Connecting Slack

Connect your Agento agent to Slack so your team can chat with it in channels and direct messages. Each agent gets its own dedicated bot identity in your workspace.

Prerequisites

• An Agento account with a running agent
• A Slack workspace where you have admin permissions
• Access to api.slack.com/apps (you must be logged in as a workspace admin)

Step 1: Connect Your Slack Developer Account

This is a one-time setup for your workspace. All agents share the same developer connection.

1. Go to Settings > Integrations in the Agento dashboard (or navigate to /app/integrations)
2. Scroll to the Slack Workspace section
3. Click Open api.slack.com/apps to open Slack's configuration page
4. In your Slack settings, go to Your Apps (top right) > Authentication > Configuration Tokens
5. Click Generate Token next to your workspace name
6. Copy the Access Token and Refresh Token that appear
7. Paste both tokens into the Agento form and click Connect Slack

Agento automatically detects your workspace name and team ID from the tokens. Once connected, you'll see a green confirmation with your workspace name.

Step 2: Create a Slack Bot for Your Agent

1. Open your agent in the Agento dashboard and go to the Channels tab
2. In the Slack card, you'll see a bot creation form. The bot name is pre-filled with your agent's name (you can change it)
3. Optionally add a description
4. Click Create Slack Bot

Agento uses the Slack Manifest API to create a fully configured app with the right permissions, event subscriptions, and bot identity. No manual scope setup needed.

Step 3: Install the Bot to Your Workspace

1. After creation, click Install to Workspace
2. A Slack OAuth popup will open asking you to authorize the bot
3. Click Allow
4. You'll be redirected back to the Channels tab

The bot is now installed and ready to receive messages.

Set a Bot Avatar (Optional)

Slack doesn't support setting app icons programmatically, but you can upload one manually:

1. On the Channels tab, click Set Bot Avatar next to your installed bot
2. This opens your Slack app's settings page
3. Scroll to Display Information and click the icon area to upload an image
4. Use a 512x512 PNG or JPG (the same image as your agent's avatar works well)

Step 4: Invite the Bot to a Channel

The bot won't see messages in a channel until you explicitly invite it.

1. Open the Slack channel where you want the bot
2. Type /invite @YourBotName (use the bot name you chose in Step 2)
3. Alternatively, click the channel name at the top > Integrations > Add an App and search for your bot

The bot is now listening in that channel. Repeat for any other channels you want.

Step 5: Talk to Your Bot

In a channel

Mention the bot by name to get a response:

@YourBotName what's on our roadmap this week?

By default, the bot only responds when @mentioned (see Access Control below). This prevents it from replying to every message in the channel.

In a direct message

Find the bot under Apps in your Slack sidebar (or search for it). Send any message and the bot will respond directly. No @mention needed in DMs.

Access Control

After installing the bot, the Slack Access Control panel appears below the Slack card on the Channels tab. These settings control who can interact with the bot and how.

Channel Access

Controls whether the bot responds in channels.

• Open (default): The bot responds in any channel it has been invited to. You must invite the bot to each channel individually.
• Disabled: The bot ignores all channel messages. Use this if you want a DM-only bot.

Require @mention

Only appears when Channel Access is set to Open.

• On (default): The bot only responds when someone types @YourBotName in a channel. All other messages are ignored. This is recommended for busy channels.
• Off: The bot responds to every message in channels it's in. Use this for dedicated bot channels where every message should get a response.

Direct Messages

Controls who can DM the bot.

• Pairing (default): New users must pair with the agent before they can DM. The agent will guide them through the process on first contact.
• Only allowed users: Only specific Slack users can DM. Add user IDs (e.g. U01ABC2DEF) to the allowlist. To find a user ID, click on someone's profile in Slack > three dots menu > Copy member ID.
• Open: Anyone in the workspace can DM the bot freely. Best for team-wide bots.
• Disabled: No direct messages allowed. The bot only works in channels.

After changing any access control settings, click Save & Restart Agent to apply.

Disconnecting

Remove a bot from one agent

1. Go to the agent's Channels tab
2. Click Delete Bot in the Slack card
3. Confirm the deletion

This removes the Slack app entirely. You can create a new one later.

Disconnect your workspace

1. Go to Settings > Integrations
2. Click the trash icon next to your Slack workspace
3. Confirm the disconnection

This removes the developer account connection. Existing bots on agents will stop working until you reconnect.

Troubleshooting

Bot doesn't respond in a channel: Make sure you've invited the bot to the channel with /invite @YourBotName. Also check that Channel Access is set to Open and your agent is running (green status).

Bot doesn't respond to @mentions: Verify the agent is running. Check the agent's logs for errors. If you just installed the bot, give it a few seconds to connect.

Bot responds to every message: Enable Require @mention in the Slack Access Control settings and restart the agent.

"No connected Slack developer account" error: Go to /app/integrations and connect your Slack developer account first (Step 1).

OAuth install popup shows an error: Your config tokens may have expired. Go to Integrations, disconnect, and reconnect with fresh tokens from api.slack.com/apps.

Can't find the bot in Slack: After installing, the bot may take a moment to appear. Try searching for the bot name in Slack's search bar or look under Apps in the sidebar.