---

name: slack description: ALL Slack operations. Use for ANY task involving Slack - messages, channels, members, workspaces, invites, permissions, history, reactions, threads, DMs, bots, apps, settings. If the word "Slack" appears in the request, use this skill.

Slack Messaging

Purpose: Send Slack messages via API (channels, DMs, notifications).

Credential location: ~/.claude/.env (gitignored) - contains workspace tokens.

References:

• references/workspace-setup.md - Workspace configs, domain auto-join, bot capabilities, full scope list

🚨 API first: Use Slack API (curl) for ALL messaging operations. Chrome-agent only for admin UI actions (workspace settings, user invites on non-Enterprise plans).

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Quick Start

Copy# 1. Load token from global .env
source ~/.claude/.env

# 2. Choose workspace token
export SLACK_TOKEN="$SLACK_BORZAI_TOKEN"    # or SLACK_GAMEREADY_TOKEN, etc.

# 3. Send message
curl -X POST "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${SLACK_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
  --data '{"channel":"#channel-name","text":"Your message here"}'

---

API Patterns

Send to Channel

Copycurl -X POST "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${SLACK_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
  --data '{"channel":"#channel-name","text":"Message text"}'

🚨 After posting, ALWAYS provide message link to user:

Copyhttps://{workspace}.slack.com/archives/{channel_id}/p{ts_without_dot}

• ts from response: 1769193392.153219 → remove dot → p1769193392153219
• Example: https://gameready.slack.com/archives/C0A360Y6AVD/p1769193392153219

Send DM to User

Copycurl -X POST "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${SLACK_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
  --data '{"channel":"@username","text":"Direct message"}'

Send with Formatting (Blocks)

Copycurl -X POST "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${SLACK_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
  --data '{
    "channel": "#channel-name",
    "blocks": [
      {"type": "header", "text": {"type": "plain_text", "text": "Header"}},
      {"type": "section", "text": {"type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Bold* and _italic_"}}
    ]
  }'

---

Error Handling

not_in_channel Error

Bot must be in channel before posting:

Copy# 1. List channels to get ID
curl -s -X POST "https://slack.com/api/conversations.list" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"types":"public_channel","limit":100}' | grep -B2 "channel-name"

# 2. Join channel
curl -X POST "https://slack.com/api/conversations.join" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"channel":"CHANNEL_ID"}'

# 3. Retry message

channel_not_found Error

• For channels: Use #channel-name format
• For DMs: Use @username or user ID
• Check workspace - token must match workspace where channel exists
• Private channels: Bot can't see private channels it's not a member of. Use Chrome to add bot first (see below)

Private Channel Access

Problem: API returns channel_not_found for private channels bot isn't in. API can't list them either.

Solution: Use Chrome automation to add bot via browser UI (user IS logged in and CAN see the channel):

1. Navigate to Slack workspace in browser
2. Click on the private channel in sidebar
3. Click channel name → Integrations → Add apps
4. Search "PA Bot" → Add
5. Get channel ID from URL: /client/TEAM_ID/CHANNEL_ID
6. Now API works for that channel

🚨 Don't give up: If Chrome fails once, try again with different approach. Don't fall back to asking user for manual steps.

invalid_auth Error

• Token expired or incorrect
• Check ~/.claude/.env has correct token for target workspace

---

JSON Escaping & Dynamic Content

Important: Use --data with single quotes to avoid shell escaping issues:

Copy# ✅ Correct - single quotes around JSON
--data '{"channel":"#general","text":"Hello"}'

# ❌ Wrong - double quotes require escaping
-d "{\"channel\":\"#general\",\"text\":\"Hello\"}"

For dynamic content, use printf (NOT heredoc):

Copy# ✅ Correct - printf avoids BOM/encoding issues on Windows
JSON=$(printf '{"channel":"%s","text":"%s"}' "#channel-name" "Dynamic: $VARIABLE")
curl -X POST "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${SLACK_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
  --data "$JSON"

🚨 AVOID heredocs on Windows - they introduce BOM characters that appear as ?? in Slack:

Copy# ❌ Wrong - heredoc adds BOM on Windows (shows "??" prefix in messages)
--data @- <<EOF
{"channel":"#general","text":"Hello"}
EOF

🚨 Special characters get garbled: Bullets (•), arrows (→), emojis may render as ? in Slack. Use ASCII alternatives:

• • → - or *
• → → ->
• Or use Slack's built-in emoji syntax: :arrow_right:, :white_check_mark:

