Slack Setup Guide

Connect Slack to mcpgate so your AI can search messages, read channels, post messages, and manage reminders.

Time required: ~10 minutes
You need: Slack workspace admin access

What you'll get

Once connected, your AI client can:

Search messages across channels
Read channel history and threads
Post messages and replies
Look up user profiles
Send DM notifications (via Bot Token)

1. Create a Slack App

Go to api.slack.com/apps
Click "Create New App"
Choose "From scratch"
Enter an app name (e.g. mcpgate) and select your workspace
Click "Create App"

2. Configure Bot Token Scopes

In the left sidebar, go to OAuth & Permissions. Scroll down to Scopes → Bot Token Scopes and add:

Scope	Purpose
`channels:history`	Read message history in public channels
`channels:read`	List channels and their metadata
`chat:write`	Post messages and replies
`search:read`	Search messages and files
`users:read`	Look up user profiles
`users:read.email`	Match users by email address

3. Configure OAuth (optional)

If you want per-user Slack connections via the mcpgate dashboard (recommended for teams):

In OAuth & Permissions, scroll to Redirect URLs
Click "Add New Redirect URL"
Enter: https://your-gateway-url/auth/slack/callback
Click "Save URLs"

Then go to User Token Scopes and add search:read and users:read. User tokens enable searches scoped to each user's accessible channels.

4. Install the app

In the left sidebar, go to Install App
Click "Install to Workspace"
Review the permissions and click "Allow"

5. Copy credentials

You need 5 values. Here's where to find each one:

Value	Where to find it
Bot Token (`xoxb-...`)	OAuth & Permissions → Bot User OAuth Token
Signing Secret	Basic Information → App Credentials → Signing Secret
Client ID	Basic Information → App Credentials → Client ID
Client Secret	Basic Information → App Credentials → Client Secret
Team ID	Your workspace URL is `your-team.slack.com` — the Team ID is in Settings & Administration → Workspace settings → scroll to bottom

6. Add to mcpgate

In the mcpgate setup wizard or .env file:

SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-your-bot-token
SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET=your-signing-secret
SLACK_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id
SLACK_CLIENT_SECRET=your-client-secret
SLACK_TEAM_ID=T01234567

Restart mcpgate if using .env. Wizard changes apply automatically.

Verify

Ask your AI: "Search Slack for messages about project X". If configured correctly, you'll see results from your workspace.

Bot Token vs User Token: The Bot Token (xoxb-) lets the AI post messages and read public channels. User Tokens (xoxp-, via OAuth) let the AI search with each user's permissions, including private channels they have access to.