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Slack Bot Setup

Step-by-step guide to connect your Claw Buff agent to Slack

Connect your Claw Buff AI agent to a Slack workspace. Your bot will respond to DMs, mentions, and the /claw slash command. Setup takes about 10 minutes.

Prerequisites

  • A Slack workspace where you have admin privileges (or permission to install apps)
  • A deployed Claw Buff agent (Getting Started)

Step 1: Create a Slack App

Open the Slack API portal

Go to api.slack.com/apps and click Create New App.

Choose creation method

Select From a manifest (recommended — this pre-configures all permissions). Pick a workspace from the dropdown and click Next.

Select the JSON tab, replace all content with the manifest below, then click Next.

You can customize the name and display_name fields to give your bot a custom name (e.g., "My AI Assistant"). The description and assistant_description fields can also be changed to describe your bot.

{
  "display_information": {
    "name": "Claw Buff",
    "description": "AI agent powered by Claw Buff"
  },
  "features": {
    "bot_user": {
      "display_name": "Claw Buff",
      "always_online": false
    },
    "assistant_view": {
      "assistant_description": "AI agent powered by Claw Buff"
    },
    "app_home": {
      "messages_tab_enabled": true,
      "messages_tab_read_only_enabled": false
    }
  },
  "oauth_config": {
    "scopes": {
      "bot": [
        "chat:write",
        "channels:history",
        "channels:read",
        "groups:history",
        "im:history",
        "im:read",
        "im:write",
        "users:read",
        "app_mentions:read",
        "assistant:write"
      ]
    }
  },
  "settings": {
    "event_subscriptions": {
      "bot_events": [
        "app_mention",
        "assistant_thread_started",
        "message.im"
      ]
    },
    "socket_mode_enabled": true
  }
}

Review the summary and click Create.

Get your tokens

You need two tokens:

Bot Token:

  • Go to OAuth & Permissions in the sidebar
  • Click Install to <your workspace>Allow
  • Copy the Bot User OAuth Token (starts with xoxb-)

App Token:

  • Go to Basic InformationApp-Level Tokens
  • Click Generate Token and Scopes
  • Name it (e.g., "socket"), add scope connections:write
  • Click Generate and copy the token (starts with xapp-)

Step 2: Connect to Claw Buff

  1. Open the Claw Buff ConsoleChannels page
  2. Find the Slack card and click Connect
  3. Paste both tokens:
    • Bot Token (xoxb-...)
    • App Token (xapp-...)
  4. Click Save & Activate

Your bot will connect via Socket Mode — no public URL or webhook needed.

Step 3: Pair Your Account

Before the bot responds, you need to pair your Slack account:

  1. DM the bot — Find your bot in the Slack sidebar under Apps and send any message (e.g., "hello")
  2. The bot will reply with a pairing code (e.g., 7EPLYS7R)
  3. Go to the Claw Buff ConsoleChannels page
  4. You'll see a Pending Pairing Requests section — click Approve next to the code

Once approved, the bot will respond to your messages immediately.

Pairing codes expire after 1 hour. If expired, just message the bot again to get a new code.

Step 4: Enable Channels (Optional)

By default, the bot only works in DMs. To use it in Slack channels:

  1. In Slack, right-click the channel nameView channel details → copy the Channel ID at the bottom of the panel

If you don't see Channel ID, open channel details and scroll to the bottom — it's shown as a string like C07V1ABC123.

  1. In the Console, go to Channels → click Manage on the Slack card
  2. Under Authorized Channels, paste the Channel ID and click Add
  3. In Slack, invite the bot to the channel: type /invite @YourBotName

The bot will now respond to @mentions in that channel. You can add multiple channels.

Step 5: Start Chatting

  • DM the bot — Find your bot in the Slack sidebar under Apps
  • Mention in a channel — Type @YourBotName followed by your message
  • App Home — Open the bot's App Home tab for a dedicated chat interface

Socket Mode means your agent connects outbound to Slack — no need to configure firewalls, reverse proxies, or public URLs. It just works.

Features

FeatureSupported
Direct MessagesYes
Channel MentionsYes
Streaming ResponsesYes (native Slack streaming)
Slash CommandsYes
App HomeYes
Thread RepliesYes
Rich FormattingYes (Block Kit / mrkdwn)

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Bot not responding?

  • Check both tokens — You need both the Bot Token (xoxb-) and App Token (xapp-)
  • Check Socket Mode — Make sure Socket Mode is enabled in your Slack app settings
  • Check the Console — The Channels page shows connection status and error logs

2. Bot doesn't respond to DMs?

Make sure these scopes are present: im:history, im:read, im:write. If you used the manifest above, these are already included.

3. Bot doesn't respond to mentions in channels?

  • The bot needs to be invited to the channel first (type /invite @Claw Buff)
  • Ensure app_mentions:read and channels:history scopes are present

4. "not_allowed_token_type" error?

You may have swapped the Bot Token and App Token. The Bot Token starts with xoxb- and the App Token starts with xapp-.