cotera
Logo

Slack Search

Authentication Type: API Key
Description: Search for messages in Slack workspaces. Requires a Slack user token (starts with xoxp-) with search:read scope. This is separate from regular Slack messaging which uses bot tokens.

Authentication

To authenticate, you'll need a Slack user token with the search:read scope:

  1. Follow the Slack User Token guide to create a Slack app
  2. Add the search:read scope to your app's user token scopes
  3. Install the app to your workspace
  4. Copy the user token (starts with xoxp-)

Note: This requires a user token, not a bot token. User tokens start with xoxp- while bot tokens start with xoxb-.

Search for messages across Slack workspace using user token.

Search Messages

Search for messages in your Slack workspace. Use "in:#channel-name" or "in:channel_id" to search specific channels (e.g., "hello in:#general" or "error in:C095Z8MEXFV"). Supports other operators like from:@username and date ranges. Requires a user token with search:read scope.

Operation Type: Mutation (Write)

Parameters:

  • query string (required): Search query to find messages. To search in a specific channel, use "in:#channel-name" or "in:channel_id". Example: "hello in:#general" or "error in:C095Z8MEXFV"
  • count number (nullable): Number of messages to return (max 100, optional)
  • cursor string (nullable): Pagination cursor for retrieving more results (optional)
  • highlight boolean (nullable): Whether to highlight matching terms in results (optional)
  • page number (nullable): Page number for results (max 100, optional)
  • sort string (nullable): Sort order for results (timestamp or score, optional)
  • sortDir string (nullable): Sort direction (asc or desc, optional)
  • teamId string (nullable): Team ID for org-level tokens (optional)

Returns:

  • ok boolean: Whether the search was successful
  • query string: The search query that was executed
  • messages object: Search results
    • matches array of objects: Array of matching messages
      • channel object: Channel information
        • id string: Channel ID
        • name string: Channel name
        • isPrivate boolean: Whether the channel is private
        • isExtShared boolean: Whether the channel is externally shared
        • isMpim boolean: Whether the channel is a multi-person IM
        • isOrgShared boolean: Whether the channel is org shared
        • isPendingExtShared boolean: Whether the channel has pending external sharing
        • isShared boolean: Whether the channel is shared
        • pendingShared array of strings: Pending shared connections
      • iid string: Internal message ID
      • permalink string: Permalink to the message
      • team string: Team ID
      • text string: Message text content
      • ts string: Message timestamp
      • type string: Message type
      • user string: User ID who sent the message
      • username string: Username who sent the message
    • pagination object: Pagination information
      • first number: First result number
      • last number: Last result number
      • page number: Current page number
      • pageCount number: Total number of pages
      • perPage number: Results per page
      • totalCount number: Total number of results
    • paging object: Paging information
      • count number: Number of results returned
      • page number: Current page
      • pages number: Total pages
      • total number: Total results
    • total number: Total number of matching messages

Example Usage:

{
  "query": "project status in:#general from:@john",
  "count": 25,
  "sort": "timestamp",
  "sortDir": "desc",
  "highlight": true
}

Common Use Cases

Message Discovery:

  • Search for specific conversations across channels
  • Find messages by keywords and phrases with channel filtering
  • Locate information shared by specific team members

Research and Analysis:

  • Find historical discussions about projects or decisions
  • Search for error messages or technical discussions
  • Discover patterns in team communication

Audit and Compliance:

  • Search messages from specific users or time periods
  • Find discussions about particular topics or projects
  • Export message data for compliance or documentation purposes