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SKILL.md
npx skills add slackapi/slack-skills-plugin --skill slack-cli
Use when a developer works with the Slack CLI (slack command) to create, run, or manage a Slack app from the terminal: logging in or authenticating (slack login), adding a team or switching workspaces, running locally (slack run), deploying, editing the app manifest, calling Web API methods (slack api), or searching Slack docs (slack docs search).
npx skills add slackapi/slack-skills-plugin --skill slack-cli
Use the Slack CLI to create, run, and manage Slack apps — including calling Web API methods directly and searching Slack developer documentation from the terminal.
For initial setup (sandbox creation, project scaffolding from templates), use the slack:create-slack-app skill instead.
Resolve the path to the public Slack CLI before running any other command. We refer to the resolved value as SLACK_CMD — substitute it everywhere below. Try 1a → 1b → 1c in order; do not skip ahead.
The official install scripts place the binary at a fixed per-user path. If the file exists, use it directly: only the install script writes to that path.
~/.slack/bin/slack%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\slack-cli\bin\slack.exe (or %USERPROFILE%\.slack-cli\bin\slack.exe as a fallback)POSIX shell:
PowerShell:
If a path is returned, set SLACK_CMD to that absolute path and proceed to Step 2. Do not also run _fingerprint.
slack on PATH (verify with fingerprint)If 1a found nothing, try slack on PATH:
If it outputs d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e, set SLACK_CMD=slack and proceed.
If 1b fails or returns a different value, ask the developer using AskUserQuestion:
"The slack command on your system doesn't appear to be the public Slack CLI. Do you have it installed under a different name or alias?"
Options: "Yes, it's aliased as..." (let them provide the alias), "No, I need to install it"
If they provide an alias, verify it with <alias> _fingerprint 2>/dev/null and set SLACK_CMD=<alias>.
If they need to install it, run:
Then re-run 1a — the install script will have written ~/.slack/bin/slack.
Common mistakes: Don't use which slack to discover the binary — which resolves any shell alias and defeats the point of 1a. In Git Bash on Windows, use the POSIX probe form, not PowerShell.
Always run SLACK_CMD <command> --help before constructing a command you have not used in the current session. Do not guess at flags — the help output is the source of truth.
SLACK_CMD help — lists all available command groupsSLACK_CMD <command> --help — shows subcommands, flags, and usage examples--app and --team valuesWhen a command requires --app or --team:
SLACK_CMD app list from the project directory to see installed apps and their IDs.SLACK_CMD auth list to see authenticated workspaces and their team IDs.slack docs search)Search Slack's developer documentation directly from the terminal.
Use --output=text for concise terminal-readable results. Use this when you are already running CLI commands and want to:
slack api)Call any Slack Web API method directly. Run SLACK_CMD api --help for full details and examples.
Parameters are passed as positional key=value pairs (NOT --key=value flags):
Important distinction: --team, --token, --json, and --data are meta-flags (prefixed with --). API method parameters use positional key=value syntax without dashes.
Reference: Full method list at https://docs.slack.dev/reference/methods.md.
slack auth)Slack auth is per-team, not a single boolean. Run the seamless login flow below whenever any of these is true:
SLACK_CMD auth list already shows other teams.SLACK_CMD auth list showing other teams is not a reason to skip login — those are different teams. Ask the developer which team they want, then run the flow.
The flow below is the same for every kind of workspace. /slackauthticket works in any workspace the developer belongs to, whether that is a developer sandbox, a Free Team, or a production workspace, so there is no sandbox-specific login. Which target to prefer is the slack:create-slack-app skill's call (Step 3: Choose Where to Install the App).
Use this to show the developer which teams are already authenticated, or to confirm a successful login. Do not treat a non-empty list as "auth complete" when the developer asked to log in to a new team.
The agent drives this end-to-end — no separate terminal window, no browser confirmation.
SLACK_CMD login --no-prompt makes the CLI emit a single-use ticket and exit immediately instead of waiting on stdin. Slack itself renders the challenge code inside a workspace modal when the developer sends the /slackauthticket slash command — there is no browser step. The agent submits the challenge back to the CLI to complete login.
1. Start login and capture the ticket
The CLI prints a /slackauthticket <ticket> slash command and exits. Capture the ticket — you will need it in step 4. Sample output:
2. Hand the slash command to the developer
Show the full /slackauthticket … line and ask the developer to paste it into the message box of the Slack workspace they want to authenticate, then send it. Slack responds with a modal containing a short challenge code (e.g. JDt1IK7X).
3. Collect the challenge code
Use AskUserQuestion to ask the developer for the challenge code shown in the Slack modal. Wait for their answer — do not guess or default.
4. Complete login
On success the CLI returns the team name and ID. Verify with SLACK_CMD auth list and report the team back to the developer.
Troubleshooting: tickets are single-use and time-limited. If step 4 fails with an invalid/expired ticket or wrong challenge, restart from step 1 with a fresh SLACK_CMD login --no-prompt — do not retry the same ticket.
Use --team <team_id> on individual commands to target a specific workspace without switching globally.
If you catch yourself thinking any of these, you are about to regress to the old broken flow:
| Rationalization | Reality |
|---|---|
"auth list already shows teams, so login isn't needed." | Auth is per-team. The developer asked for a new team — drive the flow. |
"slack login needs browser confirmation, so I can't drive it." | False with --no-prompt. The challenge code appears in Slack's modal, not a browser. The agent runs both slack login invocations itself. |
"I should tell the developer to run slack login in a separate terminal." | Never. Step 5 is the agent's job from start to finish. |
All of these mean: run SLACK_CMD login --no-prompt yourself and follow the four numbered steps above.
slack run)Run SLACK_CMD run --help for all available flags.
Run SLACK_CMD app list from the project directory to check for installed apps:
--app=<app_id> in the run command.--team=<team_id> instead (get the team ID from SLACK_CMD auth list).Run this command as a background process so the developer can continue working:
If an app ID was found:
If no apps — use the team ID:
Tell the developer the app is running in the background. They can ask:
Run SLACK_CMD manifest --help for subcommands (validate, info) and the --source local|remote flag.
Use SLACK_CMD manifest validate before deploying or when something seems wrong with the app configuration.
For any other command group (e.g., trigger, datastore, env, collaborator, external-auth, deploy), run SLACK_CMD <command> --help to discover subcommands and flags. Run SLACK_CMD help to see all available command groups.
SLACK_CMD is a placeholder — always substitute the actual command name resolved in Step 1.--help before constructing a command you have not used in the current session.slack trigger create without --trigger-def) cannot be run in the background. Tell the developer to run these in a new terminal window. slack login is not in this category — drive it inline using the --no-prompt / --ticket / --challenge flow in Step 5.slack run runs locally for development. slack deploy deploys to Slack's hosted infrastructure. These are different operations — do not confuse them.slack _fingerprint 2>/dev/null