---

Available Workspaces

Check ~/.claude/.env for available tokens. Common pattern:

• SLACK_<WORKSPACE>_TOKEN - e.g., SLACK_BORZAI_TOKEN, SLACK_GAMEREADY_TOKEN

---

Common Use Cases

1. Notify about GitHub issues - Post link to new/updated issues
2. System alerts - Automated notifications from scripts
3. Team updates - Broadcast messages to channels
4. Cross-repo notifications - Any Claude Code session can send Slack messages

---

Adding New Workspaces

1. Create Slack App in target workspace (or invite existing PA Bot)
2. Get Bot User OAuth Token (xoxb-...)
3. Add to ~/.claude/.env: SLACK_<WORKSPACE>_TOKEN=xoxb-...
4. Ensure bot is invited to required channels

---

Bot Token Scopes Reference

When creating a new Slack App, add these scopes under OAuth & Permissions → Bot Token Scopes:

🚨 Note: channels:write no longer exists in Slack API - use channels:manage instead.

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GameReady Workflows

Workspace: GameReady (gameready.slack.com) Token: SLACK_GAMEREADY_TOKEN Team ID: T0A3HPDEG1K

Channel Reference

---

ContentFactory Workflows

Workspace: RawCEO (rawceo.slack.com) Token: SLACK_RAWCEO_TOKEN

Channel Reference

---

Post Changelog

When: After deploying changes to ContentFactory (push to master, Vercel deploy)

Copysource ~/.claude/.env && export SLACK_TOKEN="$SLACK_RAWCEO_TOKEN"

JSON=$(printf '{"channel":"C0A8ZQL2K38","text":"%s","unfurl_links":false}' "YOUR_CHANGELOG_MESSAGE")

curl -s -X POST "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${SLACK_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
  --data "$JSON"

Changelog format:

Copy*ContentFactory - New Features* :rocket:

- *Feature Name* - Description
- *Feature Name* - Description

_as of commit <short_hash>_

Finding new features since last changelog:

Copy# Get the last reported commit from #changelog, then:
git log <last_commit>..HEAD --oneline | grep "feat:"

The commit hash in the message IS the tracking mechanism (SSoT). No separate tracking needed.

---

Read Bug Reports

When: User asks to check bug reports or create GitHub issues from Slack

Copysource ~/.claude/.env && export SLACK_TOKEN="$SLACK_RAWCEO_TOKEN"

curl -s -X POST "https://slack.com/api/conversations.history" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${SLACK_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"channel":"C0A8LCLSV6K","limit":20}'

Parse response: Look for messages not from bot (no bot_id field) - those are user reports.

---

Create GitHub Issue from Slack Report

Workflow:

1. Read bug reports from Slack
2. Create GitHub issue:

Copygh issue create \
  --repo "RawCEO/ContentFactoryCC" \
  --title "Bug: [summary from Slack message]" \
  --body "Reported in Slack #bug-reports by @username

---
**Original message:**
[Slack message content]

---
*Auto-created from Slack report*"

1. Reply in Slack thread:

Copysource ~/.claude/.env && export SLACK_TOKEN="$SLACK_RAWCEO_TOKEN"

JSON=$(printf '{"channel":"C0A8LCLSV6K","thread_ts":"%s","text":"Created GitHub issue: %s"}' "MESSAGE_TS" "ISSUE_URL")

curl -s -X POST "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${SLACK_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
  --data "$JSON"

---

Notify Issue Resolution

When: After closing a GitHub issue that originated from Slack

Copysource ~/.claude/.env && export SLACK_TOKEN="$SLACK_RAWCEO_TOKEN"

JSON=$(printf '{"channel":"C0A8LCLSV6K","text":"Resolved: %s\n\n*Fix:* %s\n*Commit:* %s"}' "ISSUE_TITLE" "FIX_SUMMARY" "COMMIT_URL")

curl -s -X POST "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${SLACK_TOKEN}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
  --data "$JSON"

---

ContentFactory Typical Workflow

Copy1. Editor posts bug in #bug-reports
   ↓
2. User tells Claude: "Check Slack bug reports and create GitHub issues"
   ↓
3. Claude reads #bug-reports
   ↓
4. Claude creates GitHub issues
   ↓
5. Claude replies in Slack thread with issue link
   ↓
6. User triggers Claude to fix issue (autonomous-bug-fixing skill)
   ↓
7. Issue resolved, Claude posts to #bug-reports
   ↓
8. Claude posts changelog to #changelog

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Last updated: 2026-01-23