Connect OpenClaw to Slack

Slack is an official OpenClaw plugin. For a single Gateway, Socket Mode is the simplest transport because it uses an outbound WebSocket and does not require a public Gateway URL.

Confirm the Gateway first

openclaw gateway status
openclaw doctor

Do not debug Slack until the Gateway connectivity probe succeeds.

Install the plugin

openclaw plugins install @openclaw/slack

Create the Slack app

In Slack’s app management page, create an app from the manifest in the official OpenClaw Slack documentation. Keep Socket Mode enabled. After creating it:

1. Generate an App-Level Token with connections:write.
2. Install the app to the intended workspace.
3. Copy the Bot User OAuth Token.

The app token and bot token must belong to the same Slack app and workspace. Treat both as secrets.

Configure OpenClaw

Follow the official SecretRef example or make the two tokens available to the managed Gateway as SLACK_APP_TOKEN and SLACK_BOT_TOKEN. A value exported only in an interactive shell may not exist in the background service environment.

Restart and probe:

openclaw gateway restart
openclaw channels status --probe
openclaw logs --follow

Pair and test

Send a DM to the Slack app. Slack DMs use pairing by default:

openclaw pairing list slack
openclaw pairing approve slack <CODE>

For a channel, invite the app and mention it. Keep channel access allowlisted and requireMention enabled until the basic route works.

Expected result

The Slack probe reports a working connection, the first DM can be approved, and a mention receives a reply in the correct channel or thread.

If Socket Mode does not connect

Confirm Socket Mode is enabled, the App-Level Token has connections:write, and both tokens are resolvable by the Gateway process. A token mismatch usually means the two values came from different apps or workspaces.