Pre-Built Tooling
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Authentication | OAuth 2.0 (Bot tokens and User tokens) |
| Two-Way Sync | Yes |
| Events Supported | Yes (via Events API) |
| Realtime | Yes (via Events API and Socket Mode) |
| Supports Rate Limiting | Yes (Tier-based rate limits) |
| Authentication Scopes Supported | Extensive bot and user scopes (channels, chat, users, files, etc.) |
Objects Supported
Alloy Automation supports syncing the following objects from Slack:- Messages - Channel and DM messages
- Channels - Public and private channels
- Users - Workspace members
- Files - Uploaded files and attachments
- Reactions - Message reactions/emojis
- Threads - Threaded conversations
Set Up Guide
Trial Access
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Offers free trial? | Yes. Slack offers a free tier with unlimited messages (90-day history) for small teams. Get started free |
| Requires paid sandbox | No. Free workspaces can be used for development. |
| Requires partnership to obtain authentication? | No. Anyone can create a Slack app and workspace. |
Authentication (OAuth 2.0)
For customers who want to completely whitelabel their OAuth experience, you can provide your own developer keys instead of using Alloy Automation’s.Use Cases
1) Automated notifications and alerts
Send automated notifications to Slack channels when important events occur in connected systems (e.g., new orders, support tickets, system alerts, or workflow completions).2) Bi-directional workflow automation
Trigger workflows in external systems based on Slack events (message posted, reaction added, channel created) and post results back to Slack channels.3) Customer support integration
Connect Slack with customer support platforms to enable team collaboration on support tickets, notify teams of urgent issues, or sync conversation threads.4) Incident management
Integrate Slack with monitoring and incident management tools to create incident channels, post updates, and coordinate response efforts directly in Slack.5) Approval workflows
Build approval workflows where requests posted to Slack channels can be approved/rejected via reactions or thread responses, triggering downstream actions in connected systems.API Gotchas
-
Rate Limiting Tiers: Slack uses tier-based rate limiting with different limits per method. Most methods allow 1+ requests per second. Respect the
Retry-Afterheader in 429 responses and implement exponential backoff. -
Token Types Matter: Bot tokens (
xoxb-) and user tokens (xoxp-) have different capabilities and scopes. Bot tokens are recommended for most integrations as they’re tied to the app, not a specific user. - Message Formatting: Slack uses mrkdwn (a Markdown variant) for formatting. Use Block Kit for rich message layouts with buttons, images, and structured content. Plain text and mrkdwn have different escaping rules.
-
Pagination with Cursors: Slack APIs use cursor-based pagination. The
response_metadata.next_cursorfield contains the cursor for the next page. An empty cursor means you’ve reached the end. -
Webhook Signature Verification: Always verify webhook signatures using the
X-Slack-Signatureheader and your app’s signing secret. This prevents spoofed webhook events. - Socket Mode for Development: For local development without public webhooks, use Socket Mode. This establishes a WebSocket connection to receive events without exposing a public endpoint.
For questions or troubleshooting, contact support@runalloy.com.