# Slack > Slack: what the collector reads, how to connect it, its permissions, its certification by Atlantic Agentic Labs and its security posture. Built, not certified Built and tested against recorded and synthetic responses (version 1.0.0, 10 November 2026). Not yet run against the vendor's sandbox or a client environment. Reads the public Slack channels that the LightHouse app has been added to, a thread at a time, so agents can answer from what the team has already said. A person adding the app to a channel is the decision to let the agents read it. ## At a glance | Collector | Slack, version `1.0.0` | | --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Reads | Slack: Slack Web API ([the vendor's documentation](https://api.slack.com/web)) | | Family | Communication | | Kind | Chat | | Ways to connect | Access token, OAuth approval | | Scopes | - Read: `channels:read`, `channels:history`, `users:read`, `team:read` | | Read only | Yes | | Vendor's API can move money | No | | Personal data | Content, Identity | | Hosts it may contact | `slack.com` | | Vendor API versions | Slack Web API (auth.test, conversations.list, conversations.history, conversations.replies) | | Lowest engine version | `0.45.0` | ## What it reads - Public channels the app is a member of (by name with `channels`, or every such channel). Private channels, direct messages and group messages are never read; the scopes asked for cannot reach them. - A thread is one record: the first message and its replies, in order, with the channel and who wrote it. Slack’s mentions and links are turned into readable text. - Each pull reads the last `recent_days` (seven by default) of every channel, which catches new messages and replies to recent threads. Every `reconcile_hours` (six by default) the whole `history_days` window (365 by default) is listed and held to what the cursor knows: a thread that has gone is withdrawn, one whose replies changed is read again, and one older than the window leaves the corpus. - A channel the app has left, that was archived, or that you take out of `channels` has its threads withdrawn. - Never read: files, joins and other channel events. ## How to connect 1. A workspace administrator installs the LightHouse Slack app (or your own app, which can be the one Octy answers in) with the bot scopes below. The bot token begins `xoxb-`. 2. A person adds the app to each public channel to be read. 3. In LightHouse, open **Connectors**, choose **Slack**, name the channels (optional), the label and how often to read, and approve the install or paste the bot token. 4. In code, give the deployment the bot token as `SLACK_TOKEN` from your secret store and add a `kind: slack` source card with `label`, optional `channels`, `history_days` and `requires`. ## Permissions Bot scopes `channels:read` (which public channels the app is in), `channels:history` (their messages and threads), `users:read` and `team:read`. The collector sends only `GET` requests to `slack.com`: `auth.test`, `conversations.list` (public channels only), `conversations.history` and `conversations.replies`. It never posts. Its read-only test proves it on every change. ## Limits - `history_days` is 1 to 3650 and `recent_days` 1 to `history_days`; channel names are lower-case letters, digits, `_` and `-`. - A channel the app is not a member of is not read. - A thread older than the window leaves the corpus. - Slack’s `ok: false` answers are reported by code only (for example `not_in_channel`, `missing_scope`). - Requests are paced and back off when Slack asks (`Retry-After`). ## Data handling - Message text is copied into the deployment’s corpus under the source’s `label`, with the sender’s display name. Chat names people and holds personal data of any kind. - The bot token stays in your secret store and is never written to logs or run notes; the error reports Slack’s error code, never a body. - Nothing leaves the deployment: only counts reach LightHouse. ## Troubleshooting | What you see | What it means | What to do | | -------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | `not Slack channel names` | A channel is not written as a lower-case Slack name | Use the channel’s name without `#` | | `history_days is 1 to 3650, and recent_days 1 to history_days` | A window is out of range | Correct the numbers | | `credential variable 'SLACK_TOKEN' is not set` | The bot token variable is empty | Set it to the bot token | | `Slack refused: invalid_auth` | The token is wrong or revoked | Reinstall the app and use its new bot token | | `Slack refused: missing_scope` | The app lacks `channels:read` or `channels:history` | Add the scope and reinstall | | `Slack refused: not_in_channel` | The app is not in the channel | Add the app to the channel | | Read succeeded, 0 written | Nothing new in the recent window | Nothing to do | ## Certification Each entry is a run by Atlantic Agentic Labs, newest first. Only a run against the vendor’s sandbox or a client environment certifies a collector; a certification lasts six months, or less if the vendor publishes an API version the collector does not list. See [How collectors are certified](/collectors/certification/). | Date | Collector | Engine | Vendor API | Method | Expires | | ---------------- | --------- | -------- | ------------- | ----------------------------------- | -------------- | | 10 November 2026 | `1.0.0` | `0.45.0` | Slack Web API | Fixtures only: built, not certified | Not applicable | ## Security posture From the collector’s last scan on the default branch. What each line means, and what blocks a release: [Security posture](/collectors/security/). | Last scanned | 10 November 2026 | | -------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Critical findings | 0 | | High findings | 0 | | Medium findings | 0 | | Low findings | 0 | | Info findings | 0 | | Release blocked | No | | Network allow-list check | Pass | | Read-only behavioural test | Pass | | SBOM (CycloneDX) | Produced | | Dependency licences | Pass | | Scanners | bandit 1.9.4, semgrep 1.181.1, pip-audit 2.10.1, osv-scanner 2.7.0, cyclonedx-py 7.5.0, pip-licenses 5.5.5, gitleaks repository job aal-secrets, hosts_check tools/hosts_check.py, read-only test pytest -m read_only | Source: https://docs.atlanticagenticlabs.com/collectors/catalogue/slack/