How to use the Slack MCP server

Go to api.slack.com/apps and click Create New App. Choose 'From scratch' and select your workspace. Under OAuth & Permissions, add the following Bot Token Scopes: channels:history (read public channel messages), channels:read (list channels), chat:write (send messages), search:read (search messages), users:read (read user profiles). You may also want groups:history and im:history if you need access to private channels or direct messages.

1Required Bot Token Scopes:
2- channels:history — Read public channel messages
3- channels:read — List public channels
4- chat:write — Send messages
5- search:read — Search workspace messages
6- users:read — Read user profiles
7
8Optional scopes:
9- groups:history — Read private channel messages
10- groups:read — List private channels
11- im:history — Read direct messages
12- reactions:read — Read emoji reactions

In your Slack app settings, go to OAuth & Permissions and click 'Install to Workspace'. Authorize the requested permissions. After installation, copy the Bot User OAuth Token — it starts with xoxb-. This is the token you will use in your MCP configuration. Also invite the bot to any channels you want it to access by typing /invite @your-bot-name in each channel.

Open your MCP host's configuration file and add a slack entry. The bot token is passed as an environment variable called SLACK_BOT_TOKEN. For Claude Desktop and Cursor, use the mcpServers key. The server uses npx with the -y flag for automatic installation.

1{
2  "mcpServers": {
3    "slack": {
4      "command": "npx",
5      "args": [
6        "-y",
7        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-slack"
8      ],
9      "env": {
10        "SLACK_BOT_TOKEN": "xoxb-your-bot-token-here"
11      }
12    }
13  }
14}

Fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop, Cursor, or VS Code. The Slack MCP server will authenticate with your workspace using the bot token. Once connected, its tools will be available. In Claude Desktop, the hammer icon indicates tools are ready. If the connection fails, verify your bot token and that the app is installed to your workspace.

Start with read operations to verify the connection. Ask the AI to list channels, read recent messages from a specific channel, or search for messages containing specific keywords. The AI uses the Slack Web API through the MCP server to fetch this data in real time.

1Example prompts:
2
3"List all public channels in my Slack workspace"
4
5"Show me the last 20 messages in the #general channel"
6
7"Search for messages mentioning 'product launch' in the last 7 days"

Once reading works, try sending messages. The AI can post messages to channels, reply to threads, and help draft announcements. Always review the message content before approving it in Claude Desktop's confirmation dialog. The bot will appear as the sender in Slack.

1Example prompts:
2
3"Send a message to #team-updates saying: Deployment to production completed successfully at 3pm ET"
4
5"Summarize the last 50 messages in #engineering and post a summary to #engineering-digest"
6
7"Draft a standup update based on the messages I sent in #dev today and post it to #standups"