SlackCLI: A Fast Command-Line Tool for Slack Automation and AI Agents

If you’ve ever needed to interact with Slack programmatically—whether for automation, AI agents, or just quick terminal access—you know the friction: switching between browser/desktop app, creating Slack apps, managing OAuth tokens. SlackCLI solves this by bringing Slack directly to your command line.

The Problem: Context Switching Kills Productivity

Imagine you’re working in your terminal and need to:

Check messages from a specific channel
Send a quick update to your team
Extract thread timestamps to reply programmatically
Integrate Slack with your automation scripts

The traditional flow? Open Slack app → find channel → copy/paste → switch back. Repeat endlessly.

For developers building automation or AI agents that need Slack context, it’s even worse: create a Slack app, configure OAuth scopes, install, manage tokens, handle permissions…

SlackCLI eliminates all this friction.

What is SlackCLI?

SlackCLI is a fast, open-source command-line interface tool that lets you interact with Slack workspaces directly from your terminal. Built with TypeScript and Bun, it’s designed for:

🤖 AI Assistants - Provide AI agents with Slack context and interaction capabilities
🔧 Automation Engineers - Script workflows that integrate with Slack
💻 Developers - Quick CLI access without switching to browser/desktop app
📊 Data Engineers - Extract Slack data for processing and analysis

Why SlackCLI? Key Benefits

1. Dual Authentication: Choose Your Style

Standard Tokens (Production)

Use official Slack app tokens (xoxb/xoxp)
Recommended for team deployments
Long-term, stable authentication

Browser Tokens (Quick Start)

Extract tokens from your browser session (xoxd/xoxc)
No Slack app creation required
Perfect for personal automation
Uses your existing user permissions

Learn how to extract browser tokens

2. Multi-Workspace Management

Work with multiple Slack workspaces seamlessly:

# List all authenticated workspaces
slackcli auth list

# Switch between workspaces
slackcli conversations list --workspace="Work Team"
slackcli conversations list --workspace="Side Project"

3. JSON Output for Automation

Need to integrate with scripts or AI agents? Get structured JSON output with thread timestamps:

# Get JSON with thread timestamps for replies
slackcli conversations read C1234567890 --json

# Output includes ts and thread_ts for programmatic replies
{
  "messages": [
    {
      "ts": "1762709049.367939",
      "thread_ts": "1762709049.367939",
      "text": "Message content",
      "user": "U1234567"
    }
  ]
}

4. Fast & Lightweight

Built with Bun, SlackCLI starts in < 100ms. Single binary distribution—no dependencies to install.

How It Works

graph LR
    A[User/AI Agent] -->|Commands| B[SlackCLI]
    B -->|Browser Tokens| C[Slack API]
    B -->|Standard Tokens| C
    C -->|JSON/Text| B
    B -->|Formatted Output| A
    
    D[Multiple Workspaces] -->|Stored| E[~/.config/slackcli/]
    B -->|Reads| E

SlackCLI acts as a bridge between your terminal (or automation scripts) and Slack’s API, supporting both authentication methods and managing multiple workspace credentials securely.

Getting Started

Installation

Linux/macOS:

# Download and install
curl -L https://github.com/shaharia-lab/slackcli/releases/latest/download/slackcli-linux -o slackcli
chmod +x slackcli
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin && mv slackcli ~/.local/bin/

# Verify installation
slackcli --version

Windows: Download slackcli-windows.exe from the latest release.

Quick Start: Browser Token Authentication

The fastest way to get started (no Slack app needed):

# 1. Extract tokens from your browser (see guide in README)
slackcli auth extract-tokens

# 2. Login with extracted tokens
slackcli auth login-browser \
  --xoxd="xoxd-YOUR-TOKEN" \
  --xoxc="xoxc-YOUR-TOKEN" \
  --workspace-url="https://yourteam.slack.com"

# 3. Start using SlackCLI!
slackcli conversations list

Common Use Cases

1. AI Agents Reading Slack Context

# AI agent fetches recent team discussions
slackcli conversations read C1234567890 --limit=50 --json | \
  jq -r '.messages[].text' | \
  ai-agent process

2. Automated Status Updates

#!/bin/bash
# Send deployment notification
slackcli messages send \
  --recipient-id=C1234567890 \
  --message="🚀 Deployment v2.1.0 completed successfully"

3. Thread Monitoring & Replies

# Get thread timestamp
THREAD_TS=$(slackcli conversations read C1234567890 --json | \
  jq -r '.messages[0].ts')

# Reply to the thread
slackcli messages send \
  --recipient-id=C1234567890 \
  --thread-ts="$THREAD_TS" \
  --message="Acknowledged!"

