Skill

slack

Send messages, search conversations, monitor channels, and manage your Slack workspace from the terminal

Verified: 2026-05-13 (printing-press-ingest-2026-05-13+enrich-capability-skill)

When to use slack

Choose if

You need to send messages, search conversations, monitor channel health, and run lightweight workspace-admin tasks against Slack from an agent loop, with auto-retry, response caching, and typed exit codes. Pick this over Slack's own SDK when you want one CLI surface with `--yes` confirmation gates on destructive actions and `--rate-limit` tuning.

Avoid if

You need deep Slack app development (interactive shortcuts, slash commands, Block Kit modals — use the official Bolt SDK instead). Also avoid if your workspace is on Slack Free and you need message history older than ~90 days, or if your token lacks the scopes required by the commands you intend to run.

Risk Flags

  • MEDIUM auth Requires an OAuth token (Bot or User). Authentication errors return exit code 4 and block all operations. Leaked tokens grant workspace-scoped access until revoked.
  • MEDIUM rate_limit The CLI auto-retries with exponential backoff; exit code 7 indicates rate-limit hits. `--rate-limit 1` flag caps requests per second. GET responses are cached 5 minutes by default; use `--no-cache` for freshness.
  • LOW scope Destructive actions require `--yes` confirmation. No mention of data retention, backup, or recovery guarantees beyond Slack's own retention policies.
  • LOW data_quality Slack Free-tier workspaces only retain ~90 days of message history; search and channel-health queries against older messages will return empty results.

Cost

Type: Unknown · Free tier: The CLI binary is free to install. Slack itself has a free tier upstream; auth is via OAuth token (Bot or User) — pick one based on the scopes your agent needs.

Hidden costs

  • Requires a Slack workspace with a Bot or User OAuth token; Slack's own plan tiers (Free, Pro, Business+, Enterprise Grid) determine message-history retention and API access. Plan pricing not disclosed in CLI README.

Install

Default

npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press install slack
# Required: Slack OAuth token (Bot or User)
export SLACK_TOKEN=xoxb-<your-bot-token>
# Or for user-scoped operations:
# export SLACK_TOKEN=xoxp-<your-user-token>

Setup docs →

Estimated time to first success: ~10 min

Dependencies

Minimum runtime: Node.js (npx) or Go 1.26.3+

Distribution

Repository
https://github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library
License
MIT