Slack MCP Server

Give your AI agent full Slack access. No app registration, no admin approval, no OAuth. One command, 16 tools, works with any MCP client.

npx -y @jtalk22/slack-mcp --setup

▶ Watch the demo — 7 scenarios, from 47 unreads to inbox zero, without opening Slack.

Ask your AI to catch you up on #engineering from the last 24 hours. Search for that deployment thread from last week. Find the printer admin PIN nobody can remember. Send a reply. All from your editor.

Interactive demo · Latest release

Why This Exists

Slack's official MCP server requires a registered app, admin approval, and doesn't work with Claude Code or GitHub Copilot due to OAuth/DCR incompatibility. Screenshotting messages is not a workflow.

This server uses your browser's session tokens instead. If you can see it in Slack, your AI agent can see it too. No app install, no scopes, no admin.

Stealth Mode: Session tokens leave zero footprint in your workspace admin panel. No bot user appears, no app install shows up, no audit trail. Your AI agent operates with the same invisibility as your browser tab.

OAuth vs Chrome DB Decryption

	Slack Official MCP	This Server
OAuth app required	Yes	No
Admin approval	Yes	No
Works with Claude Code	No (DCR incompatible)	Yes
Works with Cursor	No	Yes
Works with Copilot	No	Yes
Works with Windsurf	No	Yes
Works with Gemini CLI	No	Yes
Works with Codex CLI	No	Yes
Setup time	~30 min	~2 min
Tools	Limited	16
Visible to admins	Yes	No — Stealth Mode

Quick Start per Client

Add to ~/.claude.json or Claude Desktop settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"] }
  }
}

Add to .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"] }
  }
}

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"] }
  }
}

Add to ~/.gemini/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"] }
  }
}

Add to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.slack]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"]

Or via CLI: codex mcp add slack -- npx -y @jtalk22/slack-mcp

Tools

Tool	Description	Safety
`slack_health_check`	Verify token validity and workspace info	read-only
`slack_token_status`	Token age, health, and cache stats	read-only
`slack_refresh_tokens`	Auto-extract fresh tokens from Chrome	read-only*
`slack_list_conversations`	List DMs and channels	read-only
`slack_conversations_history`	Get messages from a channel or DM	read-only
`slack_get_full_conversation`	Export full history with threads	read-only
`slack_search_messages`	Search across workspace	read-only
`slack_get_thread`	Get thread replies	read-only
`slack_users_info`	Get user details	read-only
`slack_list_users`	List workspace users (paginated, 500+)	read-only
`slack_users_search`	Search users by name, display name, or email	read-only
`slack_conversations_unreads`	Get channels/DMs with unread messages	read-only
`slack_send_message`	Send a message to any conversation	destructive
`slack_add_reaction`	Add an emoji reaction to a message	destructive
`slack_remove_reaction`	Remove an emoji reaction from a message	destructive
`slack_conversations_mark`	Mark a conversation as read	destructive

12 read-only, 4 write-path. All carry MCP safety annotations.

* slack_refresh_tokens modifies local token file only.

Install

Node.js 20+

npx -y @jtalk22/slack-mcp --setup

The setup wizard handles token extraction and validation.

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Edit %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SLACK_TOKEN": "xoxc-your-token",
        "SLACK_COOKIE": "xoxd-your-cookie"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windows/Linux users must provide tokens via env since auto-refresh is macOS-only.

Add to ~/.claude.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Any client that supports stdio MCP servers works. Add to your client's MCP config:

{
  "slack": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "@jtalk22/slack-mcp"],
    "env": {
      "SLACK_TOKEN": "xoxc-your-token",
      "SLACK_COOKIE": "xoxd-your-cookie"
    }
  }
}

On macOS, tokens are auto-extracted from Chrome — env block is optional.

Hosted version with permanent OAuth tokens coming soon. See mcp.revasserlabs.com for updates.

docker pull ghcr.io/jtalk22/slack-mcp-server:latest

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slack": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm",
               "-v", "~/.slack-mcp-tokens.json:/root/.slack-mcp-tokens.json",
               "ghcr.io/jtalk22/slack-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Restart your client after configuration. Full setup: docs/SETUP.md

How It Works

Session tokens (xoxc- + xoxd-) from your browser. If you can see it in Slack, this server can see it too.

Token persistence — four-layer fallback:

Environment variables (SLACK_TOKEN, SLACK_COOKIE)
Token file (~/.slack-mcp-tokens.json, chmod 600)
macOS Keychain (encrypted)
Chrome auto-extraction (macOS)

Tokens expire. The server notices before you do — proactive health monitoring, automatic refresh on macOS, warnings when tokens age out. File writes are atomic (temp file → chmod → rename) to prevent corruption. Concurrent refresh attempts are mutex-locked.

Hosted HTTP Mode

For remote MCP endpoints (Cloudflare Worker, VPS, etc.):

SLACK_TOKEN=xoxc-... \
SLACK_COOKIE=xoxd-... \
SLACK_MCP_HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN=change-this \
SLACK_MCP_HTTP_ALLOWED_ORIGINS=https://claude.ai \
node src/server-http.js