Instantly tap into every channel, DM, file, and user across your Slack workspace and automate tasks in real time.
What is Slack MCP?
Slack MCP creates a custom node that understands the Slack API for you. Just describe what you want in natural language, and the node handles the request - no webhooks or coding required.What Can It Do for You?
- Post announcements, reminders, or rich canvases to any channel or user
- Read recent messages or full threads for monitoring, reporting, or sentiment analysis
- Manage channels and membership: create, archive, invite, remove, or list users
- Work with files and reactions: upload attachments, pin important posts, or add emoji reactions automatically
Available Tools
| Tool | What It Does | Example Use |
|---|---|---|
| Read Messages | Read messages from a Slack channel | ”Read the last 20 messages in #support and return text, user, and timestamp” |
| Send Message | Send a message to a Slack channel or user | ”Post ‘Daily stand-up starts in 10 minutes’ to #engineering” |
| Create Canvas | Create a Slack canvas message with rich content | ”Create a canvas in #product-updates titled ‘Q2 Roadmap’ with content ‘[canvas_content]‘“ |
| Add User To Channel | Add a user to a Slack channel | ”Add john.smith@company.com to #marketing” |
| Upload File | Upload a file to Slack | ”Upload the file at https://example.com/report.pdf to #reports with the caption ‘April Sales Report‘“ |
| React To Message | Add a reaction to a message | ”Add :thumbsup: to the latest message from sarah.jones in #general” |
| Delete Message | Delete a Slack message | ”Delete my last message in #random” |
| Get Message Thread | Retrieve a message and its replies | ”Get the full thread for the message ‘Bug report: login issue’ in #support and return text and user for each reply” |
| Pin Message | Pin a message in a channel or DM | ”Pin the message containing ‘Important: All hands meeting’ in #announcements” |
| Unpin Message | Unpin a message | ”Unpin the oldest pinned message in #design-reviews” |
| Get User Presence | Check a user’s online status | ”Is mike.chen@company.com currently active? return presence” |
| Search Users | Search for users across the workspace | ”Search users where email contains ‘@acme.com’ and return id, real_name, and email” |
| Remove From Channel | Remove a user from a channel | ”Remove contractor@external.com from #internal-only” |
| Get File Info | Get metadata for a specific file | ”Get info for PDF files uploaded to #legal-docs in the last 7 days” |
| List Pinned Items | List pinned items in a channel or DM | ”List pinned items in #leadership and return type, title, and creator” |
| Create Channel | Create a new public or private channel | ”Create a private channel named ‘project-phoenix-2024‘“ |
| Delete Channel | Delete a Slack channel | ”Archive channel #q1-campaign-completed” |
| Update Channel Topic | Update a channel’s topic | ”Set topic of #sales to ‘Q3 OKRs: 3.2M‘“ |
| Update Channel Purpose | Update a channel’s purpose | ”Update purpose of #customer-wins to ‘Share customer success stories and testimonials‘“ |
| Archive Channel | Archive a Slack channel | ”Archive #project-sunset-2023” |
| Unarchive Channel | Unarchive a Slack channel | ”Unarchive #seasonal-campaigns” |
| List Users In Channel | List all users in a channel | ”List users in #product-launch and return id and real_name” |
How to Use
1
Create Your Slack MCP Node
Go to your node library, search for Slack, and click “Create a node with AI”
2
Add Your Prompt
Drag the Slack MCP node onto the canvas and enter a clear, specific prompt that uses one tool.
3
Test Your Node
Run the node to view results. Adjust the prompt or output fields until it returns exactly what you need.
4
Save and Reuse
Save the finalized Slack MCP node to your library so you can drop it into any future workflow.
Example Prompts
With 24 available tools, these examples showcase common use cases. Feel free to experiment with natural language to discover more possibilities. Post an AnnouncementStart with a single action like “Send a message” or “List users in channel” to verify your Slack MCP node, then chain multiple nodes for multi-step workflows.
Troubleshooting
If your Slack MCP node isn’t working as expected, try these best practices:Keep Prompts Simple and Specific
- Good: “Send a message to #sales-announcements saying ‘Quarterly numbers are in!’”
- Less Efficient: “Read the last 50 messages from #marketing, summarize them, then post the summary to #executive-updates and email it to me”
While the longer prompt might work, it’s more efficient to break it into separate nodes. Slack MCP works best with focused, single-action prompts.
Match What Slack Can Do
- Good: “List users in channel #product-launch and return user IDs and real names”
- Less Efficient: “List users from my HubSpot CRM and add them to #partners channel”
Slack MCP excels at Slack workspace operations. For CRM data, combine it with HubSpot or another appropriate node in your workflow.
Break Complex Tasks Into Steps
Instead of trying to do everything in one prompt (which might cause timeouts or complexity):1
Step 1: List Users
List users in #engineering and return id and last_active
2
Step 2: Send Reminders
Send a DM to each user ID saying “Please update your status”
3
Step 3: Update Membership
Add each user ID to #on-hold
In your workflow, connect these nodes sequentially. The user IDs output from Step 1 become the input for Step 2, and the same IDs feed into Step 3.
Focus on Data Retrieval
Slack MCP is great at getting information from Slack. For analysis or content creation, connect it to other nodes. Example:- Good prompt: “Get message thread from user
email addressin #support and return text and thread_id” - Less Efficient: “Get the thread, summarize it, and create a PDF report”
Use Slack MCP to fetch the thread, then pass its output to Ask AI for summarization and Google Sheets Writer for report creation.
Troubleshooting Node Creation
Empty Outputs
Empty Outputs
In the node creation window, click “Request changes” and ask the AI to add debug logs and verify the API response.
Incorrect Results
Incorrect Results
In the node creation window, click “Request changes” and describe what you expected versus what you received.
Errors
Errors
First click “Fix with Gummie”. If multiple attempts fail, simplify your prompt or contact support.
Iterate with Request Changes
Iterate with Request Changes
MCP node creation often requires a few tweaks. Use “Request changes” (in the node creation window) to refine filters, output fields, or pagination.
Need More Help?
- Watch What are MCP Nodes video tutorial
- Check out MCP Best Practices in Gumloop University
- Join the Gumloop Community for support
- View the Slack MCP setup guide for Claude and Cursor
- Contact support at support@gumloop.com