Connect a Slack bot

After connecting a data Agent to Slack, your team can @ the bot in a channel or ask directly in private messages, with answers returned to Slack. The integration uses Socket Mode and requires no public callback URL.

Before you begin

• Permission to create and install applications in the Slack workspace; if installation is restricted, workspace administrator approval is required.
• A Data Agent with data sources and skills configured, and an AskTable project owner or administrator role.
• Each AskTable project should connect to only one Slack workspace to avoid person identity matching conflicts.
• Private deployments must run a Channel gateway with Slack support.

An Agent can save both Feishu and Slack configurations, but only one platform is enabled at a time. Switching or selecting “Disabled” preserves configuration for switching back later.

1. Create a Slack application

Open Slack apps, choose Create New App → From an app manifest, select a workspace, and paste this YAML:

_metadata:
  major_version: 1
display_information:
  name: AskTable
  description: Ask questions about your data in natural language
features:
  bot_user:
    display_name: AskTable
    always_online: true
  app_home:
    home_tab_enabled: false
    messages_tab_enabled: true
    messages_tab_read_only_enabled: false
oauth_config:
  scopes:
    bot:
      - app_mentions:read
      - im:history
      - chat:write
      - reactions:write
      - users:read
      - users:read.email
settings:
  event_subscriptions:
    bot_events:
      - app_mention
      - message.im
  socket_mode_enabled: true
  org_deploy_enabled: false
  token_rotation_enabled: false

Review the settings and click Create. Change the application name and bot display name to suit your team if needed.

Keep the Messages tab enabled and allow messages in it, or users cannot directly message the bot. The manifest does not request channels:history or groups:history, so the bot does not read unrelated channel chat. Every question in channels and threads therefore requires an @ mention.

2. Obtain two Tokens

In OAuth & Permissions, click Install to Workspace, approve permissions, and copy the Bot User OAuth Token starting with xoxb-.

Then open Basic Information → App-Level Tokens:

1. Click Generate Token and Scopes and enter a name.
2. Add connections:write.
3. Generate and copy the Token starting with xapp-.

No Signing Secret is needed. Both Tokens are credentials; do not include them in screenshots or code repositories. Revoke and replace them in Slack if exposed.

3. Enable Slack in AskTable

Left main navigation → “More” → open the target Agent → “Channels”:

1. Select Slack in “Platform.”
2. For first-time configuration, enter Bot Token and App Token in the dialog and click “Save.”
3. Slack becomes active only after saving succeeds; canceling preserves the previous platform.

The form checks both Token prefixes. Selecting an already configured Slack platform enables it directly. To change credentials, use “Edit configuration” beside “Credential configuration.” Editing prefills existing credentials, so replace only values needing updates; neither Token can be cleared.

Adjust responses in “General configuration”:

Switches save immediately; channel preferences save on blur. Deep reasoning and preferences apply from the next message. Direct messages always receive direct replies without new threads.

Control who can ask data questions

After enabling, turn on the allowlist in “People permissions” below. Slack's allowlist is off by default, so anyone who can contact the bot can ask. When on, link Slack identities to AskTable people and authorize them for the Agent. See Permissions and data scope for role-based scope restrictions. Users without bindings or authorization are rejected and enter pending approval.

Feishu and Slack allowlist switches are stored separately; check the active platform's settings after switching.

4. Check the connection and messages

Status refreshes every 5 seconds. “Refresh” only rereads status and does not manually rebuild the connection. Connected status or a healthy gateway heartbeat does not prove a question was answered successfully.

After sending a test question, check whether “Recent messages” updates, then click “Details” to inspect Processing status and Reply status. Processing failure means an issue in analysis or another processing stage; reply failure means the result was not successfully delivered to Slack.

5. Invite the bot and ask questions

Enter this command in the target channel, replacing the name with your bot's name:

/invite @AskTable

You can also add it through Integrations → Add apps in channel settings. Direct messages need no invitation.

Thread follow-ups also require @. A thread's analysis context belongs to its original questioner; others should send a separate question in the channel. Group direct messages are unsupported.

Direct messages and top-level channel questions reuse conversations for the same person, starting over after 24 consecutive hours with no new message. Thread conversations do not expire under this window. Channel and thread replies are visible to members who can view that location; use direct messages for private results.

Troubleshooting

Next steps

• Maintain the Agent's data and analysis methods: Agent overview
• Restrict each person's data scope: Permissions and data scope
• Connect the other supported platform: Connect a Feishu bot