Slack integration

Overview

The Slack integration connects an agent from one workspace to your own Slack app. Once it is set up, your team never has to open the console to ask a question:

DM the bot, or @-mention it in a channel, and get answers grounded in your team’s memory
Answers stream in segments — a “thinking…” placeholder appears immediately, then the content refreshes piece by piece
Send it a document or a screenshot, then ask follow-up questions about the content
Every exchange becomes memory, so nobody has to explain the same thing twice

The bot answers from the project memory you designate — not from a general-purpose model’s generic knowledge.

Nothing on the Slack side requires a review cycle — one person can finish the setup in about ten minutes. Just remember to Reinstall the app whenever you change scopes or event subscriptions.

Before you start

On the MemoryLake side

The owner or admin role in your team (members can neither see nor edit integrations)
A workspace with at least one project
At least one agent linked to that workspace (done on the workspace’s Agents tab)

On the Slack side

An account that can create apps in the target workspace (most workspaces allow everyone; if app installs require admin approval in your company, the install step will need an admin)
A test channel (optional but recommended)

If the workspace page has no IM tab, either this deployment has not enabled IM channels, or your role is member. Check with your team admin.

Part 1: create the app in Slack

Everything in this part happens at api.slack.com/apps. The goal is to obtain two values: the Bot User OAuth Token (starts with xoxb-) and an App-Level Token (starts with xapp-). The recommended path is creating the app from a manifest: paste one JSON blob and the scopes, event subscriptions, DM entrance and Socket Mode are all configured at once — nothing to forget.

Create the app from a manifest

Open api.slack.com/apps → Create New App → select From a manifest → Continue → pick the workspace to install into → paste the JSON below into the config box → review the scopes and events → Create.

{
  "display_information": {
    "name": "MemoryLake Assistant"
  },
  "features": {
    "bot_user": {
      "display_name": "memorylake",
      "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",
        "files:read",
        "users:read"
      ]
    }
  },
  "settings": {
    "event_subscriptions": {
      "bot_events": [
        "app_mention",
        "message.im",
        "tokens_revoked",
        "app_uninstalled"
      ]
    },
    "org_deploy_enabled": false,
    "socket_mode_enabled": true,
    "token_rotation_enabled": false
  }
}

The two names follow different rules: display_information.name is the display name your colleagues see — change it to something the team will recognize; features.bot_user.display_name becomes the bot’s username for @-mentions and only accepts lowercase letters, digits, hyphens and underscores — anything else fails with “The display_name cannot be converted to a username”.Manifest-to-settings mapping (for review, or for manual setup):

Manifest field	Manual location	Purpose
`oauth_config.scopes.bot`	OAuth & Permissions → Bot Token Scopes	The 5 permissions for messaging, file reading and name lookup
`settings.event_subscriptions.bot_events`	Event Subscriptions → Subscribe to bot events	4 events; the last two (`tokens_revoked`, `app_uninstalled`) keep the connection status in sync when credentials are revoked — do not drop them
`features.app_home.messages_tab_*`	App Home → Show Tabs → Messages Tab	The DM entrance; `read_only_enabled: false` means “allow sending messages” — missing it leaves the DM input box disabled
`settings.socket_mode_enabled`	Socket Mode → Enable Socket Mode	Receive events over a long-lived connection, no public callback URL needed
`settings.token_rotation_enabled: false`	—	Rotating tokens (`xoxe`-prefixed) are incompatible with the integration’s static-credential model; creation would be rejected

users:read is strictly optional: without it, every person in the console’s Actors list shows as a U08J5K7UXH6-style id and the bot cannot answer “who am I” — everything else works. It is included in the manifest; keep it.

Generate an App-Level Token

The manifest cannot cover App-Level Tokens — this step is manual: after the app is created, go to Basic Information → scroll to App-Level Tokens → Generate Token and Scopes → name it, select the connections:write scope, and copy the generated xapp- value.You can view this token again in the same place at any time.

Install to the workspace and copy the Bot User OAuth Token

OAuth & Permissions (or Install your app on Basic Information) → Install to Workspace → authorize.After installing, the Bot User OAuth Token (xoxb-) appears at the top of the OAuth & Permissions page. Copy it.

Every time you later change scopes or event subscriptions (via manifest or manually), come back here and click Reinstall to Workspace — changes do not take effect otherwise. There is no review step; it is effective immediately.

Part 2: create the integration in the console

Open the workspace's IM tab

In the MemoryLake console, go to MemoryLake → Workspaces, open the target workspace, switch to the IM tab, and click Get started.Pick Slack as the platform.

