Slack¶

Autobot connects to Slack via Socket Mode (WebSocket). No public IP or webhook URL needed.

Setup¶

1. Create a Slack app¶

Go to api.slack.com/apps > Create New App > From scratch. Choose a name and workspace.

2. Enable Socket Mode¶

In your app settings: Socket Mode > toggle Enable Socket Mode > name the token (e.g. "autobot") > copy the App Token (xapp-...).

3. Add bot scopes¶

Go to OAuth & Permissions > Scopes > Bot Token Scopes and add:

Scope	Purpose
`app_mentions:read`	Respond to @mentions
`chat:write`	Send messages
`reactions:write`	Add emoji reactions
`im:history`	Read DMs (optional)
`channels:history`	Read channel messages (optional, for `open` policy)

Go to Event Subscriptions > toggle Enable Events > Subscribe to bot events and add:

Event	Purpose
`app_mention`	Respond to @mentions in channels
`message.im`	Respond to direct messages (optional)
`message.channels`	Respond to all channel messages (optional, for `open` policy)

5. Enable DMs (optional)¶

Go to App Home > Show Tabs > enable Messages Tab > check "Allow users to send Slash commands and messages from the messages tab".

6. Install the app¶

Go to Install App > Install to Workspace > authorize > copy the Bot Token (xoxb-...).

After adding new scopes or events, you must reinstall the app for changes to take effect.

7. Get your Slack user ID¶

Click your profile picture in Slack > Profile > click the three dots (...) > Copy member ID (e.g. U02FFF68WGL).

8. Configure¶

Add tokens to your .env file:

SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-...
SLACK_APP_TOKEN=xapp-...

In config.yml:

channels:
  slack:
    enabled: true
    bot_token: "${SLACK_BOT_TOKEN}"
    app_token: "${SLACK_APP_TOKEN}"
    allow_from: ["U02FFF68WGL"]  # your Slack user ID
    group_policy: "mention"

9. Start¶

autobot agent
# Should show: Slack bot connected as U...
#              Connecting to Slack WebSocket...

Invite the bot to a channel (/invite @your-bot) and mention it to start chatting.

Access control¶

Two layers of access control:

User allowlist (`allow_from`)¶

Controls which Slack users can interact with the bot at all — across channels and DMs:

# Deny all (secure default)
allow_from: []

# Allow specific users (recommended)
allow_from: ["U02FFF68WGL", "U0AG5U7JLB0"]

# Allow anyone (use with caution)
allow_from: ["*"]

Channel policy (`group_policy`)¶

Controls how the bot responds in channels:

Policy	Behavior
`"mention"`	Only responds to @mentions (default, secure)
`"open"`	Responds to all messages in channels
`"allowlist"`	Only responds in channels listed in `group_allow_from`

# Only respond in specific channels
group_policy: "allowlist"
group_allow_from: ["C01ABC123", "C02DEF456"]

DM policy¶

Controls direct message behavior:

dm:
  enabled: true
  policy: "open"          # "open" or "allowlist"
  allow_from: ["U12345"]  # required if policy is "allowlist"

DMs are disabled by default. When enabled with allowlist policy, only users in dm.allow_from can DM the bot.

Features¶

Socket Mode — WebSocket connection, no public IP needed
@mention responses — responds when mentioned in channels
Thread support — replies in threads for channel messages
DM support — configurable direct message handling
Emoji reactions — adds :eyes: to received messages
Auto-reconnect — reconnects automatically on disconnection

Configuration reference¶

Field	Required	Default	Description
`enabled`	No	`false`	Enable the Slack channel
`bot_token`	Yes	—	Bot User OAuth Token (`xoxb-...`)
`app_token`	Yes	—	App-Level Token (`xapp-...`)
`allow_from`	No	`[]`	Slack user IDs allowed to use the bot
`mode`	No	`"socket"`	Connection mode
`group_policy`	No	`"mention"`	Channel response policy
`group_allow_from`	No	`[]`	Channel IDs for allowlist policy
`dm.enabled`	No	`false`	Enable direct messages
`dm.policy`	No	`"allowlist"`	DM policy: `"allowlist"` or `"open"`
`dm.allow_from`	No	`[]`	User IDs for DM allowlist policy

Troubleshooting¶

Enable debug logging:

LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG autobot agent

"Access denied for sender U..." — the user ID is not in allow_from. Add it to the config.

Bot connects but doesn't respond to mentions — reinstall the app after adding event subscriptions. Go to Install App > Reinstall to Workspace.

"Sending messages to this app has been turned off" — enable the Messages Tab in App Home > Show Tabs.

"Slack bot/app token not configured" — tokens are empty. Check .env file and variable substitution.

"Failed to open Slack connection" — the app token is invalid or Socket Mode is not enabled. Check Socket Mode settings.