Skip to main content
Version: 1.5

SlackClient

Usage

Get the SlackOAuthClient instance using the getClient function:

const { getClient } = require('bottender');

const client = getClient('slack');

// `client` is a `SlackOAuthClient` instance
const accountInfo = await context.client.getAccountInfo();

Or, get the SlackOAuthClient instance from the context:

async function MyAction(context) {
if (context.platform === 'slack') {
// `context.client` is a `SlackOAuthClient` instance
const accountInfo = await context.client.getAccountInfo();
}
}

Error Handling

SlackOAuthClient uses axios as HTTP client. We use axios-error package to wrap API error instances for better formatting error messages. Calling console.log with the error instance returns the formatted message. If you'd like to get the axios request, response, or config, you can still get them via those keys on the error instance.

client.callMethod(method, body).catch((error) => {
console.log(error); // the formatted error message
console.log(error.stack); // stack trace of the error
console.log(error.config); // axios request config
console.log(error.request); // axios HTTP request
console.log(error.response); // axios HTTP response
});

Methods

All methods return a Promise.


Call Available Methods

callMethod(method, body) - Official docs

Call any API methods which follow slack calling conventions.

ParamTypeDescription
methodStringOne of API Methods
bodyObjectBody that the method needs.

Example:

client.callMethod('chat.postMessage', { channel: 'C8763', text: 'Hello!' });

Chat API

postMessage(channel, message [, options]) - Official docs

Send a message to a channel.

ParamTypeDescription
channelStringChannel, private group, or IM channel to send message to. Can be an encoded ID, or a name.
messageString | ObjectThe message to be sent, can be text message or attachment message.
optionsObjectOther optional parameters.
options.accessTokenStringCustom access token of the request.

Example:

client.postMessage('C8763', { text: 'Hello!' });
client.postMessage('C8763', { attachments: [someAttachments] });
client.postMessage('C8763', 'Hello!');
client.postMessage('C8763', 'Hello!', { asUser: true });

If you send message with attachments, messaging-api-slack will automatically stringify the attachments field for you.

client.postMessage(
'C8763',
{
text: 'Hello!',
attachments: [
{
text: 'Choose a game to play',
fallback: 'You are unable to choose a game',
callbackId: 'wopr_game',
color: '#3AA3E3',
attachmentType: 'default',
actions: [
{
name: 'game',
text: 'Chess',
type: 'button',
value: 'chess',
},
],
},
],
},
{
asUser: true,
}
);

postEphemeral(channel, user, message [, options]) - Official docs

Send an ephemeral message to a user in a channel.

ParamTypeDescription
channelStringChannel, private group, or IM channel to send message to. Can be an encoded ID, or a name.
userStringid of the user who will receive the ephemeral message. The user should be in the channel specified by the channel argument.
messageString | ObjectThe message to be sent, can be text message or attachment message.
optionsObjectOther optional parameters.
options.accessTokenStringCustom access token of the request.

Example:

client.postEphemeral('C8763', 'U56781234', { text: 'Hello!' });
client.postEphemeral('C8763', 'U56781234', { attachments: [someAttachments] });
client.postEphemeral('C8763', 'U56781234', 'Hello!');
client.postEphemeral('C8763', 'U56781234', 'Hello!', { asUser: true });

Users API

getUserList(options?) - Official docs

Lists all users in a Slack team.

ParamTypeDescription
optionsObjectOther optional parameters.
options.cursorStringPaginate through collections of data by setting the cursor parameter to a nextCursor attribute returned by a previous request's responseMetadata.
options.accessTokenStringCustom access token of the request.

Example:

client.getUserList({ cursor }).then((res) => {
console.log(res);
// {
// members: [
// { ... },
// { ... },
// ],
// next: 'abcdefg',
// }
});

getAllUserList(options?) - Official docs

Recursively lists all users in a Slack team using cursor.

ParamTypeDescription
optionsObjectOther optional parameters.
options.accessTokenStringCustom access token of the request.

