How to Build an OpenClaw Slack Bot for Your Team
Building a Slack bot with OpenClaw lets your team automate workflows, answer questions, and manage tasks directly from Slack. This guide walks you through creating a Slack app, configuring bot permissions, and deploying an OpenClaw-powered bot for your workspace.
Why This Is Hard to Do Yourself
These are the common pitfalls that trip people up.
Slack App Permission Scopes
Slack apps require explicit OAuth scopes for every action. Misconfigured scopes cause authorization errors. You need bot token scopes like chat:write, users:read, and channels:history for basic functionality.
Bot Token vs User Token
Bot tokens (xoxb-*) are different from user tokens (xoxp-*). Bot tokens authenticate the bot user; user tokens authenticate on behalf of a real user. Most team bots should use bot tokens exclusively.
Thread Handling and Context
Slack conversations happen in channels and threads. Responding in-thread requires tracking thread_ts values. Without proper thread handling, bot replies can clutter channels or lose conversation context.
Step-by-Step Guide
Create a Slack App
Go to api.slack.com/apps and create a new app from scratch. Choose "From scratch", name your app (e.g., "OpenClaw Bot"), and select your workspace. This generates the app credentials you'll need for OpenClaw integration.
Configure Bot Token Scopes
Navigate to OAuth & Permissions in your app settings. Under "Bot Token Scopes", add the required permissions: chat:write (post messages), chat:write.public (post to channels bot isn't in), users:read (read user info), channels:history (read channel messages), and im:history (read DMs). Save changes.
Warning: After changing scopes, you must reinstall the app to your workspace for permissions to take effect.
Install the Slack Skill in OpenClaw
In OpenClaw, install the official Slack skill from the skills marketplace. Configure it with your Bot User OAuth Token (starts with xoxb-) from the OAuth & Permissions page. Set the signing secret from Basic Information > App Credentials.
# In OpenClaw CLI
openclaw skills install slack
openclaw config set slack.bot_token xoxb-your-token-here
openclaw config set slack.signing_secret your-signing-secretConfigure Event Subscriptions
Enable Event Subscriptions in your Slack app settings. Set the Request URL to your OpenClaw instance's webhook endpoint (e.g., https://your-domain.com/webhooks/slack). Subscribe to bot events: message.channels, message.im, app_mention. Slack will send a challenge request to verify the URL.
Warning: Your OpenClaw instance must be publicly accessible via HTTPS for Slack event subscriptions to work.
Test the Bot in a Channel
Invite your bot to a test channel (/invite @OpenClaw Bot). Send a message mentioning the bot or DM it directly. The bot should respond using OpenClaw's AI capabilities. Check OpenClaw logs if the bot doesn't respond.
# Example Slack message
@OpenClaw Bot what's the status of project X?
# OpenClaw logs
tail -f /var/log/openclaw/slack.logDeploy for Team Use
Once tested, add the bot to relevant channels and document usage for your team. Configure OpenClaw skills to handle common team workflows (e.g., ticket creation, status updates, meeting summaries). Set up monitoring to track bot performance and errors.
Need a Custom Slack Integration?
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