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The Slack connector integrates Slack with Glean using Slack’s Data Access APIs. It is typically deployed together with Slack Real Time Search (RTS):
  • Use Slack RTS as the primary way to fetch Slack messages live at query time.
  • Use Slack for engagement signals, identity metadata, and, where Slack grants a rate‑limit exception, optional Slack message indexing.
Before you start: First set up Slack Real Time Search. Then configure the Slack connector if you want engagement signals, Glean in Slack, and (for exception tenants) indexing.

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Key capabilities

  • Signals and ranking: Collects engagement events (such as mentions, clicks, and reactions) and identity metadata (users, channels, workspaces, memberships). Glean uses these “second‑order” signals to improve Slack RTS ranking and cross‑app relevance.
  • Optional Slack indexing (exception tenants only): For customers with a documented Slack exception at a higher rate‑limit tier, Glean can continue to index Slack messages via this connector, in addition to using RTS. Indexed Slack content is an add‑on for those tenants; RTS remains the primary way Slack messages are fetched at query time.
  • Identity crawls: Periodic full and incremental identity crawls provide user, channel, workspace, and membership metadata. This metadata is stored in Glean and used by Slack RTS, Glean in Slack, and actions.
  • Enterprise Grid support: Supports organization‑wide deployment across multiple workspaces in Slack Enterprise Grid.
  • Glean in Slack and Actions: Provides the Slack app and event plumbing Glean in Slack (Gleanbot) and actions need to receive mentions, process slash commands (for example, /glean), and post replies. Full functionality requires this connector and Slack Real Time Search, plus completed identity crawls.
  • Webhooks: Uses Slack Events API webhooks for real‑time identity and engagement events (for example, member_joined_channel, app_mention, link_shared). These events supply signals and trigger Gleanbot and actions; they do not perform bulk export or long‑term storage of Slack messages.
Note: For most tenants after March 3, 2026, this connector is not the primary source of Slack search results. Slack Real Time Search (RTS) is the primary path for live Slack messages in Glean Search and Assistant. The Slack connector adds signals, Glean in Slack, and (for exception tenants) optional indexing.
  • For all tenants, Slack Real Time Search is the primary path for Slack messages in Glean Search, Assistant, and Glean in Slack.
  • For tenants without a Slack exception, this connector:
    • Receives events via Data Access APIs and webhooks.
    • Provides engagement and identity signals that Glean uses to re‑rank Slack RTS results and other apps.
    • Does not index Slack message bodies as a long‑term content store.
  • For tenants with a Slack exception at an approved rate‑limit tier, Glean can additionally index Slack messages via this connector, running indexing alongside RTS.

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Modes (Select during setup)

  • Single Workspace: One datasource instance authorized for a single workspace. Recommended for customers with a single Slack workspace.
  • Slack Enterprise: One datasource instance authorized for the Slack Enterprise Grid organization; covers all workspaces. Recommended for enterprise customers with multiple workspaces and slack enterprise license.

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Supported objects/entities

  • Public channels (messages and threads)
  • Private channels (messages and threads, if authorized)
  • Direct messages (DMs) and group DMs (if authorized)
  • Channel and user metadata (for search enrichment and Gleanbot features)
    When this connector is used in “signals‑only” mode (no indexing), these objects are used as sources of ranking signals and metadata. Full content indexing applies only to customers with Slack exceptions, as described above.

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Prerequisites

  • Slack Admin or Owner privileges are recommended to authorize the app, complete org-level installation (Enterprise), and manage app visibility. For more information, see Find owners and admins.
  • Slack workspace domain, e.g., if your Slack URL is yourdomain.slack.com, the domain is yourdomain.
  • Slack workspace ID. Your Slack Workspace ID (starts with T…) and, for Enterprise Grid, your Enterprise ID (starts with E…).
Each user must individually authorize the app to access their private messages and DMs.

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Decide your mode

You can select single workspace or Enterprise (org-level) based on your Slack plan and target scope.
  • Slack (Single workspace)
  • Slack Enterprise

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Set up Slack

  1. In Glean Admin console > Data source > select Slack for single workspace or select Slack Enterprise for the Enterprise (org-level) Slack.
  2. Click Setup.

