pbc-os/slack

Slack

Team messaging built for how small businesses actually communicate.

For user lookups and directory management, see the slack-directory skill. This skill covers everything else: sending messages, managing channels, posting automated updates, and organizing your team's communication.

Triggers

• "send a slack message"
• "post to #channel"
• "message the team"
• "set up slack channels"
• "slack standup"
• "post an update to slack"
• Any request involving Slack messaging, channels, or team communication

Prerequisites

• Slack Bot Token with appropriate scopes (see Setup below)
• jq installed for JSON parsing
• slack-directory skill for user lookups
• secrets-manager skill for secure token storage

Setup

Required Bot Token Scopes

| Scope | What It Enables | |-------|----------------| | chat:write | Send messages to channels and DMs | | channels:read | List and get info about public channels | | channels:manage | Create and archive public channels | | groups:read | List private channels the bot is in | | im:write | Send direct messages | | users:read | Look up users (for slack-directory) | | files:write | Upload files to channels | | reactions:write | Add emoji reactions |

Getting Your Bot Token

1. Go to api.slack.com/apps
2. Create a new app (or use existing)
3. Go to OAuth & Permissions → add the scopes above
4. Install to your workspace
5. Copy the Bot User OAuth Token (xoxb-...)
6. Store securely:

   # GCP Secret Manager (recommended)
   echo -n "xoxb-your-token" | gcloud secrets create slack-bot-token --data-file=-
   
   # Or set as environment variable
   export SLACK_BOT_TOKEN="xoxb-your-token"
   

Retrieving Your Token

# From GCP Secret Manager
TOKEN=$(gcloud secrets versions access latest --secret="slack-bot-token")

# From environment
TOKEN="$SLACK_BOT_TOKEN"

Every message and channel change is visible to your team and hard to fully unsend. Before the agent posts a message, sends a DM, creates or archives a channel, or uploads a file, show the user the exact text and target and get explicit approval — unless they've pre-approved a specific recurring automation (e.g. a daily briefing to a named channel), in which case state that standing approval the first time and stay within its scope.

Core Operations

Send a message to a channel

TOKEN=$(gcloud secrets versions access latest --secret="slack-bot-token")

curl -s -X POST "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "channel": "C0XXXXXXX",
    "text": "Morning update: 3 deliveries scheduled, 2 pickups. Full details in the daily brief."
  }' | jq '.ok'

Send a DM to someone

# First, look up the user ID (use slack-directory skill)
# Then send a DM
curl -s -X POST "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "channel": "U09ABC123",
    "text": "Hey — vendor delivery moved to 3pm today. Can you be there to receive it?"
  }' | jq '.ok'

Send a rich message (blocks)

curl -s -X POST "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "channel": "C0XXXXXXX",
    "blocks": [
      {
        "type": "header",
        "text": {"type": "plain_text", "text": "Daily Sales Report"}
      },
      {
        "type": "section",
        "fields": [
          {"type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Revenue:*\n$2,450"},
          {"type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*vs Forecast:*\n+11%"},
          {"type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Transactions:*\n87"},
          {"type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Avg Ticket:*\n$28.16"}
        ]
      },
      {
        "type": "context",
        "elements": [
          {"type": "mrkdwn", "text": "Generated automatically by your AI agent"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  }'

List channels

curl -s "https://slack.com/api/conversations.list" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -G -d "types=public_channel,private_channel" -d "limit=100" | \
  jq -r '.channels[] | "\(.id)\t\(.name)\t\(.num_members) members"'

Create a channel

curl -s -X POST "https://slack.com/api/conversations.create" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "daily-briefing",
    "is_private": false
  }' | jq '.channel.id'

Upload a file

# Upload a report or document to a channel
curl -s -X POST "https://slack.com/api/files.uploadV2" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -F "channel_id=C0XXXXXXX" \
  -F "title=Weekly Sales Report" \
  -F "file=@./report.pdf"

Set channel topic

curl -s -X POST "https://slack.com/api/conversations.setTopic" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "channel": "C0XXXXXXX",
    "topic": "Daily ops updates. Agent posts briefings at 7:30am."
  }'

Thread a reply

# Reply in a thread (use ts from the parent message)
curl -s -X POST "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "channel": "C0XXXXXXX",
    "thread_ts": "1705300000.000100",
    "text": "Update: delivery confirmed for 3pm."
  }'

SMB Channel Structure

Recommended channels for small businesses

| Channel | Purpose | Who's In | Bot Posts | |---------|---------|----------|----------| | #general | Company-wide announcements | Everyone | Major alerts only | | #daily-briefing | Morning briefing + end-of-day summary | Everyone | Daily automated briefing | | #orders | Order updates, fulfillment status | Operations team | Order alerts | | #inventory | Stock levels, reorder alerts | Operations + purchasing | Low stock alerts | | #sales | Revenue updates, daily numbers | Leadership + sales | Daily sales report | | #marketing | Ad performance, campaign updates | Marketing team | Ad spend alerts | | #ops-log | Shift handoffs, equipment issues | Operations team | Shift change reminders | | #vendor-comms | Vendor updates, delivery tracking | Purchasing + ops | Delivery confirmations |

For very small teams (< 5 people)

Don't over-channel. Start with:

| Channel | Purpose | |---------|---------| | #general | Everything that doesn't fit elsewhere | | #daily-briefing | Automated morning briefing | | #alerts | Anything that needs immediate attention |

Add channels only when a topic generates enough noise to warrant its own space.

