Slack

AI Butler runs as a Slack app using Socket Mode, so you don’t need a public URL or webhook receiver. Great for self-hosting on a home server or laptop.

What You Get

Direct messages and channel mentions
Threaded replies
Streaming responses (via message edits)
File upload support (images, documents, audio)
Socket Mode — no inbound HTTP required

1. Create the Slack App

Go to api.slack.com/apps and click Create New App → From scratch
Name it (e.g. “AI Butler”) and pick a workspace
In Socket Mode, enable it and generate an App-Level Token with the connections:write scope — save it (xapp-...)
In OAuth & Permissions, add these Bot Token Scopes:
- app_mentions:read
- chat:write
- im:history
- im:read
- im:write
- files:read
- files:write
In Event Subscriptions, enable events and subscribe to:
- app_mention
- message.im
Install the app to your workspace — save the Bot User OAuth Token (xoxb-...)

2. Store the Tokens

aibutler vault set slack_bot_token xoxb-...
aibutler vault set slack_app_token xapp-...

3. Enable the Channel

configurations:
  channels:
    active:
      - slack

4. Restart

aibutler run

You should see channel: slack adapter registered in the logs. Invite the bot to a channel (/invite @aibutler) or send it a direct message.

Features

Feature	Supported
DMs	Yes
Channel mentions	Yes (must be invited first)
Thread replies	Yes
File uploads	Yes
Audio clips	Yes (transcribed via STT)
Streaming replies	Yes (via `chat.update`)
Slash commands	No (use mentions instead)
Blocks / Block Kit	Plain text only for now

Troubleshooting

slack requires slack_bot_token and slack_app_token in vault. Both tokens are required — the bot token for API calls and the app token for Socket Mode.

Bot ignores channel messages. Slack only delivers app_mention events unless the bot is explicitly invited. In public channels, mention it with @aibutler.

Socket Mode keeps disconnecting. Check your network — Socket Mode holds a long-lived WebSocket to Slack’s servers. If you’re on a restrictive firewall, you may need to switch to HTTP Events API mode.