Step 1: paste the Slack app credentials

Field	What to paste
Bot User OAuth Token	Starts with `xoxb-`, from the OAuth & Permissions page
App-Level Token	Starts with `xapp-`, from Socket Mode / Basic Information

Then click Next: agent & memory.

No app ID is needed — the identity (workspace + bot) is derived automatically when the server validates the token, and shows up on the integration card afterwards.One Slack app installed in one Slack workspace can back only one integration; installing the same app into another workspace creates a distinct identity, which can back another integration. Conflicts are shown as a banner at the top of the form.

Step 2: pick the agent and memory scope

Field	Notes
Name	Only for telling integrations apart in the console; pre-filled, editable
Agent	Answers Slack-side messages. Only agents linked to the current workspace are listed
Read-write project (required)	The project the bot reads from and writes memory into
Extra read-only projects (optional)	Projects the bot may search but never writes to

The read-write project is an authorization decision. Everyone who can reach this bot writes memory into that project and can read what is already there. Pick a project meant for team sharing — not the one holding sensitive material.

Create and connect

Click Create & connect. The integration is enabled by default; the server validates the Bot User OAuth Token first, then opens the long-lived connection to Slack.

The status badge on the integration card reads Connected, and the app identity shows a T…:U… composite value.

If creation is rejected with “Bot User OAuth Token validation failed”, the token was mispasted or revoked. If the status later reads “Invalid credentials — check the Bot User OAuth Token / App-Level Token”, re-check both values in the edit dialog.

Part 3: verify and start using it

Direct messages

Members find the app under Apps in Slack’s sidebar and just ask — no @ needed. A “thinking…” placeholder appears first, then the answer refreshes in segments. The (edited) marker on the message is normal — streaming works by editing the same message in place.

Channels

First add the bot to the channel (/invite @botname, or follow the prompt when you mention it), then @-mention it with your question. The answer lands in a thread under your question, keeping the channel itself uncluttered. The first time the bot is mentioned in a channel it appends a one-line capability note; it never repeats it.

Follow-ups inside a thread must also @-mention the bot. This is how Slack works: messages that do not mention the bot are never delivered to it. It also means the bot cannot see any other conversation in the channel.

Sending documents and screenshots

DM: just send the file or image, then ask about it
Channel: put the file and the @-mention in the same message (attach the file, type “@bot + your question”, send together)

A file posted to a channel on its own (without a mention) never reaches the bot — Slack does not deliver it. File and mention must share one message.

Sessions and context

DMs are continuous: context never expires, even overnight. To start fresh, send new (just that word, no slash)
Channels are per-thread: one thread is one topic, follow-ups inside it keep full context with no expiry — coming back to the same thread a day later still works. For a new topic, start a new thread (mention the bot at the channel level again)
Inside a thread, each person’s context is isolated — several people mentioning the bot in one thread do not bleed into each other
Files sent in a DM never expire and stay attached to the session; new clears them. Files sent in a channel stay usable in that thread for about 30 minutes

Why new and not /new? The Slack client intercepts anything starting with / as a slash command — the message is never sent. So the reset word in Slack has no slash: send new in a DM (any capitalization, as the entire message), or @bot new inside a thread.

Who is who

Each Slack user maps to a distinct actor in MemoryLake; personal memory attaches to the right person, while memory written into the project is shared. With the users:read scope in place, actors show real names and the bot can answer “who am I”.

What the bot cannot handle yet

Voice and video messages get an explicit “can’t process this yet” reply rather than silence. Users from Slack Connect shared channels who belong to external organizations are silently ignored — they consume none of your quota and write nothing into your memory.

Managing an existing integration

Action	Where & notes
Disable / enable	The switch on the integration card; takes effect immediately
Rotate a token	Edit → the “Replace” button next to the field → paste the new value and save. Fields without “Replace” clicked are left untouched — you can rotate just one of the two
Change the agent	Edit → Agent. Resets all in-flight sessions under this integration
Adjust memory scope	Edit → read-write / read-only projects. Effective immediately
Delete	Card menu → Delete. Also removes session records, actor mappings and session attachments. Irreversible

The integration’s identity (installed workspace + bot) cannot be changed after creation. Pasting a token from a different workspace during editing is rejected. To switch workspaces, delete and recreate.

FAQ

The DM input box is grayed out: Sending messages to this app has been turned off

The App Home Messages Tab is not fully enabled. In the app config, go to App Home → Show Tabs, enable the Messages Tab and check “Allow users to send Slash commands and messages from the messages tab” — both. No reinstall needed; refresh the Slack client.