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Gather account details

  1. Open Slack on web.
  2. Look for your workspace name in the top left. Click your workspace name and find the Slack URL in the menu, ending in .slack.com. The domain is the portion before .slack.com, e.g. if the URL is yourdomain.slack.com, the domain would be yourdomain. Enter the domain in Glean.
  3. The URL you’re on should be of the form app.slack.com/client/T12345678. Copy this last part of the URL and paste it into Glean as the workspace ID. Note the workspace ID will start with T. For the Enterperise Slack, you should see your domain listed in the form domain.enterprise.slack.com. The URL you’re on should be of the form app.slack.com/client/E12345678/C12345678. Copy the enterprise part of the URL and paste it into Glean as the enterprise ID.

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Create an app

  1. Visit the Slack API site and click Create New App.
  2. Choose From an app manifest.
  3. Select the same workspace you chose on the previous screen and click Next.
  4. Replace existing YAML comment with the manifest from your setup page and click Next. Visit your Glean setup page to find the correct manifest for your deployment.
  5. Click Create.

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Generate a token

  1. Click the Basic Information tab and scroll down until you see App-Level Tokens.
  2. Click Generate Token and Scopes.
  3. Name the token Glean.
  4. Click Add Scope and add the scope authorizations:read.
  5. Click Generate and paste the token into Glean.

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Add an icon

  1. Click the Basic Information tab.
  2. Download this logo.
  3. Click Choose File and select the logo you just downloaded above.

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Enable Event Subscriptions

  1. Click on the Event Subscriptions tab.
  2. Check if the Enable Events toggle is on. If not, turn it on and Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

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Connect to Glean

  1. Click the Collaborators tab and add at least one additional administrator from your company.
  2. Copy and paste the following fields from Basic Information into Glean: Client ID, Client Secret, Signing Secret.
  3. Go to OAuth & Permissions from the left navigation and click Install to Workspace.
  4. Click Save in Glean to save the entered information, then click the link to finish authorizing access to Slack.

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Content configuration

These options apply only where Slack message indexing is enabled for your tenant. If you are using this connector for signals‑only, indexing rules do not change Slack RTS coverage.
If Inclusion (Green-Listing) options are enabled, only content from the Inclusion category will be indexed. If Exclusion (Red-Listing) options are enabled, all content in the exclusion category will be removed. If both rules are applied to the same content, then the content will not be indexed, as the exclusion rule takes priority. These rules should be used minimally to preserve the enterprise search experience, as most end-users expect to find all relevant content.

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Exclusion (Red-Listing) options

Exclusion (redlisting) is useful when there are specific Slack channels that should not be crawled or indexed by Glean. You can exclude:
  • Public channels by channel ID
  • Private channels by channel ID
When a channel is redlisted:
  • Messages and files from that channel are not crawled.
  • Existing indexed content from that channel is removed from Glean search and Assistant as crawls catch up.
  • If a channel is both greenlisted and redlisted, the redlist (exclusion) rule takes precedence, and that channel’s content is not indexed.
To configure Slack channel redlists today, contact Glean Support with the list of Slack channel IDs to exclude for your Slack data source.

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Inclusion (Green-Listing) options

Inclusion (greenlisting) allows you to limit Slack indexing to a controlled set of channels. You can include:
  • Public channels by channel ID
  • Private channels by channel ID
When channel inclusion is enabled:
  • Only messages and files in greenlisted channels are crawled and indexed for Slack.
  • Content from non‑greenlisted channels is not indexed or shown in Glean search or Assistant.
  • If a channel is both greenlisted and redlisted, the redlist (exclusion) rule takes precedence, and that channel’s content is not indexed.
To configure Slack channel greenlists today, contact Glean Support with the list of Slack channel IDs to include for your Slack data source. For general background on redlisting and greenlisting across connectors, and for how to obtain Slack channel IDs, see Excluding Content.