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Nappai Documentation

Slack Channel Reader

⚠️ DEPRECATION WARNING

This component is deprecated and will be removed in a future version of Nappai.
Please migrate to the recommended alternative components.

The Slack Channel Reader pulls every message from a Slack channel you specify.
It connects to Slack using a bot token you’ve already saved in Nappai, then returns a list of messages that you can use elsewhere in your workflow.

How it Works

When you drop the component onto your dashboard, you give it two pieces of information:

  1. Credential – a Slack bot API credential that contains the OAuth token.
  2. Channel Name – the exact name of the Slack channel (e.g., general).

The component uses the Slack Web API to:

  1. Find the channel’s unique ID from its name.
  2. Retrieve the list of members in that channel so it can replace user IDs with real usernames.
  3. Pull the conversation history from the channel, starting from the beginning or from a specified time.
  4. Return each message as a Data object, with the author’s name as the key and the message text as the value.

The result is a simple list that you can feed into other components, such as a text analyzer or a database writer.

Inputs

Input Fields

  • Credential: Select the Slack bot API credential you created in Nappai’s credential manager.
  • Channel Name: The exact name of the Slack channel you want to read from. This field is required.

Important:

  1. First, create a Slack bot API credential in the Credentials section of Nappai.
  2. Then, choose that credential in the Credential field of this component.

Outputs

  • Slack Message List: A list of Data objects, each containing a message from the channel.
    The key is the author’s Slack username, and the value is the message text.

Usage Example

  1. Create a Slack bot credential

  2. Add the component

    • Drag the Slack Channel Reader onto your canvas.
    • In the Credential field, pick the credential you just created.
    • In Channel Name, type general.

  3. Connect the output

    • Link the Slack Message List output to a Text Analyzer component to count words, or to a Database Writer to store the messages.

The component will fetch all messages from the general channel and pass them downstream for further processing.

  • Slack Message Sender – Post a message to a Slack channel.
  • Slack Channel List – Retrieve a list of all channels in your workspace.
  • Slack User Info – Get detailed information about a Slack user.

Tips and Best Practices

  • Use a dedicated bot token: Keep the token separate from user tokens to avoid permission issues.
  • Limit the channel name: If you only need recent messages, consider adding a filter in the next component to reduce data volume.
  • Handle rate limits: Slack may throttle requests; if you see errors, add a short pause before retrying.
  • Secure your credentials: Store the Slack token in Nappai’s credential manager, not in plain text.

Security Considerations

  • The OAuth token grants the component full read access to the specified channel.
  • Store the token in Nappai’s secure credential store and never expose it in logs or UI.
  • If you no longer need the token, revoke it from Slack and delete the credential in Nappai.