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Official agent skill

Slack Search

by slackapi in slackapi/slack-skills-plugin

A skill your agent uses when locating messages, files, channels, or people across Slack, or gathering context before answering, with the search MCP tools (slacksearchpublic…

OfficialMITAuto-check passedAgent Workflows

Install Slack Search

skills CLI
$ npx skills add slackapi/slack-skills-plugin --skill slack-search -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install slackapi/slack-skills-plugin slack-search --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/slackapi/slack-skills-plugin.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/slack-search .claude/skills/slack-search && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
slack-search
GitHub stars
144
Token cost
~1.5k tokens
SKILL.md length
654 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
7
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

A skill your agent uses when locating messages, files, channels, or people across Slack, or gathering context before answering, with the search MCP tools (slacksearchpublic…

  • Works in 3 steps: Begin with a simple keyword or natural… → If too many results, add filters (in:,… → If too few results, remove filters and…
  • Locating messages
  • SKILL.md covers When to Use, Search Tools Overview, Search Strategy and Search Modifiers Reference, plus 5 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Slack Search is an agent skill from slackapi/slack-skills-plugin, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Use when locating messages, files, channels, or people across Slack, or gathering context before answering, with the search MCP tools (slacksearchpublic, slacksearchpublicandprivate, slacksearchchannels, slacksearchusers). Covers search modifiers (in:, from:, before:), file-type filters, natural-language vs. keyword search, and reading results in context.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.5k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Agent Workflows, covering MCP servers. It works with Slack. The repository describes itself as: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and npx skills plugin that enables your AI tools with a Slack MCP Server and Slack Developer Skills. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Locating messages
  • People across Slack
  • Gathering context before answering
  • With the search MCP tools (slacksearchpublic

Example prompts

  • “/slack-search”

Workflow steps

3 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Begin with a simple keyword or natural language question.
  2. If too many results, add filters (in:, from:, date ranges).
  3. If too few results, remove filters and try synonyms or related terms.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 64c3f33. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Slack Search loads about 1.5k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 95 tokens; SKILL.md has 654 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~95
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~1.5k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from slackapi/slack-skills-plugin at commit 64c3f33, republished under its MIT licence (© slackapi). 654 words, ~1,468 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/slack-search/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
slack-search
description
Use when locating messages, files, channels, or people across Slack, or gathering context before answering, with the search MCP tools (slack_search_public, slack_search_public_and_private, slack_search_channels, slack_search_users). Covers search modifiers (in:, from:, before:), file-type filters, natural-language vs. keyword search, and reading results in context.

This skill provides guidance for effectively searching Slack to find messages, files, and information.

When to Use

Apply this skill whenever you need to find information in Slack, including when a user asks you to locate messages, conversations, files, or people, or when you need to gather context before answering a question about what's happening in Slack.

Search Tools Overview

ToolUse When
slack_search_publicSearching public channels only. Does not require user consent.
slack_search_public_and_privateSearching all channels including private, DMs, and group DMs. Requires user consent.
slack_search_channelsFinding channels by name or description.
slack_search_usersFinding people by name, email, or role.

Search Strategy

Start Broad, Then Narrow
  1. Begin with a simple keyword or natural language question.
  2. If too many results, add filters (in:, from:, date ranges).
  3. If too few results, remove filters and try synonyms or related terms.
Choose the Right Search Mode
  • Natural language questions (e.g., "What is the deadline for project X?"): Best for fuzzy, conceptual searches where you don't know exact keywords.
  • Keyword search (e.g., project X deadline): Best for finding specific, exact content.
Use Multiple Searches

Don't rely on a single search. Break complex questions into smaller searches:

  • Search for the topic first
  • Then search for specific people's contributions
  • Then search in specific channels

