Slack

Slack MCP Server

Give your AI agent full Slack access — and structured workflow output the AI can actually use. No app registration, no admin approval, no OAuth. One command, 21 tools, works with any MCP client.

npx -y @jtalk22/slack-mcp --setup

▶ Watch the demo — 7 scenarios, from 47 unreads to inbox zero, without opening Slack.

Ask your AI to catch you up on #engineering from the last 24 hours. Search for that deployment thread from last week. Find the printer admin PIN nobody can remember. Send a reply. All from your editor.

Interactive demo · Latest release

Why This Exists

Slack's official MCP server is OAuth-first and can require a registered app, admin approval, or client compatibility workarounds. See the tracked Claude Code/GitHub Copilot compatibility discussion. Screenshotting messages is not a workflow.

This server uses your browser's session tokens instead. If you can see it in Slack, your AI agent can see it too. No app install, no scopes, no admin.

Session-token transport: No bot user appears in the workspace admin panel, no app install shows up, no audit trail entry is created. Your AI agent operates with the same workspace footprint as your browser tab — nothing more, nothing less.

Workflow Primitives

Introduced in 4.2. Save a workflow profile that binds a workflow_kind to channels + priority people + retention + cadence. Stored locally at ~/.slack-mcp-workflows.json. The hosted brain at mcp.revasserlabs.com reads these profiles and returns structured JSON per workflow_kind — downstream automation (Linear, Notion, status dashboards) consumes the JSON directly.

Six prebuilt templates ship with the package:

npx -y @jtalk22/slack-mcp --apply-template oncall-handoff --channels C012345,C067890

Available templates: oncall-handoff, support-triage, exec-monday, sprint-tracker, customer-feedback, incident-room. The structural primitives (slack_workflow_save, slack_workflows) are free forever in OSS; the hosted brain is $0 to start (no card) and $19/mo Pro for unlimited AI tools.

Quick Start per Client

Add to ~/.claude.json or Claude Desktop settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"] }
  }
}

Add to .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"] }
  }
}

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"] }
  }
}

Add to ~/.gemini/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"] }
  }
}

Add to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.slack]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"]

Or via CLI: codex mcp add slack -- npx -y @jtalk22/slack-mcp

Tools

21 tools total: 12 read-only Slack, 4 write-path Slack, 2 workflow profile primitives (1 local-write, 1 read-only), 3 hosted stubs. All carry MCP safety annotations.

* slack_refresh_tokens modifies local token file only.

† Hosted stubs return a structured upgrade payload (signup_url, free_tier_quota, pro_value_prop) — no Slack write occurs from OSS. Activate the brain at mcp.revasserlabs.com (free tier, no card).

‡ Also accepts include_rich_message_fields to return attachments, blocks, files, reactions, and metadata — see Rich Message Fields.

Install

Node.js 20+

npx -y @jtalk22/slack-mcp --setup

The setup wizard handles token extraction and validation.

After setup, have your client run slack_health_check — a workspace name in the response confirms you are connected.

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Edit %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SLACK_TOKEN": "xoxc-your-token",
        "SLACK_COOKIE": "xoxd-your-cookie"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windows/Linux users must provide tokens via env since auto-refresh is macOS-only.

Add to ~/.claude.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Or via CLI: claude mcp add slack -- npx -y @jtalk22/slack-mcp

Any client that supports stdio MCP servers works. Add to your client's MCP config:

{
  "slack": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"],
    "env": {
      "SLACK_TOKEN": "xoxc-your-token",
      "SLACK_COOKIE": "xoxd-your-cookie"
    }
  }
}

On macOS, tokens are auto-extracted from Chrome — env block is optional.

Hosted tiers at mcp.revasserlabs.com:

docker pull ghcr.io/jtalk22/slack-mcp-server:latest

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm",
               "-v", "~/.slack-mcp-tokens.json:/root/.slack-mcp-tokens.json",
               "ghcr.io/jtalk22/slack-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Restart your client after configuration. Full setup: docs/SETUP.md

How It Works

Session tokens (xoxc- + xoxd-) from your browser. If you can see it in Slack, this server can see it too.

Token persistence — four-layer fallback:

1. Environment variables (SLACK_TOKEN, SLACK_COOKIE)
2. Token file (~/.slack-mcp-tokens.json, chmod 600)
3. macOS Keychain (encrypted)
4. Chrome auto-extraction (macOS)

Tokens expire. The server notices before you do — proactive health monitoring, automatic refresh on macOS, warnings when tokens age out. File writes are atomic (temp file → chmod → rename) to prevent corruption. Concurrent refresh attempts are mutex-locked.

• Workflow primitives — slack_workflow_save + slack_workflows bind a workflow_kind (incident_room, exec_brief, support_inbox, product_launch_watch, custom) to channels, priority people, retention, and cadence. The hosted brain returns structured JSON per kind — incident_room returns {incident_summary, timeline, open_risks, owner_gaps, next_actions}, exec_brief returns {summary, decisions, risks, asks, action_items}. Downstream automation (Linear, Notion, dashboards) consumes the JSON directly.
• Discoverable upgrade stubs — slack_smart_search, `sla

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