slackcli

slackcli is on PATH. These examples target v0.7.0. Run slackcli --version and slackcli auth list first; if the installed version differs, verify affected syntax with <command> --help.

slackcli --version
slackcli auth list

If no workspace is configured, prefer a Slack app token for durable automation and use browser-session tokens only for personal access or features that require them, such as drafts. For browser auth: open Slack → DevTools → Network → copy a Slack API request as cURL, then run slackcli auth parse-curl --from-clipboard --login. Browser tokens inherit the user’s access and expire with the session. Keep tokens out of arguments, shell history, logs, and output.

Run requested read-only commands without extra confirmation. Before a side effect, show and confirm: workspace; channel/user and message text for sends or drafts; attached file path for uploads; or channel, message timestamp, and emoji for reactions.

Finding Slack content

Prefer targeted search over listing and scanning:

slackcli search messages "<query>" --limit 20 --json
slackcli search messages "<query>" --in <channel-name> --from <username> --json
slackcli search channels "<name>" --json
slackcli search people "<name-or-email>" --json

Slack message search supports Slack search operators. Use --page, --sort score|timestamp, and --sort-dir asc|desc when needed.

Reading messages (most common)

slackcli conversations read <channel-id> [options]

Parsing Slack URLs

https://<workspace>.slack.com/archives/<channel-id>/p<ts-no-dot> → insert a dot before the last 6 digits of the timestamp.

Example: .../C02RC5RG4AD/p1771556130161929 → channel C02RC5RG4AD, --thread-ts 1771556130.161929. No p suffix → omit --thread-ts.

Options

| Option | Notes | | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | --limit <n> | Default 100 — usually too many; use 20–50 | | --thread-ts <ts> | Read replies in a specific thread | | --exclude-replies | Top-level only (good for channel scans) | | --oldest/--latest | Unix timestamp window | | --json | Required for ts (replying/reacting) | | --workspace <id> | Override default workspace |

⚠️ Empty text? Re-run with --json

Bot/integration posts (GitHub, Linear, Jira, Calendly…) often have empty text; the real content lives in attachments[].text or blocks. Default rendering shows a blank message. Whenever a message looks empty or you need full body, use --json.

Decision guide

| Intent | Flags | | ------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | | "What's happening in #channel?" | --exclude-replies --limit 50 | | "Read that thread / URL" | --thread-ts <ts> | | "Reply to a message" | --json (capture ts) → messages send --thread-ts | | "What did X say yesterday?" | --oldest <start> --latest <end> | | Bot/integration message | --json (content is in attachments/blocks) |

Finding channels

slackcli conversations list --exclude-archived --limit 100
slackcli conversations list --types public_channel,private_channel,im,mpim

When the user gives a channel name rather than an ID, prefer search channels to resolve it.

Saved items and canvases

slackcli saved list --state saved --limit 50 --json
slackcli saved list --state to_do --json

slackcli canvas list --limit 20 --json
slackcli canvas list --channel <channel-id> --json
slackcli canvas read <canvas-id>
slackcli canvas read --channel <channel-id>

Canvas reads return markdown by default. Use --json for structured output or --raw only when the original HTML is required.

Sending messages

slackcli messages send --recipient-id <channel-or-user-id> --message "..."
slackcli messages send --recipient-id <channel-id> --thread-ts <ts> --message "..."
slackcli messages send --recipient-id <channel-or-user-id> --message "..." --file <path>

File uploads require suitable Slack permissions, such as files:write for app tokens.

Creating drafts

Drafts work only with browser session tokens, not Slack app tokens:

slackcli messages draft --recipient-id <channel-or-user-id> --message "..."
slackcli messages draft --recipient-id <channel-id> --thread-ts <ts> --message "..."

Reacting

slackcli messages react --channel-id <channel-id> --timestamp <ts> --emoji thumbsup

Common: thumbsup, heart, fire, eyes, white_check_mark, rocket, tada.

Multi-workspace

If more than one workspace is configured, resolve the intended workspace from slackcli auth list and pass --workspace "<name|id>" to search, conversation, saved, canvas, and message commands. Do not rely on the default workspace when the user’s target is ambiguous.

Updating the CLI

Check without modifying the installation:

slackcli update check

With user approval, use brew upgrade slackcli for a Homebrew installation; otherwise use slackcli update. Verify the result with slackcli --version.