Slack

Access the Slack API in 2 minutes 💨

🚀 Quickstart

1. Create an integration

   In Nango (free signup), go to Integrations -> Configure New Integration -> Slack.

2. Authorize Slack

   Go to Connections -> Add Test Connection -> Authorize, then log in to Slack. Later, you’ll let your users do the same directly from your app.

3. Call the Slack API

   Let’s make your first request to the Slack API (fetch a list of channels in a Slack team). Replace the placeholders below with your secret key, integration ID, and connection ID:

   cURL

   curl "https://api.nango.dev/proxy/conversations.list?limit=10" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer <NANGO-SECRET-KEY>" \
     -H "Provider-Config-Key: <INTEGRATION-ID>" \
     -H "Connection-Id: <CONNECTION-ID>"
   

   Node

   Install Nango’s backend SDK with npm i @nangohq/node. Then run:

   import { Nango } from '@nangohq/node';
   
   const nango = new Nango({ secretKey: '<NANGO-SECRET-KEY>' });
   
   const res = await nango.get({
       endpoint: '/conversations.list',
       params: { limit: 10 },
       providerConfigKey: '<INTEGRATION-ID>',
       connectionId: '<CONNECTION-ID>'
   });
   
   console.log(res.data);
   

   Or fetch credentials dynamically via the Node SDK or API.

✅ You’re connected! Check the Logs tab in Nango to inspect requests.

Next step: Embed the auth flow in your app to let your users connect their Slack accounts.

🧑‍💻 OAuth app setup

1. Create a developer account

   Go to Slack Developer Program signup page and click Join the Program.

2. Create & configure a Slack app

   1. Click on the Your Apps button then Create New App.
   2. Choose how you’d like to configure your app’s scopes and settings. You can use a manifest file or start from scratch; for a simpler flow, select From scratch.
   3. Add your App name and select a workspace to develop your app in, then click Create App.
   4. In the Basic Information tab, copy your app’s Client ID and Client Secret, as you’ll need them when configuring your integration in Nango.
3. Set up the OAuth scopes

   1. In the left sidebar, select the OAuth & Permissions tab and configure the following Redirect URL: https://api.nango.dev/oauth/callback.
   2. Still in the OAuth & Permissions tab, under Scopes, add the scopes that are relevant to how you want to consume Slack’s API. There are 2 types of scopes, Bot Token Scopes and User Token Scopes.

   • Bot tokens represent a bot associated with an app installed in a workspace. They govern what your app can access. They will be added to Nango when creating a Slack integration.
   • User token Scopes access user data and act on behalf of users that authorize them. They will be added to Nango when creating a Slack connection.
4. Create a Slack Developer Sandbox (Optional)

   If you don’t have a Slack Developer Sandbox already, head over to Slack’s Developer Program dashboard and provision one to test your integration.

5. Next

   Follow the Quickstart.

🔗 Useful links

Topic	Links
General	Website
	Create a test account
Developer	API documentation
	Create a developer account
	Developer console
	Authorization documentation
	Register an OAuth app
	List of OAuth scopes
	Details on rate limits

Contribute useful links by editing this page

🚨 API gotchas

Bot Token vs User Token

Slack issues two separate access tokens during OAuth:

• Bot Token (starts with xoxb-): Used for actions performed by your app’s bot
• User Token (starts with xoxp-): Used for actions performed on behalf of the authorizing user

Important: By default, Nango uses the bot token as the primary access token. This means when you make API calls through Nango’s proxy, it will use the bot token by default.

When You Need the User Token

Some Slack API endpoints require user-scoped permissions and will only accept user tokens (e.g., certain user profile operations). If you try to call these endpoints with the bot token, Slack will reject the request.

How to Use the User Token

1. Fetch the raw connection to get the user token:

import { Nango } from '@nangohq/node';

const nango = new Nango({ secretKey: '<NANGO-SECRET-KEY>' });

// Fetch the connection with raw credentials
const connection = await nango.getConnection(
  '<INTEGRATION-ID>',
  '<CONNECTION-ID>'
);

// The user token is in the raw response
const userToken = connection.credentials.raw.authed_user?.access_token;

2. Override the authorization header when making proxy calls:

// Use the user token by overriding the auth header
const response = await nango.get({
  endpoint: '/users.profile.get',
  providerConfigKey: '<INTEGRATION-ID>',
  connectionId: '<CONNECTION-ID>',
  headers: {
    'nango-proxy-authorization': `Bearer ${userToken}`
  }
});

When Creating Connections in Nango

If you need user tokens for your integration, you can specify user scopes when creating a connect session:

const { data } = await nango.createConnectSession({
  end_user_id: '<END-USER-ID>',
  integrations_config_defaults: {
    "slack": {
      user_scopes: "users.profile:read, chat:write"
    }
  }
});

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Questions? Join us in the Slack community.