parsing
mode	No	Connection mode: "webhook" (default) or "socket"
appToken	No**	App-level token (xapp-...) for socket mode. Auto-detected from SLACK_APP_TOKEN
socketForwardingSecret	No	Shared secret for authenticating forwarded socket events. Auto-detected from SLACK_SOCKET_FORWARDING_SECRET, falls back to appToken
clientId	No	App client ID for multi-workspace OAuth. Auto-detected from SLACK_CLIENT_ID
clientSecret	No	App client secret for multi-workspace OAuth. Auto-detected from SLACK_CLIENT_SECRET
encryptionKey	No	AES-256-GCM key for encrypting stored tokens. Auto-detected from SLACK_ENCRYPTION_KEY
installationKeyPrefix	No	Prefix for the state key used to store workspace installations. Defaults to slack:installation. The full key is {prefix}:{teamId} (or {prefix}:{enterpriseId} for Enterprise Grid org-wide installs)
installationProvider	No	External installation lookup { getInstallation(installationId, isEnterpriseInstall) => Promise<SlackInstallation | null> }. When set, bypasses the internal state adapter for token resolution on incoming webhooks. Read-only — manage your own writes externally
apiUrl	No	Override the Slack Web API base URL (e.g. for GovSlack or a self-hosted gateway). Auto-detected from SLACK_API_URL
logger	No	Logger instance (defaults to ConsoleLogger("info"))

*signingSecret is required for webhook mode — either via config, SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET env var, or a webhookVerifier. **appToken is required for socket mode — either via config or SLACK_APP_TOKEN env var.

Environment variables

SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-...             # Single-workspace only
SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET=...             # Required for webhook mode
SLACK_APP_TOKEN=xapp-...             # Required for socket mode
SLACK_SOCKET_FORWARDING_SECRET=...   # Optional, for socket event forwarding auth
SLACK_CLIENT_ID=...                  # Multi-workspace only
SLACK_CLIENT_SECRET=...              # Multi-workspace only
SLACK_ENCRYPTION_KEY=...             # Optional, for token encryption
SLACK_API_URL=...                    # Optional, for GovSlack or a self-hosted gateway

Features

Messaging

Feature	Supported
Post message	Yes
Edit message	Yes
Delete message	Yes
File uploads	Yes
Streaming	Native API
Scheduled messages	Yes (native, with cancel)

Rich content

Feature	Supported
Card format	Block Kit
Buttons	Yes
Link buttons	Yes
Select menus	Yes
Tables	Block Kit
Fields	Yes
Images in cards	Yes
Modals	Yes

Conversations

Feature	Supported
Slash commands	Yes
Mentions	Yes
Add reactions	Yes
Remove reactions	Yes
Typing indicator	Yes
DMs	Yes
Ephemeral messages	Yes (native)

Message history

Feature	Supported
Fetch messages	Yes
Fetch single message	Yes
Fetch thread info	Yes
Fetch channel messages	Yes
List threads	Yes
Fetch channel info	Yes
Post channel message	Yes

Platform-specific

Feature	Supported
Assistants API	Yes
Member joined channel	Yes
App Home tab	Yes

Direct WebClient access

Use adapter.webClient to get a typed WebClient from @slack/web-api for any Web API call that isn't wrapped by the SDK's high-level methods.

import type { SlackAdapter } from "@chat-adapter/slack";

bot.onAction("pin-this", async (event) => {
  const slack = bot.getAdapter("slack") as SlackAdapter;
  await slack.webClient.pins.add({
    channel: event.thread!.channel.id.replace(/^slack:/, ""),
    timestamp: event.messageId,
  });
});

The returned client is bound to the bot token resolved in this order:

1. The token from the current request context — set automatically during webhook handling, or by adapter.withBotToken(token, fn).
2. The default botToken, when configured as a static string or a synchronous resolver function.

adapter.webClient throws AuthenticationError outside of any context in multi-workspace mode, or when botToken is configured as an async resolver function. For both cases, await the token first and bind it explicitly:

const install = await slackAdapter.getInstallation(teamId);
if (!install) throw new Error("Workspace not installed");

await slackAdapter.withBotToken(install.botToken, async () => {
  const me = await slackAdapter.webClient.auth.test();
  console.log("Bot user:", me.user_id);
});

The previous .client getter still works as a deprecated alias for .webClient.

