jtalk22/slack-mcp-server

     
Slack MCP Server
Catch up on Slack without reading it.
Unreads, threads, and search — in your agent’s context, from the session you already have.
**Set it up, then register it with your client.**
Check where your credentials are stored and how old they are, or run it read-only so your agent can read Slack but never post.
On **Enterprise Grid**, Slack can end a session it sees being automated. Use Slack's official MCP server there.
Claude Code Claude Desktop Cursor Copilot Windsurf Gemini CLI Codex CLI any stdio MCP client
What’s new in 5.1 · ▶ the whole morning in three minutes · interactive walkthrough · setup guide
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If your workspace is on Slack's free plan
Checked against Slack's published plans and pricing on 2026-10-07.
A free workspace keeps 90 days of message history, allows 10 app integrations, and gets only Slack's basic AI. The AI people actually want — AI search across the workspace, channel recaps, Slackbot acting as an agent, AI workflow generation — starts on Business+ at $15 per user per month on annual billing ($18 month to month). Pro, at $7.25, buys unlimited history and unlimited apps, not the advanced AI. So a ten-person free workspace that wants an AI it can ask about its own Slack is looking at $1,800 a year, and the cheaper upgrade does not get them there.
This package gives that workspace an agent over the same Slack for nothing, running on the AI subscription its people already pay for. Three things follow from how it works:
- **It installs no Slack app, so it uses none of your 10 app slots.** If your workspace is already at the cap, this is the only way left to add an integration at all.
- **It needs no admin approval**, because it is not an app anyone has to approve. It reads Slack through your own browser session, with exactly the access you already have and nothing more.
- **It can export what you can still see.** On a free plan, history older than 90 days stops being reachable — Slack's own free export covers public channels only and is admin-only, so DMs and private channels are not in it. slack_get_full_conversation writes them out with their threads while they are still inside the window. It cannot retrieve anything already past the line; nothing can.
The browser-session route is not a workaround to apologise for. For a workspace Slack's own AI does not serve, it is the only route there is.
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Two ways into Slack
Slack's official MCP server is an app your workspace admin approves and controls. Use it when your organisation wants a sanctioned integration. This server uses the browser session already in Chrome instead, so there is no app to install and no admin to ask, and it runs as a local command for any stdio MCP client. It acts as you, with exactly your access.
Side by side: the managed integration path vs. the local session path
| | Slack official MCP | **Slack MCP Server — local** |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | A Slack-managed remote integration | The Slack session already in Chrome |
| Workspace control | Governed by workspace integration settings | **No Slack app or admin request for the local path** |
| Transport | Streamable HTTP | **Local stdio** |
| Client surface | Slack's supported partner integrations | **Any stdio MCP client** |
| Authentication | OAuth | **Existing browser session** |
| Credential lifetime | Managed OAuth | Rotating session with health checks and refresh |
| Product surface | Broad Slack-native capabilities | **20 tools across read, act, and automate** |
| Protocol | Slack-managed | **MCP 2026-07-28 and every 2025 revision, from the same binary** |
| Runtime | Slack-managed | **MIT code on your machine** |
Is the local path against Slack's terms?
Treat browser-session automation as an acceptable-use decision for you and your workspace. The server acts as your signed-in Slack identity and cannot read a channel you cannot read or act as another user. It does not evade server-side retention, DLP, compliance exports, or audit controls.
"No admin request" means there is no Slack app installation to approve. It does not mean workspace activity disappears from Slack's systems. If your policy requires a sanctioned integration, use Slack's official MCP server.
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Install
**Node 22 or 24 recommended. Node 20+ is supported and CI-tested.**
Prefer a persistent CLI: npm install -g @jtalk22/slack-mcp then slack-mcp --setup.