SMB Messaging Patterns

Morning standup post

Post a structured daily standup every morning:

*Daily Standup — Wednesday, Jan 15*

*Yesterday:*
• Revenue: $2,450 (forecast: $2,200, +11%)
• 87 transactions, avg ticket $28.16
• Vendor delivery received from Fresh Farms

*Today:*
• 3 deliveries scheduled (UPS, Fresh Farms, Packaging Co)
• 2 customer pickups
• Mike out — Sarah covering his shift

*Blockers:*
• Cooler #2 running warm (38°F, target 34°F) — monitoring
• Waiting on quote from new packaging vendor

*Action items:*
• [ ] Follow up with landlord re: lease renewal (Owner)
• [ ] Submit Q1 tax docs by Friday (Owner)

Shift handoff

Post at shift change so the next crew knows what's happening:

*Shift Handoff — 3:00 PM*

*Completed:*
• Morning delivery received and checked in
• Inventory count done for deli case
• Customer order #4521 prepped and ready for pickup

*In progress:*
• Cooler reorganization (about 60% done)

*Needs attention:*
• Customer called about catering for Saturday — details in #orders
• Paper towel supply low — reorder needed
• Register 2 jamming on receipts (works if you open/close the paper door)

*Heads up:*
• Evening delivery from Sysco expected at 5pm
• VIP customer (Johnson) picking up at 6pm — special order in walk-in, labeled

Automated alerts

Post alerts when metrics cross thresholds:

🚨 *Alert: Revenue significantly below forecast*
Today's revenue: $1,200 (forecast: $2,100)
Shortfall: -43%
Time: 4:30 PM

Possible causes to investigate:
• Weather impact? (check conditions)
• Foot traffic? (compare to normal)
• Missing transactions? (check POS)

📦 *Low Stock Alert*
The following items are below reorder point:
• Ground Beef (8 lbs remaining, reorder at 15)
• Chicken Breast (12 lbs remaining, reorder at 20)

Suggested: Place order with Fresh Farms by EOD for Thursday delivery.

Weekly recap

Post a weekly summary every Friday afternoon or Monday morning:

*Weekly Recap — Week of Jan 13*

*Revenue:* $12,450 (target: $11,500, +8.3%)
*Best day:* Tuesday ($2,890)
*Transactions:* 423 total, avg ticket $29.43

*Highlights:*
• New catering client signed (Johnson Corp, $800/week)
• Google Ads ROAS improved to 3.2x (was 2.5x)

*Issues:*
• Cooler #2 still running warm — repair scheduled Monday
• 2 customer complaints (both resolved same-day)

*Next week:*
• Vendor price negotiation with Fresh Farms (Tuesday)
• Monthly inventory count (Thursday)
• Payroll deadline (Friday)

Integration with Other Skills

• slack-directory — Look up user IDs for DMs and mentions
• morning-briefing — Post the daily briefing to #daily-briefing
• gmail — Forward important emails as Slack messages
• google-sheets — Pull KPI data for automated reports
• google-drive — Share Drive links in channels
• autoresearch — Post overnight experiment results
• google-ads — Post ad performance summaries

Tips

• Don't over-notify. Every bot message should be actionable or informational — never both at once.
• Use threads for follow-ups. Keep the main channel clean.
• Use blocks for structured data (sales reports, KPIs). Plain text for quick updates.
• Pin important messages — delivery schedules, SOPs, emergency contacts.
• Set channel topics to explain what the channel is for and what the bot posts there.
• Respect DND. Don't send non-urgent DMs outside business hours.
• One channel for bot posts. Consolidate automated messages into #daily-briefing or #alerts rather than spraying every channel.
• Archive dead channels. If nobody's posted in 30 days, archive it.

API Reference

| Endpoint | Method | What It Does | |----------|--------|-------------| | chat.postMessage | POST | Send a message | | chat.update | POST | Edit a message | | chat.delete | POST | Delete a message | | conversations.list | GET | List channels | | conversations.create | POST | Create a channel | | conversations.invite | POST | Add someone to a channel | | conversations.setTopic | POST | Set channel topic | | conversations.setPurpose | POST | Set channel purpose | | files.uploadV2 | POST | Upload a file | | reactions.add | POST | Add an emoji reaction | | users.list | GET | List users (see slack-directory) |

Full docs: api.slack.com/methods

Related Skills

• slack-directory — User lookup and caching (prerequisite)
• google-chat — Alternative for Google Workspace teams
• morning-briefing — Daily digest that can post to Slack
• secrets-manager — Secure token storage

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Your team channel is your operational heartbeat. Keep it structured and it keeps you informed.