Connect Slack App

Overview

Connect OpenClaw to Slack and bring AI assistance to your workspace:

• Channel conversations — AI responds in public/private channels
• Direct messages — Personal AI assistant for each user
• Thread replies — Contextual responses in threads
• Slash commands — Quick AI interactions

Prerequisites

• OpenClaw installed on your machine
• A Slack workspace where you have admin permissions
• Slack account with app creation rights

Step 1: Create a Slack App

1. Go to Slack API Apps
2. Click “Create New App”
3. Choose “From scratch”
4. Enter an app name (e.g., “AI Assistant”) and select your workspace
5. Click Create App

Step 2: Configure Bot Permissions

Add OAuth Scopes

1. Go to “OAuth & Permissions” in the sidebar
2. Scroll to “Scopes” → “Bot Token Scopes”
3. Add these scopes:

Step 3: Enable Event Subscriptions

1. Go to “Event Subscriptions”
2. Toggle “Enable Events” to On
3. For Request URL, you’ll need a public endpoint. Options:
   • Use ngrok for local development: ngrok http 18789
   • Deploy to a server with public IP
4. Enter: https://your-domain.com/slack/events
5. Under “Subscribe to bot events”, add:
   • app_mention
   • message.channels
   • message.groups
   • message.im
6. Click Save Changes

Step 4: Install App to Workspace

1. Go to “Install App” in the sidebar
2. Click “Install to Workspace”
3. Review permissions and click Allow
4. Copy the Bot User OAuth Token (starts with xoxb-)

Step 5: Get Signing Secret

1. Go to “Basic Information”
2. Under “App Credentials”, find Signing Secret
3. Click Show and copy it

Step 6: Add Slack to OpenClaw

Run in your terminal:

openclaw channels add slack

Enter when prompted:

• Bot Token: Your xoxb- token
• Signing Secret: The signing secret from Basic Information

Or configure manually:

openclaw config set slack.botToken "xoxb-your-token"
openclaw config set slack.signingSecret "your-signing-secret"

Step 7: Start the Gateway

openclaw gateway

If using ngrok for development:

# In another terminal
ngrok http 18789

Update the Request URL in Slack with your ngrok URL.

Configuration Options

Restrict to Specific Channels

openclaw config set slack.allowedChannels "C01234567,C09876543"

Set Response Mode

# Respond only when mentioned (default)
openclaw config set slack.trigger mention

# Respond to all messages
openclaw config set slack.trigger all

Thread Behavior

# Always reply in threads (recommended for busy channels)
openclaw config set slack.replyInThread true

Slash Commands (Optional)

Add custom slash commands:

1. Go to “Slash Commands” in your app settings
2. Click “Create New Command”
3. Configure:
   • Command: /ask
   • Request URL: https://your-domain.com/slack/commands
   • Description: “Ask the AI assistant”
4. Save and reinstall the app

Production Deployment

For production use, deploy OpenClaw on a server:

Using Docker

docker run -d \
  -e SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-your-token \
  -e SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET=your-secret \
  -p 18789:18789 \
  openclaw/openclaw gateway

Verify Webhook

Slack will send a challenge request to verify your endpoint. OpenClaw handles this automatically.

Troubleshooting

”URL Verification Failed”

• Ensure OpenClaw gateway is running
• Check the URL is publicly accessible
• Verify no firewall blocking port 18789

Bot Not Responding

1. Check the bot is invited to the channel
2. Verify OAuth scopes include channels:history
3. Confirm events are subscribed correctly

”Invalid Signing Secret”

Re-copy the signing secret from Slack. Make sure there are no extra spaces.

Messages Delayed

If using ngrok free tier, connections may timeout. Consider:

• Upgrading ngrok
• Deploying to a cloud server
• Using Slack’s Socket Mode (no public URL needed)

Socket Mode (Alternative)

For local development without a public URL:

1. Go to “Socket Mode” in app settings
2. Enable Socket Mode
3. Generate an App-Level Token with connections:write scope
4. Configure OpenClaw:

openclaw config set slack.socketMode true
openclaw config set slack.appToken "xapp-your-app-token"

Next Steps

• Connect Discord — For community servers
• Connect Signal — Secure messaging
• Voice Assistant — Voice interaction