Slack Message Reader

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Overview

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Channel Access Guide

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Private Channels

1. You must be a member of the private channel
2. The Gumloop bot must be in the channel

• Private channels won’t appear in the dropdown if you’re not a member, even if the bot is present
• For sensitive automation, use your Personal workspace instead of shared workspaces
• To add the bot, you have two options:
  1. Type /invite @Gumloop in the channel, OR
  2. Click the channel name → Add integrations/Add app → Search for “Gumloop”

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Public Channels

• All public channels where the Gumloop bot is present will be available
• Add the bot using either:
  • /invite @Gumloop command in the channel
  • Channel name → Add integrations/Add app → Search for “Gumloop”

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Node Configuration

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Message Information Options

• Messages: The actual text content of the messages. This includes any formatted text, emojis, and timestamps. If “Read Full Thread” is enabled, this will include replies in the thread as well.
• Thread IDs: Unique identifiers for each message thread. These are particularly useful when you want to:
  • Reply to specific threads using the Slack Message Sender node
  • Track conversations across multiple workflows
  • Link related messages together
• Thread Links: Direct URLs to specific message threads in Slack. Useful for:
  • Including clickable links in notifications
  • Creating documentation with references to conversations
  • Enabling quick access to original discussions
• Attachment Names: Attached files shared in messages, including:
  • Documents (PDFs, docs, spreadsheets)
  • Images
  • Videos
• Sender Names: Names of the users who sent the messages. Useful for:
  • Filtering messages by specific team members
  • Routing messages to different workflows based on sender
  • Creating user-specific automated responses
• Channel Name: The name of the channel where messages were posted. Particularly useful when:
  • Processing messages from multiple channels
  • Including channel context in notifications or reports
  • Routing workflows based on channel source
• Channel ID: The unique identifier for the Slack channel. Useful for:
  • API integrations requiring channel IDs
  • Cross-referencing channels in complex workflows
  • Creating dynamic channel targeting in multi-channel scenarios
• Date: The datetime in UTC at which the message was sent.

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Basic Settings

1. Channel: Select target Slack channel
2. Message Count: Number of messages to fetch (default: 10)
   • Set to 1 for single message processing
     • The output in this case is in the Text format
   • Higher numbers return lists of messages
     • The output in this case is in the List format

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Optional Settings

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Date Range Filtering

• Use Dates?: Enable this toggle to filter messages by time period
• Date Range: Choose from preset ranges for quick filtering:
  • Last 24 Hours
  • Last Week
  • Last Month
  • Last 3 Months
  • Last 6 Months
• Use Exact Dates?: Toggle this option to specify custom date ranges
  • When enabled, you can set precise Start and End dates
  • When disabled, the preset Date Range selection is used
• Start Date (UTC): The beginning of your custom date range (only available when Use Exact Dates is enabled)
• End Date (UTC): The end of your custom date range (only available when Use Exact Dates is enabled)

• Historical analysis
• Regular report generation
• Periodic message archival
• Retrieving messages from specific events or timeframes

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Thread Settings

• Read Full Thread: When enabled, retrieves:
  • The main message
  • All replies in the thread
  • Thread participant information
  • Perfect for tracking complete conversations or support threads

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Bot Message Handling

• Ignore Bot Messages: When enabled:
  • Skips messages from all Slack apps and integrations
  • Only processes messages from human users
  • Helps reduce noise in automated workflows
  • Particularly useful when multiple automations are active in the channel

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Configure Inputs

• Channel: The Slack channel to read messages from. Useful when you want to switch channels based on conditions or other node outputs.
• Message Count: Number of recent messages to read (defaults to 10). Setting this dynamically allows you to adjust the volume of messages processed based on your workflow needs.
• Start Date: Beginning of date range for message filtering. Only available when “Use Dates?” is enabled. Use this to dynamically adjust your date window based on previous node outputs or workflow logic.
• End Date: End of date range for message filtering. Only available when “Use Dates?” is enabled. Pair with Start Date to create dynamic date ranges for message retrieval.

Tip: When “Use Exact Dates?” is enabled, you can connect the Start Date and End Date inputs directly to a Datetime node for dynamic date ranges.

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Trigger Mode

• Starts your flow when you receive a new message in the specified channel
• Can work on both new messages and thread replies

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Ignore Bot Messages?

• No (Default): All messages will trigger your flow, including those from bots and integrations
• Yes (Recommended): Only human-generated messages will trigger your flow
  • Prevents potential trigger loops where your flow output triggers itself
  • Reduces noise from system notifications and other automated messages
  • Essential when your flow posts back to the same channel

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Ignore Replies?

• No (Default): All messages trigger your flow, including replies in threads
  • Best for monitoring ongoing conversations
  • Useful for support bots that need to track entire discussions
• Yes: Only new standalone messages will trigger your flow
  • Replies within conversation threads are ignored
  • Focuses automation on new topics/conversations only
  • Reduces the volume of triggers in active channels

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Recommended Trigger Settings

• Ignore Bot Messages: Yes - Prevents trigger loops and focuses on human communications
• Ignore Replies: No - Captures all relevant communications including thread discussions

Note: When building response bots, always enable “Ignore Bot Messages” to prevent infinite loops where your bot responds to its own messages.

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Example Workflows

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1. Customer Support Monitor

Slack Message Reader → Ask AI → Notion Page Writer
Setup:
- Channel: #support
- Read Full Thread: Yes
- Ignore Bot Messages: No
Purpose: Analyze and document support conversations

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2. Team Updates Trigger

Slack Message Reader [Trigger] → Categorizer → Gmail Sender
Setup:
- Channel: #team-updates
- Message Count: 1
- Ignore Bot Messages: Yes
Purpose: Send important updates to stakeholders

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3. Resource Archival

Slack Message Reader → Attachments Output → Google Drive File Writer
Setup:
- Channel: #resources
- Read Full Thread: Yes
- Date Range: Last 7 days
Purpose: Archive shared resources and documentation

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4. Weekly Channel Report

Current DateTime → Slack Message Reader → Ask AI → Gmail Sender
Setup:
- Use Dates?: Yes
- Use Exact Dates?: Yes
- Start Date: Connected to Current DateTime with -7 days modifier
- End Date: Connected to Current DateTime
- Include Channel Name: Yes
Purpose: Generate weekly summary reports of channel activity

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Output Format

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Multiple Messages (Count > 1)

• Messages: [“Hello”, “How are you”]
• Thread IDs: [“123”, “456”]
• Thread Links: [“https://company.slack.com/archives/C123/p456”, “https://company.slack.com/archives/C123/p789”]
• Sender Names: [“Alice”, “Bob”]
• Channel Name: [“general”, “general”]
• Channel ID: [“C123456”, “C123456”]

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Single Message (Count = 1)

• Message: “Hello”
• Thread ID: “123”
• Thread Link: “https://company.slack.com/archives/C123/p456”
• Sender Name: “Alice”
• Channel Name: “general”
• Channel ID: “C123456”

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Important Considerations

1. Private channel access requires both user and bot presence
2. Thread messages will trigger flows when using as trigger
3. Bot message filtering applies to thread replies
4. Date filtering in UTC timezone may not match your local time
5. Channel Name and Channel ID outputs will be identical for all messages when reading from a single channel