Slack app setup

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This feature is available on the Scale plan.

Create a Slack app to enable the EventCatalog bot in your workspace. You can create the app using a manifest (recommended) or manually configure all settings.

Create from manifest (recommended)

The fastest way to get started. The manifest automatically configures all required permissions and settings.

Steps

1. Navigate to api.slack.com/apps
2. Click Create New App → From an app manifest
3. Select your workspace and click Next
4. Choose YAML and paste this manifest:

display_information:
  name: EventCatalog Bot
  description: Query your EventCatalog directly from Slack
  background_color: "#000000"

features:
  bot_user:
    display_name: EventCatalog
    always_online: true

oauth_config:
  scopes:
    bot:
      - app_mentions:read
      - chat:write
      - reactions:read
      - reactions:write
      - channels:history

settings:
  event_subscriptions:
    bot_events:
      - app_mention
      - message.channels
  interactivity:
    is_enabled: false
  org_deploy_enabled: false
  socket_mode_enabled: true
  token_rotation_enabled: false

5. Click Next, review the summary, and click Create

Get credentials

After creating the app, collect three credentials needed to run the bot.

App-Level Token

1. Go to Basic Information → App-Level Tokens
2. Click Generate Token and Scopes
3. Name: socket-mode-token
4. Add scope: connections:write
5. Click Generate and copy the token (starts with xapp-)
6. Save this as SLACK_APP_TOKEN

Bot Token

1. Go to OAuth & Permissions
2. Click Install to Workspace
3. Review permissions and click Allow
4. Copy the Bot User OAuth Token (starts with xoxb-)
5. Save this as SLACK_BOT_TOKEN

Signing Secret

1. Go to Basic Information → App Credentials
2. Copy the Signing Secret
3. Save this as SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET

Setup Slack app manually

If you prefer to configure settings yourself, follow these steps.

Create the app

1. Navigate to api.slack.com/apps
2. Click Create New App → From scratch
3. Name your app (e.g., "EventCatalog Bot") and select your workspace
4. Click Create App

Enable Socket Mode

1. Click Socket Mode in the left sidebar
2. Toggle Enable Socket Mode to On
3. Create an App-Level Token when prompted:
   • Name: socket-mode-token
   • Scope: connections:write
4. Click Generate
5. Copy the token (starts with xapp-) - this is SLACK_APP_TOKEN

Configure permissions

1. Click OAuth & Permissions in the left sidebar
2. Scroll to Scopes → Bot Token Scopes
3. Add these scopes:
   • app_mentions:read - Receive @mention events
   • chat:write - Send messages
   • reactions:read - Read reactions
   • reactions:write - Add and remove reactions
   • channels:history - Read public channel messages

Enable events

1. Click Event Subscriptions in the left sidebar
2. Toggle Enable Events to On
3. Expand Subscribe to bot events
4. Add these events:
   • app_mention
   • message.channels

Install the app

1. Click OAuth & Permissions in the left sidebar
2. Click Install to Workspace
3. Review permissions and click Allow
4. Copy the Bot User OAuth Token (starts with xoxb-) - this is SLACK_BOT_TOKEN

Get signing secret

1. Click Basic Information in the left sidebar
2. Scroll to App Credentials
3. Copy the Signing Secret - this is SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET

Optional: Private channels and DMs

By default, the bot only reads thread context in public channels. To enable thread context in private channels and DMs, add these additional scopes:

• groups:history - Private channels
• im:history - Direct messages
• mpim:history - Group DMs

After adding scopes, reinstall the app to your workspace.