Internal API calls (postMessage, editMessage, fetchMessages, etc.) are unaffected — they continue to resolve tokens through the same async path they always have.

Slack Assistants API

The adapter supports Slack's Assistants API for building AI-powered assistant experiences. This enables suggested prompts, status indicators, and thread titles in assistant DM threads.

Event handlers

Register handlers on the Chat instance:

bot.onAssistantThreadStarted(async (event) => {
  const slack = bot.getAdapter("slack") as SlackAdapter;
  await slack.setSuggestedPrompts(event.channelId, event.threadTs, [
    { title: "Summarize", message: "Summarize this channel" },
    { title: "Draft", message: "Help me draft a message" },
  ]);
});

bot.onAssistantContextChanged(async (event) => {
  // User navigated to a different channel with the assistant panel open
});

Adapter methods

The SlackAdapter exposes these methods for the Assistants API:

Method	Description
setSuggestedPrompts(channelId, threadTs, prompts, title?)	Show prompt suggestions in the thread
setAssistantStatus(channelId, threadTs, status)	Show a thinking/status indicator
setAssistantTitle(channelId, threadTs, title)	Set the thread title (shown in History)
publishHomeView(userId, view)	Publish a Home tab view for a user
startTyping(threadId, status)	Show a custom loading status (requires assistant:write scope)

Required scopes and events

Add these to your Slack app manifest for Assistants API support:

oauth_config:
  scopes:
    bot:
      - assistant:write

settings:
  event_subscriptions:
    bot_events:
      - assistant_thread_started
      - assistant_thread_context_changed

Stream with stop blocks

When streaming in an assistant thread, attach Block Kit elements to the final message by wrapping the stream in a StreamingPlan and passing endWith:

import { StreamingPlan } from "chat";

await thread.post(
  new StreamingPlan(textStream, {
    endWith: [
      { type: "actions", elements: [{ type: "button", text: { type: "plain_text", text: "Retry" }, action_id: "retry" }] },
    ],
  })
);

Troubleshooting

handleOAuthCallback throws "Adapter not initialized"

• Call await bot.initialize() before handleOAuthCallback() in your callback route.
• In a Next.js app, this ensures:
  • state adapter is connected
  • the Slack adapter is attached to Chat
  • installation writes succeed

const slackAdapter = bot.getAdapter("slack");

await bot.initialize();
await slackAdapter.handleOAuthCallback(request);

"Invalid signature" error

• Verify SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET is correct
• Check that the request timestamp is within 5 minutes (clock sync issue)
• If using a custom webhookVerifier, the error also surfaces when the verifier throws or returns a falsy value

Bot not responding to messages

• Verify event subscriptions are configured
• Check that the bot has been added to the channel
• Ensure the webhook URL is correct and accessible

Resources

• How to build an AI agent for Slack with Chat SDK and AI SDK — Build a Slack AI agent using Chat SDK, AI SDK's ToolLoopAgent, and Vercel AI Gateway. Covers project setup, tool definitions, streaming responses, deployment to Vercel, and scaling tool selection with toolpick.
• How to build a Slack bot that manages files in Vercel Blob — Build a Slack bot that lists, reads, uploads, and deletes files in Vercel Blob through tool calls. Uses Chat SDK, AI SDK's ToolLoopAgent, and Files SDK's createFileTools factory with approval-gated write tools and a read-only mode.
• How to build a Slack bot with Next.js and Redis — Walks through building a Slack bot with Next.js, covering project setup, Slack app configuration, event handling, interactive features, and deployment.

See all guides and templates at chat-sdk.dev/resources.

License

MIT