slack

Use the Slack Web API with the connected bot token in $SLACK_TOKEN for joined-channel reads and confirmed sends. Use the separate user token in $SLACK_USER_TOKEN only for public-channel search. Send either token only to https://slack.com/api/ over HTTPS. Check the JSON ok field and HTTP status for every response; report Slack's error value when a call fails. Respect Retry-After on HTTP 429.

Messages are sent as the AceDataCloud bot, not as the user's Slack account. The app cannot upload files or join channels. Bot channel and conversation history is available only where the app has been added. Public search covers public channels in the authorized user's workspace, including channels the bot has not joined; it does not cover private channels or direct messages. The bot token cannot use Slack's legacy search.messages method and cannot use Real-time Search without a Slack event action_token. Never use the user token to post a message.

Search public-channel messages

Use Slack's Real-time Search API for a user-initiated public search. If $SLACK_USER_TOKEN is absent, explain that the Slack connection needs re-authorization for public search at https://studio.acedata.cloud/console/connectors; do not silently substitute a recent-history scan. Keep channel_types explicitly limited to public_channel and content_types to messages. Request at most 20 results per page, follow next_cursor only as needed, and give the user message permalinks as sources. Do not persist Slack search results outside the current task.

QUERY="deployment issue"
curl -sS -X POST https://slack.com/api/assistant.search.context \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_USER_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
  -d "$(jq -nc --arg q "$QUERY" \
    '{query:$q, channel_types:["public_channel"], content_types:["messages"], limit:20}')" \
  | jq '{ok, error, next_cursor, messages: [.results.messages[]? | {content, author_name, channel_name, message_ts, permalink}]}'

If Slack returns an error, report that error rather than presenting an empty result as a successful search. Search results are limited to the authorized user's public-channel access and Slack's search ranking and retention rules.

Verify the connected workspace

curl -sS -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_TOKEN" \
  https://slack.com/api/auth.test

Use the returned team and bot user to check that the connection targets the workspace the user intended.

List channels visible to the app

curl -sS -G -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_TOKEN" \
  https://slack.com/api/conversations.list \
  --data-urlencode "types=public_channel,private_channel" \
  --data-urlencode "limit=200"

Follow response_metadata.next_cursor to paginate. Resolve channel names to IDs from this response rather than inventing IDs.

Read channel history or a thread

curl -sS -G -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_TOKEN" \
  https://slack.com/api/conversations.history \
  --data-urlencode "channel=C0123456789" \
  --data-urlencode "limit=15"

curl -sS -G -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_TOKEN" \
  https://slack.com/api/conversations.replies \
  --data-urlencode "channel=C0123456789" \
  --data-urlencode "ts=1777656720.123456"

Read a private channel or direct message only if the app is a member. If Slack returns not_in_channel or channel_not_found, ask the user to add the app to that conversation. Do not try to join it automatically.

Find a keyword in one joined private channel or direct message

For a private channel or direct message that the bot has joined, fetch only that conversation's recent history and filter locally. This is a bounded recent-history scan, not Slack's public search. State the time window and whether older messages remain unread. On new installs of commercial apps outside the Slack Marketplace, Slack may limit conversations.history to one call per minute with at most 15 messages; respect Retry-After and do not fan out across channels.

KEYWORD="deploy"
curl -sS -G -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_TOKEN" \
  https://slack.com/api/conversations.history \
  --data-urlencode "channel=C0123456789" \
  --data-urlencode "limit=15" \
  | jq --arg q "$KEYWORD" '{ok, error, has_more, matches: [.messages[]? | select((.text // "") | contains($q)) | {ts, user, text}]}'

If Slack returns an error, report it rather than claiming the search succeeded. An empty match list is only a result for the messages fetched, not proof that the keyword is absent from the channel's full history.

Resolve a member

curl -sS -G -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_TOKEN" \
  https://slack.com/api/users.lookupByEmail \
  --data-urlencode "[email protected]"

Use member details only to identify people in retrieved content. Do not send unsolicited direct messages or enumerate members for outreach.

Send a message or thread reply

Before each send, resolve the exact workspace, channel or existing conversation, and final message text. Call request_action_confirmation with kind: "generic" and show those three values. Send only if the user confirms. If the confirmation tool is unavailable, return a draft. If this is an unattended run, send only when the saved task already authorizes that exact destination and content; otherwise return a draft.

The bot must already be a member of the target channel or conversation. If Slack returns not_in_channel or channel_not_found, ask the user to add the app there. Do not call conversations.join. Do not retry a chat.postMessage request whose outcome is unknown; first check the channel history to avoid duplicates.

curl -sS -X POST https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
  -d "$(jq -nc --arg ch "C0123456789" --arg text "Confirmed message" \
    '{channel:$ch, text:$text}')"

For a reply in an existing thread, include its exact thread_ts in the payload. Check ok, channel, and ts in the response and report the sent message link or channel and timestamp.

If auth.test returns not_authed or invalid_auth, ask the user to reconnect Slack at https://studio.acedata.cloud/console/connectors.