Example:

client.getAllUserList().then((res) => {
console.log(res);
// [
// { ... },
// { ... },
// ]
});

getUserInfo(userId, options?) - Official docs

Gets information about an user.

ParamTypeDescription
userIdStringUser to get info on.
optionsObjectOther optional parameters.
options.accessTokenStringCustom access token of the request.

Example:

client.getUserInfo(userId).then((res) => {
console.log(res);
// {
// id: 'U123456',
// name: 'bobby',
// ...
// }
});

Channels API

getChannelList(options?) - Official docs

ParamTypeDescription
optionsObjectOther optional parameters.
options.accessTokenStringCustom access token of the request.

Lists all channels in a Slack team.

Example:

client.getChannelList().then((res) => {
console.log(res);
// [
// { ... },
// { ... },
// ]
});

getChannelInfo(channelId, options?) - Official docs

Gets information about a channel.

ParamTypeDescription
channelIdStringChannel to get info on.
optionsObjectOther optional parameters.
options.accessTokenStringCustom access token of the request.

Example:

client.getChannelInfo(channelId).then((res) => {
console.log(res);
// {
// id: 'C8763',
// name: 'fun',
// ...
// }
});

Conversasions API

getConversationInfo(channelId, options?) - Official docs

Retrieve information about a conversation.

ParamTypeDescription
channelIdStringChannel to get info on.
optionsObjectOther optional parameters.
options.accessTokenStringCustom access token of the request.

Example:

client.getConversationInfo(channelId).then((res) => {
console.log(res);
// {
// id: 'C8763',
// name: 'fun',
// ...
// }
});

getConversationMembers(channelId, options?) - Official docs

Retrieve members of a conversation.

ParamTypeDescription
channelIdStringChannel to get info on.
optionsObjectOptional arguments.
options.accessTokenStringCustom access token of the request.

Example:

client.getConversationMembers(channelId, { cursor: 'xxx' });
client.getConversationMembers(channelId).then((res) => {
console.log(res);
// {
// members: ['U061F7AUR', 'U0C0NS9HN'],
// next: 'cursor',
// }
});

getAllConversationMembers(channelId, options?) - Official docs

Recursively retrieve members of a conversation using cursor.

ParamTypeDescription
channelIdStringChannel to get info on.
optionsObjectOther optional parameters.
options.accessTokenStringCustom access token of the request.

Example:

client.getAllConversationMembers(channelId).then((res) => {
console.log(res);
// ['U061F7AUR', 'U0C0NS9HN', ...]
});

getConversationList(options?) - Official docs

Lists all channels in a Slack team.

ParamTypeDescription
optionsObjectOptional arguments.
options.accessTokenStringCustom access token of the request.

Example:

client.getConversationList({ cursor: 'xxx' });
client.getConversationList().then((res) => {
console.log(res);
// {
// channels: [
// {
// id: 'C012AB3CD',
// name: 'general',
// ...
// },
// {
// id: 'C012AB3C5',
// name: 'random',
// ...
// },
// ],
// next: 'cursor',
// }
});

getAllConversationList(options?) - Official docs

Recursively lists all channels in a Slack team using cursor.

ParamTypeDescription
optionsObjectOptional arguments.
options.accessTokenStringCustom access token of the request.

Example:

client.getAllConversationList().then((res) => {
console.log(res);
// [
// {
// id: 'C012AB3CD',
// name: 'general',
// ...
// },
// {
// id: 'C012AB3C5',
// name: 'random',
// ...
// },
// ],
});

Debug Tips

Log Requests Details

To enable default request debugger, use following DEBUG env variable:

DEBUG=messaging-api-slack

Test

Send Requests to Your Dummy Server

To avoid sending requests to the real Slack server, provide the origin option in your bottender.js.config file:

module.exports = {
channels: {
viber: {
enabled: true,
path: '/webhooks/slack',
accessToken: process.env.SLACK_ACCESS_TOKEN,
signingSecret: process.env.SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET,
origin:
process.env.NODE_ENV === 'test'
? 'https://mydummytestserver.com'
: undefined,
},
},
};

Warning: Don't do this on the production server.