/slack-channel:configure

Overview

Configure the Slack channel with your bot token and app-level token. This is

the single place tokens touch disk: the skill validates both token prefixes,

writes them to the state directory's .env, and locks the file to owner-only

permissions. It never echoes tokens back. The install walkthrough

(/slack-channel:install Step 3) delegates here.

Prerequisites

• A Slack app already created (via /slack-channel:install Step 1 or

manually at api.slack.com/apps) with:

• the Bot User OAuth Token (xoxb-...) from OAuth & Permissions, and
• the App-Level Token (xapp-..., scope connections:write) from

Socket Mode settings.

• A writable home directory — state lives at ~/.claude/channels/slack/.

Usage

Pass both tokens as arguments, bot token first:

/slack-channel:configure <xoxb-bot-token> <xapp-app-token>

Instructions

1. Parse the two arguments from $ARGUMENTS:

• First token must start with xoxb- (Bot User OAuth Token)
• Second token must start with xapp- (App-Level Token)

1. If either token is missing or has the wrong prefix, show this error and stop:

   Error: Two tokens required.
     - Bot token (starts with xoxb-) from OAuth & Permissions
     - App token (starts with xapp-) from Socket Mode settings

   Usage: /slack-channel:configure xoxb-... xapp-...

1. Create the state directory if it doesn't exist:

   ~/.claude/channels/slack/

1. Write the .env file at ~/.claude/channels/slack/.env:

   SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=<bot-token>
   SLACK_APP_TOKEN=<app-token>

1. Set file permissions to owner-only:

   chmod 600 ~/.claude/channels/slack/.env

1. Confirm success:

   Slack channel configured.

   Start Claude with the Slack channel:
     claude --channels plugin:slack-channel@claude-code-plugins

   Or for development:
     claude --dangerously-load-development-channels server:slack

   Next: opt in a channel and pick its interaction mode with
   /slack-channel:access channel <id>  (defaults to mention-to-engage;
   pass --ambient for a dedicated bot channel). See ACCESS.md "Interaction modes".

Output

• On success: ~/.claude/channels/slack/.env written with both tokens and

mode 0600, plus the confirmation block above (server start command and

the pointer to channel opt-in). Tokens are never echoed.

• On failure: the two-token usage error from step 2 and no file changes.

Error Handling

• Missing token or wrong prefix — show the step-2 error block and stop;

nothing is written. Bot tokens must start with xoxb-, app tokens with

xapp-.

• Tokens swapped — the prefix check catches it; re-run with the bot token

first.

• Existing .env — re-running overwrites it in place; this is the

supported token-rotation path (Slack tokens are reusable; rotation happens

at api.slack.com/apps).

• Revoked/invalid tokens — this skill only validates prefixes, not

liveness. If the server later fails auth, run `/slack-channel:install

doctor` (checks 4–5 test both tokens live against the Slack API).

Examples

Both flows are the same command — the second run simply overwrites .env:

# First-time setup (tokens copied from api.slack.com/apps)
/slack-channel:configure xoxb-1234567890-EXAMPLE xapp-1-A0EXAMPLE

# Rotation after regenerating tokens in the Slack UI — same command, overwrites .env
/slack-channel:configure xoxb-NEW-TOKEN xapp-NEW-TOKEN

Security

• Never echo the tokens back in the confirmation message
• Never log tokens to stdout or any file other than .env
• Always set 0o600 permissions on the .env file

Resources

• skills/install/SKILL.md — the full install lifecycle that delegates to this skill (Step 3) and the doctor that verifies token liveness
• skills/access/SKILL.md — the next step after configuring: channel opt-in and pairing
• ACCESS.md — interaction modes referenced in the confirmation message
• README.md — quick start, including Node.js and Docker server alternatives