Slack

Feature availabilityThe self-created Slack app connection is not available on all plans. If you do not see the Slack connection option in your workspace, contact support@dust.tt to check availability for your plan. Private channel indexing requires separate enablement; mention it in the same request.

Slack API changes (May 2025)Slack updated its API and Terms of Service in May 2025. Bulk data indexing via a shared Dust app is no longer permitted. All workspaces must use a self-created Slack app to maintain the Slack connection. Connections set up before December 2024 must be migrated. See Slack Troubleshooting for migration steps.

Dust synchronizes with Slack to bring your workspace conversations into Dust, enabling agents to search and retrieve messages from selected channels.

Two separate Slack integrationsThe Slack connection (this page) syncs channel messages as a data source for your agents. The Dust in Slack integration lets your team call Dust agents directly inside Slack. See Dust in Slack for the interactive bot setup.

Prerequisites

A Slack Owner or Admin account (required to create and install Slack apps)
A Dust workspace admin account
The region your Dust workspace runs in: US (https://dust.tt) or EU (https://eu.dust.tt). The app manifest is different for each region.

Setup takes about 2 minutes: you create a dedicated Dust Data Sync app in Slack from the manifest below, then paste its credentials into Dust.

Step 1: Create your Slack app

Go to api.slack.com/apps and click Create New App -> From a manifest
Select the Slack workspace you want to connect
Select the JSON tab. Slack pre-fills a placeholder manifest: delete it entirely and paste the Dust manifest for your region (see App manifest below)
Click Next, review the requested permissions, then click Create
Open the app’s Install App page and click Install to Workspace

Use the manifest that matches your regionThe manifest contains a region-specific OAuth redirect URL. Use the US manifest if your Dust workspace is on https://dust.tt, and the EU manifest if it is on https://eu.dust.tt. Using the wrong one will fail the authorization step.

App manifest

US app manifest (dust.tt)

{
  "display_information": {
    "name": "Dust Data Sync",
    "description": "Secure AI agent with your company's knowledge",
    "background_color": "#0f172a",
    "long_description": "The Dust Data Sync Slack app enables seamless synchronization of your Slack workspace data with Dust. Connect channels to make conversations searchable and accessible to your AI assistants."
  },
  "features": {
    "bot_user": {
      "display_name": "Dust Data Sync",
      "always_online": false
    }
  },
  "oauth_config": {
    "redirect_urls": [
      "https://dust.tt/oauth/slack/finalize"
    ],
    "scopes": {
      "user": [
        "channels:read",
        "users:read",
        "chat:write",
        "search:read"
      ],
      "bot": [
        "app_mentions:read",
        "channels:history",
        "channels:join",
        "channels:read",
        "chat:write",
        "files:read",
        "groups:history",
        "groups:read",
        "im:history",
        "im:read",
        "metadata.message:read",
        "mpim:history",
        "mpim:read",
        "team:read",
        "users:read",
        "users:read.email",
        "channels:manage"
      ]
    }
  },
  "settings": {
    "event_subscriptions": {
      "request_url": "https://webhook-router.dust.tt/slack_data_sync/events",
      "bot_events": [
        "channel_deleted",
        "channel_left",
        "channel_created",
        "member_joined_channel",
        "message.channels",
        "message.im",
        "message_metadata_deleted"
      ],
      "metadata_subscriptions": [
        {
          "app_id": "*",
          "event_type": "message_metadata_deleted"
        }
      ]
    },
    "interactivity": {
      "is_enabled": true,
      "request_url": "https://webhook-router.dust.tt/slack_data_sync/interactions"
    },
    "org_deploy_enabled": false,
    "socket_mode_enabled": false,
    "token_rotation_enabled": false
  }
}

EU app manifest (eu.dust.tt)

{
  "display_information": {
    "name": "Dust Data Sync",
    "description": "Secure AI agent with your company's knowledge",
    "background_color": "#0f172a",
    "long_description": "The Dust Data Sync Slack app enables seamless synchronization of your Slack workspace data with Dust. Connect channels to make conversations searchable and accessible to your AI assistants."
  },
  "features": {
    "bot_user": {
      "display_name": "Dust Data Sync",
      "always_online": false
    }
  },
  "oauth_config": {
    "redirect_urls": [
      "https://eu.dust.tt/oauth/slack/finalize"
    ],
    "scopes": {
      "user": [
        "channels:read",
        "users:read",
        "chat:write",
        "search:read"
      ],
      "bot": [
        "app_mentions:read",
        "channels:history",
        "channels:join",
        "channels:read",
        "chat:write",
        "files:read",
        "groups:history",
        "groups:read",
        "im:history",
        "im:read",
        "metadata.message:read",
        "mpim:history",
        "mpim:read",
        "team:read",
        "users:read",
        "users:read.email",
        "channels:manage"
      ]
    }
  },
  "settings": {
    "event_subscriptions": {
      "request_url": "https://webhook-router.dust.tt/slack_data_sync/events",
      "bot_events": [
        "channel_deleted",
        "channel_left",
        "channel_created",
        "member_joined_channel",
        "message.channels",
        "message.im",
        "message_metadata_deleted"
      ],
      "metadata_subscriptions": [
        {
          "app_id": "*",
          "event_type": "message_metadata_deleted"
        }
      ]
    },
    "interactivity": {
      "is_enabled": true,
      "request_url": "https://webhook-router.dust.tt/slack_data_sync/interactions"
    },
    "org_deploy_enabled": false,
    "socket_mode_enabled": false,
    "token_rotation_enabled": false
  }
}