4. Data Extraction for Analysis

# Export channel messages to JSON
slackcli conversations read C1234567890 --limit=1000 --json > messages.json

# Process with any data tool
cat messages.json | jq '.messages[] | select(.user == "U1234567")'

Core Features

Authentication Management

slackcli auth login              # Standard tokens
slackcli auth login-browser      # Browser tokens
slackcli auth list               # List workspaces
slackcli auth set-default T123   # Set default workspace

Conversation Commands

slackcli conversations list                    # List all channels/DMs
slackcli conversations list --types=im         # List only DMs
slackcli conversations read C123               # Read messages
slackcli conversations read C123 --json        # Get JSON output

Message Commands

slackcli messages send --recipient-id=C123 --message="Hello!"
slackcli messages send --recipient-id=U456 --message="DM"
slackcli messages send --recipient-id=C123 --thread-ts="123.456" --message="Reply"

Auto-Update

slackcli update check    # Check for updates
slackcli update          # Install latest version

Security & Privacy

Credentials stored locally: ~/.config/slackcli/ with 0600 permissions
No telemetry: Your data stays on your machine
Open source: Audit the code on GitHub
Browser tokens expire: Use standard tokens for production

Real-World Example: AI Assistant Integration

Here’s how you can use SlackCLI with AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT, or any AI agent with terminal access:

Example Prompt to AI:

“Using SlackCLI, read the last 50 messages from our #engineering channel (ID: C1234567890), summarize the key discussion points, identify any action items mentioned, and draft a response to the thread with timestamp 1762709049.367939 acknowledging the tasks and providing an ETA.”

What the AI Assistant Does:

Executes: slackcli conversations read C1234567890 --limit=50 --json
Parses the JSON output to understand context
Analyzes messages to extract key points and action items
Drafts a response message
Executes: slackcli messages send --recipient-id=C1234567890 --thread-ts=1762709049.367939 --message="[AI-generated response]"

Another Example - Daily Standup Summary:

“Check our #team-standup channel for today’s updates, create a summary of what each team member is working on, any blockers mentioned, and send it to the #management channel.”

The AI reads messages, processes them, and sends the summary—all through SlackCLI commands.

Technical Architecture

Built With:

Runtime: Bun v1.x (fast JavaScript runtime)
Language: TypeScript (type-safe)
CLI Framework: Commander.js
Slack SDK: @slack/web-api + custom HTTP client for browser tokens

Distribution:

Single compiled binary per platform
No Node.js or dependencies required
Binary size: ~100MB (includes Bun runtime)

Roadmap

Current version: v0.1.1

Coming Soon:

File upload/download support
Reaction management
User and channel search
Interactive REPL mode
Shell completion (bash, zsh, fish)
MCP (Model Context Protocol) server mode

Get Started Today

GitHub Repository: https://github.com/shaharia-lab/slackcli

Documentation: Full guide with examples in the README

Installation: Pre-built binaries for Linux, macOS, Windows

License: MIT (open source)

Conclusion

SlackCLI brings Slack to your terminal, making it accessible for automation, AI agents, and developers who prefer command-line interfaces. Whether you’re building an AI assistant that needs Slack context, automating team notifications, or just want quick terminal access to Slack, SlackCLI eliminates the friction.

The dual authentication support means you can start immediately with browser tokens for personal use, or deploy with standard tokens for production. Multi-workspace management, JSON output, and fast performance make it a powerful tool for modern development workflows.

Try it today and streamline your Slack interactions!

Resources:

Have questions or suggestions? Open an issue on GitHub!

The Problem: Context Switching Kills Productivity#

What is SlackCLI?#

Why SlackCLI? Key Benefits#

1. Dual Authentication: Choose Your Style#

2. Multi-Workspace Management#

3. JSON Output for Automation#

4. Fast & Lightweight#

How It Works#

Getting Started#

Installation#

Quick Start: Browser Token Authentication#

Common Use Cases#

1. AI Agents Reading Slack Context#

2. Automated Status Updates#

3. Thread Monitoring & Replies#

4. Data Extraction for Analysis#

Core Features#

Authentication Management#

Conversation Commands#

Message Commands#

Auto-Update#

Security & Privacy#

Real-World Example: AI Assistant Integration#

Technical Architecture#

Roadmap#

Get Started Today#

Conclusion#