Connect Slack to Cowork
Read channels and threads for research. Extract conversation data. No posting by default.
What Cowork can do with Slack
- • Read public and private channel messages
- • Search messages by keyword, date, or user
- • Extract action items from conversation threads
- • Summarize discussions and decisions
- • Export channel data for analysis
- • Find files shared in channels
Setup guide
1
Connect Slack in Cowork settings
Open Cowork, go to Settings > Connectors > Slack. Click "Connect Slack" and authorize via Slack OAuth. Select your workspace and the channels you want Cowork to access.
2
Choose channels to grant access
You can grant access to specific channels only. Start with one or two channels to test before expanding access. Private channels require separate authorization.
3
Set posting permissions
By default, Cowork has read-only access to Slack — it cannot post messages. If you want Cowork to draft messages for your review, enable draft-only mode.
4
Test the connection
Ask Cowork: "List the last 5 messages in #general with author and timestamp." This confirms the connection is working.
Default permissions
- • Read messages from authorized channels
- • Search message history
- • Cannot post messages without your explicit confirmation
- • Cannot delete messages in read-only mode
- • Access limited to channels you specifically authorize