Do not modify the manifestUse the manifest exactly as provided above. Changing OAuth scopes, redirect URLs, event subscription URLs, or credentials will break the connection.

Step 2: Copy your app credentials

Open your app’s Basic Information page on api.slack.com and copy the three values under App Credentials:

Client ID
Client Secret (click Show to reveal it)
Signing Secret (click Show to reveal it)

Step 3: Connect to Dust

In Dust, go to Spaces -> Connections and select Slack
Fill in Slack App Client ID, Slack App Client Secret, and Slack App Signing Secret with the values from Step 2
Click Connect
Authorize the app when Slack prompts you. Dust installs the @Dust Data Sync bot in your workspace.

App approval workflowsIf your Slack workspace requires admin approval for new apps, the installation stays pending until a Slack admin approves it in Slack Admin -> Manage Apps -> App Requests.

Step 4: Select channels to sync

In Dust, go to Spaces -> Connections -> Slack -> Add / Remove data
Select the channels you want Dust to sync
Save. Dust will start syncing immediately.

Private channelsPrivate channels are not visible to the bot by default. To sync a private channel, first invite the bot: open the channel in Slack and type /invite @Dust Data Sync. The channel will then appear in the Dust connection manager.Private channel indexing requires a separate feature flag. Contact support@dust.tt to request access.

What Dust syncs

Messages and threads from selected channels
Channel metadata (name, topic)

Not synced:

Messages from bots (including @Dust itself and Slack workflows)
Messages from private channels unless the bot has been explicitly invited
Direct messages
External files

Labels

Dust syncs the name and ID of the Slack channel and includes them in the document, above the message content. They are available as channelId:xxxxxxxx and channelName:my-channel. These labels allow additional filtering on the data sources selected in the Search data sources tool.

Data freshness

New messages are available in Dust almost immediately after being posted. Changes to your channel selection in Add / Remove data are reflected within a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on the volume of data. Historical messages are available from the moment the bot joined the channel. Slack does not provide history from before a bot’s first invite.

Best practice: use threadsWhen messages are not threaded, Dust links to the approximate location in the channel rather than the exact message. Post your topic as the first message, then continue the conversation in a thread. This improves retrieval quality and gives accurate message links.

Managing permissions

Adopt a shared-by-default approach: share everything except the data you explicitly want to keep out of Dust.
Admins can update which spaces receive Slack data from Spaces -> Connections -> Slack -> Manage Permissions.

Managing the connection

To add or remove channels, go to Spaces -> Connections -> Slack -> Add / Remove data. To update your app credentials (e.g. after rotating secrets), go to Spaces -> Connections -> Slack -> Manage -> Edit.

Avoid editing your Slack app after setupOnce your Slack app is created and connected to Dust, editing some app parameters breaks the connection. In particular, do not:

update scopes or permissions
modify redirect URLs
rotate credentials manually

If one of your secrets is compromised and you must rotate it, update the new values immediately in Spaces -> Connections -> Slack -> Manage -> Edit. The connection resumes once the new credentials are saved.

Latest Updates

Use cases

Agents

Skills

Capabilities

Pods

Admins

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Deprecated

Prerequisites

Step 1: Create your Slack app

App manifest

Step 2: Copy your app credentials

Step 3: Connect to Dust

Step 4: Select channels to sync

What Dust syncs

Labels

Data freshness

Managing permissions

Managing the connection

​Prerequisites

​Step 1: Create your Slack app

​App manifest

​Step 2: Copy your app credentials

​Step 3: Connect to Dust

​Step 4: Select channels to sync

​What Dust syncs

​Labels

​Data freshness

​Managing permissions

​Managing the connection

​Related

Prerequisites

Step 1: Create your Slack app

App manifest

Step 2: Copy your app credentials

Step 3: Connect to Dust

Step 4: Select channels to sync

What Dust syncs

Labels

Data freshness

Managing permissions

Managing the connection

Related