Mentioning it in a channel gets no reaction

Check in order:

Is the bot in the channel? /invite @botname
Is app_mention subscribed, and did you Reinstall after adding it?
Was it a thread reply without a mention? Thread follow-ups must mention the bot — unmentioned messages are never delivered
Is the integration disabled? (a disabled integration replies “the bot is currently unavailable”)

Sending /new pops up “not a valid command”

The Slack client intercepted the / prefix as a slash command — the message never left your input box.The reset word in Slack has no slash: send new in a DM, or @bot new inside a thread.

Changed scopes or events, nothing happens

Slack scope and event changes only take effect after Reinstall to Workspace: app config → OAuth & Permissions → Reinstall to Workspace. No review step; effective immediately.

Actors show a U-prefixed id instead of a name

Add the users:read scope, then Reinstall.

Existing actors do not rename themselves. The name is written once, when a person first talks to the bot — adding the scope only affects new users. To fix an existing one, delete their actor entry; it is recreated on their next message.

What happens when the token is revoked or the app uninstalled

With tokens_revoked and app_uninstalled subscribed, the integration turns red within seconds, with the reason spelled out. Without them, the status may stay green for hours (until the connection happens to rebuild) — which is why the setup insists on all four events.Note that revoking the Bot User OAuth Token uninstalls the app — the bot disappears from the workspace. To recover: app config → OAuth & Permissions → Reinstall to Workspace (this issues a new token), then edit the integration and replace just the Bot User OAuth Token (the App-Level Token is unaffected).

Status reads “Invalid credentials — check the Bot User OAuth Token / App-Level Token”

Slack rejected our connection. Almost always one of:

A token was mispasted (extra whitespace, missing characters)
The Bot User OAuth Token was revoked, or the app was reinstalled (reinstalling issues a new token while the console still holds the old one)
The App-Level Token was deleted

Edit the integration, click “Replace” next to the affected field, paste the new value, save — it reconnects immediately.

Answers refresh in chunks rather than word by word

This is a Slack-side boundary: we stream by editing the same message in place (hence the (edited) marker), Slack has no typewriter animation for edits, and it rate-limits message updates. The first ~12 seconds refresh every 0.5s, then it slows down — content completeness is unaffected.

Creation rejected: token rotation or Enterprise install unsupported

Two app shapes are currently unsupported:

Token rotation (xoxe-prefixed tokens): they expire every 12 hours, incompatible with the static-credential model. Disable rotation and take a fresh token.
Enterprise Grid org-wide installs: install per workspace (Install to Workspace, not org-wide) and create one integration per workspace.

Can one Slack app back two workspaces?

Count by installation: one app installed in one Slack workspace backs exactly one integration. Installing the same app into another Slack workspace creates a distinct identity, which can back another integration.If you want one bot to reach several projects’ memory, add those projects as read-only projects on the same integration instead.

Who can use the bot? Is there an allowlist?

Access is decided entirely on the Slack side — we deliberately do not add a second allowlist:

DMs: anyone in the workspace where the app is installed
Channels: whoever is in a channel the bot has been added to
Slack Connect external users: always ignored — no quota use, no memory writes

Can members see each other's conversations?

Two layers:

Conversation context is per-person. In the same thread, A’s exchange never appears in B’s context.
Project memory is shared. Whatever lands in the read-write project is searchable by everyone who can reach the bot — that is the point of the feature, and why the read-write project is an authorization decision.

The bot says the quota is exhausted, or asks me to retry later

Two different situations:

“Your account quota is exhausted…” — the team’s plan quota ran out. It does not recover on its own; contact the admin to top up or upgrade.
“We’re handling many requests, please retry shortly.” — momentary load on our side, not you sending too fast. Just retry.

What does deleting the integration remove?

Session records, the Slack-user-to-actor mappings, and session attachment references — irreversibly.Memory already written into projects and ingested files are not deleted — they belong to the project, not the integration.For a temporary pause, use the switch on the card instead of deleting.

Getting started

Scenarios

Memory Router

Model Router

MemoryLake

Team collaboration

Overview

Before you start

On the MemoryLake side

On the Slack side

Part 1: create the app in Slack

Part 2: create the integration in the console

Part 3: verify and start using it

Direct messages

Channels

Sending documents and screenshots

Sessions and context

Who is who

What the bot cannot handle yet

Managing an existing integration

FAQ

​Overview

​Before you start

On the MemoryLake side

On the Slack side

​Part 1: create the app in Slack

​Part 2: create the integration in the console

​Part 3: verify and start using it

​Direct messages

​Channels

​Sending documents and screenshots

​Sessions and context

​Who is who

​What the bot cannot handle yet

​Managing an existing integration

​FAQ

Overview

Before you start

Part 1: create the app in Slack

Part 2: create the integration in the console

Part 3: verify and start using it

Direct messages

Channels

Sending documents and screenshots

Sessions and context

Who is who

What the bot cannot handle yet

Managing an existing integration

FAQ