slack-cli

A CLI for Slack - search, read channels/threads, and browse users from the command line.

Installation

Homebrew

brew install lox/tap/slack-cli

Go

go install github.com/lox/slack-cli@latest

Binaries

Download from releases.

From source

git clone https://github.com/lox/slack-cli.git
cd slack-cli
mise run build

Setup

1. Create a Slack App

Each workspace requires a Slack app for OAuth:

1. Go to https://api.slack.com/apps → Create New App → From an app manifest
2. Select your workspace
3. Paste the contents of slack-app-manifest.yaml
4. Click Create
5. From Basic Information, copy the Client ID and Client Secret

2. Configure the CLI

slack-cli auth config

This will prompt you to paste your Client ID and Secret, which are stored in ~/.config/slack-cli/config.json.

3. Authenticate

slack-cli auth login

This opens your browser for OAuth. Approve the permissions and you're logged in.

Environment Variables (optional)

For CI or automation, you can use environment variables instead of auth config:

export SLACK_CLIENT_ID="your-client-id"
export SLACK_CLIENT_SECRET="your-client-secret"
slack-cli auth login

Environment variables take precedence over the config file.

Usage

View any Slack URL

slack-cli view <url>                    # View message, thread, or channel
slack-cli view <url> --markdown         # Output as markdown

Channels

slack-cli channel list                  # List channels you're in
slack-cli channel read #general         # Read recent messages
slack-cli channel info #general         # Show channel details

Search

slack-cli search "from:@alice project"  # Search messages
slack-cli search "in:#engineering bug"  # Search in channel

Threads

slack-cli thread read <url>                      # Read thread by URL
slack-cli thread read -c C123 -t 1234567890.123  # Read by channel+ts

Users

slack-cli user list                     # List workspace users
slack-cli user info U123                # Show user details
slack-cli user info alice@acme.com      # Lookup by email

Authentication

slack-cli auth config   # Configure Slack app credentials
slack-cli auth login    # Authenticate with Slack
slack-cli auth status   # Check auth status
slack-cli auth logout   # Clear stored token

Agent Skill

An Amp skill is included for AI agent integration:

amp skill add lox/slack-cli

This enables agents to use the CLI when asked to view Slack URLs, search messages, or look up users. See the Amp manual for more on skills.

Required Scopes

The included manifest requests these user token scopes:

• channels:history - Read public channel messages
• channels:read - List public channels
• groups:history - Read private channel messages
• groups:read - List private channels
• search:read - Search messages
• users:read - List users
• users:read.email - Lookup users by email

License

MIT