slack-mcp-server

MCP.Pizza Chef: ubie-oss

Eleven tools list channels, pull channel and thread history, look up people, search messages by who, where and when, post new messages, reply inside threads and add reactions. Two Slack credentials are needed and neither is optional: a bot token and a personal user token, the second of which reads Slack as you, private channels and direct messages included. Installing it also needs a GitHub access token, because the package is not published on the usual public registry.

Communication
Web/Research

Use This MCP server To

Catch up on a busy channel I ignored all week Find the message where we agreed on a deadline Post an update to my team without switching apps Reply inside a thread I was tagged in Pull the whole back-and-forth of one conversation Look up who someone is from their Slack handle

README

slack-mcp-server

A MCP(Model Context Protocol) server for accessing Slack API. This server allows AI assistants to interact with the Slack API through a standardized interface.

Transport Support

This server supports both traditional and modern MCP transport methods:

  • Stdio Transport (default): Process-based communication for local integration
  • Streamable HTTP Transport: HTTP-based communication for web applications and remote clients

Features

Available tools:

  • slack_list_channels - List public channels in the workspace with pagination
  • slack_post_message - Post a new message to a Slack channel
  • slack_reply_to_thread - Reply to a specific message thread in Slack
  • slack_add_reaction - Add a reaction emoji to a message
  • slack_get_channel_history - Get recent messages from a channel
  • slack_get_thread_replies - Get all replies in a message thread
  • slack_get_users - Retrieve basic profile information of all users in the workspace
  • slack_get_user_profiles - Get multiple users' profile information in bulk (efficient for batch operations)
  • slack_search_messages - Search for messages in the workspace with powerful filters:
    • Basic query search
    • Location filters: in_channel
    • User filters: from_user, with
    • Date filters: before (YYYY-MM-DD), after (YYYY-MM-DD), on (YYYY-MM-DD), during (e.g., "July", "2023")
    • Content filters: has (emoji reactions), is (saved/thread)
    • Sorting options by relevance score or timestamp

Quick Start

Installation

npm install @ubie-oss/slack-mcp-server

NOTE: Its now hosted in GitHub Registry so you need your PAT.

Configuration

You need to set the following environment variables:

  • SLACK_BOT_TOKEN: Slack Bot User OAuth Token
  • SLACK_USER_TOKEN: Slack User OAuth Token (required for some features like message search)
  • SLACK_SAFE_SEARCH (optional): When set to true, automatically excludes private channels, DMs, and group DMs from search results. This is enforced server-side and cannot be overridden by clients.

You can also create a .env file to set these environment variables:

SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-your-bot-token
SLACK_USER_TOKEN=xoxp-your-user-token
SLACK_SAFE_SEARCH=true  # Optional: Enable safe search mode

Usage

Start the MCP server

Stdio Transport (default):

npx @ubie-oss/slack-mcp-server

Streamable HTTP Transport:

npx @ubie-oss/slack-mcp-server -port 3000

You can also run the installed module with node:

# Stdio transport
node node_modules/.bin/slack-mcp-server

# HTTP transport  
node node_modules/.bin/slack-mcp-server -port 3000

Command Line Options:

  • -port <number>: Start with Streamable HTTP transport on specified port
  • -h, --help: Show help message
Client Configuration

For Stdio Transport (Claude Desktop, etc.):

{
  "slack": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": [
      "-y",
      "@ubie-oss/slack-mcp-server"
    ],
    "env": {
      "NPM_CONFIG_//npm.pkg.github.com/:_authToken": "<your-github-pat>",
      "SLACK_BOT_TOKEN": "<your-bot-token>",
      "SLACK_USER_TOKEN": "<your-user-token>",
      "SLACK_SAFE_SEARCH": "true"
    }
  }
}

For Streamable HTTP Transport (Web applications):

Start the server:

SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=<your-bot-token> SLACK_USER_TOKEN=<your-user-token> npx @ubie-oss/slack-mcp-server -port 3000

Connect to: http://localhost:3000/mcp

See examples/README.md for detailed client examples.

Implementation Pattern

This server adopts the following implementation pattern:

  1. Define request/response using Zod schemas

    • Request schema: Define input parameters
    • Response schema: Define responses limited to necessary fields
  2. Implementation flow:

    • Validate request with Zod schema
    • Call Slack WebAPI
    • Parse response with Zod schema to limit to necessary fields
    • Return as JSON

For example, the slack_list_channels implementation parses the request with ListChannelsRequestSchema, calls slackClient.conversations.list, and returns the response parsed with ListChannelsResponseSchema.

Development

Available Scripts

  • npm run dev - Start the server in development mode with hot reloading
  • npm run build - Build the project for production
  • npm run start - Start the production server
  • npm run lint - Run linting checks (ESLint and Prettier)
  • npm run fix - Automatically fix linting issues

Contributing

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create your feature branch
  3. Run tests and linting: npm run lint
  4. Commit your changes
  5. Push to the branch
  6. Create a Pull Request

slack-mcp-server FAQ

What credentials do I need?
Two Slack tokens — a bot token and a personal user token — plus a GitHub access token just to install it. The server quits immediately if either Slack token is missing.
Can it read my private messages?
Yes. The personal user token it insists on gives it your own view of Slack, which includes private channels and direct messages.
Can I keep it out of private conversations?
Partly. Switching on the safe search setting strips private channels and direct messages out of search results, and that filter is genuinely applied. It does not cover the other tools.
Can I use this to post to a channel?
Yes. It posts new messages, replies inside threads and adds emoji reactions, with no confirmation step before anything is sent.
Is message search reliable in desktop apps?
Not always. Every search also prints the search text onto the same channel the app reads its replies from, which can break that reply in stricter apps.
How hard is the setup?
Fiddly. You create a Slack app to get both tokens, create a GitHub access token to install the package, then paste all three into your config file.
Which apps does it work in?
Claude Desktop is documented, and it can also be run as a local web address for other tools to connect to.
Is it maintained?
Yes. It was last updated in June 2026, is Apache licensed and comes from the engineering team at Ubie.