Search Modifiers Reference

Location Filters
  • in:channel-name: Search within a specific channel
  • in:<#C123456>: Search in channel by ID
  • -in:channel-name: Exclude a channel
  • in:<@U123456> or in:@username: Search in DMs with a user
User Filters
  • from:<@U123456>: Messages from a specific user (by ID)
  • from:username: Messages from a user (by Slack username)
  • to:<@U123456>: Messages sent to a specific user
  • to:me: Messages sent directly to you
  • creator:@username: Canvases created by a specific person
Content Filters
  • is:thread: Only threaded messages
  • is:saved: Only your saved messages
  • has:pin: Pinned messages
  • has:link: Messages containing links
  • has:file: Messages with file attachments
  • has::emoji:: Messages with a specific reaction
  • hasmy::emoji:: Messages you reacted to with a specific reaction
Date Filters
  • before:YYYY-MM-DD: Messages before a date
  • after:YYYY-MM-DD: Messages after a date
  • on:YYYY-MM-DD: Messages on a specific date
  • during:month: Messages during a specific month (e.g., during:january)
Text Matching
  • "exact phrase": Match an exact phrase
  • -word: Exclude messages containing a word
  • wild*: Wildcard matching (minimum 3 characters before *)

To search for files, set the content_types="files" parameter and use a type: filter in the query:

  • type:images, type:documents, type:pdfs, type:spreadsheets, type:presentations
  • type:canvases, type:lists, type:emails, type:audio, type:videos

Example: content_types="files" type:pdfs budget after:2025-01-01

All the standard modifiers above (in:, from:, dates, etc.) work with file searches too.

Show full SKILL.md (241 more words)Show less

Useful Parameters

Beyond the query string, the search tools accept parameters that materially improve results:

  • sort: score (relevance, default) or timestamp (newest first); pair with sort_dir (asc/desc).
  • content_types: messages (default) or files.
  • only_my_channels: restrict to channels you're a member of.
  • limit: results per page (capped at 20); paginate with the returned cursor.

Following Up on Results

After finding relevant messages:

  • Use slack_read_thread to get the full thread context for any threaded message.
  • Use slack_read_channel with oldest/latest timestamps to read surrounding messages for context.
  • Use slack_read_user_profile to identify who a user is when their ID appears in results.
  • Use slack_read_file to read the contents of a file surfaced by a file search.
  • Use slack_list_channel_members to see who is in a channel you found.

Common Pitfalls

  • Boolean operators don't work. AND, OR, NOT are not supported. Use spaces (implicit AND) and - for exclusion. (Repeating the same modifier, e.g. two from:, ORs those values together.)
  • Parentheses don't work. Don't try to group search terms with ().
  • Search is not real-time. Very recent messages (last few seconds) may not appear in search results. Use slack_read_channel for the most recent messages.
  • Private channel access. Use slack_search_public_and_private when you need to include private channels, but note this requires user consent.

Notes

  • Scope: this skill owns searching workspace content: messages, files, channels, and people inside Slack. To search and read the official Slack platform documentation at docs.slack.dev (conceptual and how-to questions about Slack features), use the slack:slack-docs skill instead.

© slackapi, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/slack-search of slackapi/slack-skills-plugin.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 64c3f33

Compare with similar skills

Slack Search next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Slack Search compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Slack Search this skillslackapi/slack-skills-plugin144—~1.5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Setup Context A8cwoocommerce/woocommerce-ios358—~627Automated safety check: NotesGPL-2.0
Factory MCPwarpdotdev/warp65k1 repos~237Automated safety check: PassAGPL-3.0
Vercel Connectvercel/vercel-plugin301—~5.3kAutomated safety check: PassCustom licence
Code Design Rationale Investigatorcursor/plugins10k9 repos~2.6kAutomated safety check: PassNone
ComposioComposioHQ/composio30k1 repos~1.7kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Works with

Categories

Questions about Slack Search

What does Slack Search do?

A skill your agent uses when locating messages, files, channels, or people across Slack, or gathering context before answering, with the search MCP tools (slacksearchpublic…. Slack Search is an agent skill from slackapi/slack-skills-plugin, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Use when locating messages, files, channels, or people across Slack, or gathering context before answering, with the search MCP tools (slacksearchpublic, slacksearchpublicandprivate, slacksearchchannels, slacksearchusers).

When should I use Slack Search?

Slack Search fits situations like: locating messages; people across Slack; gathering context before answering; with the search MCP tools (slacksearchpublic.

How do I install Slack Search in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add slackapi/slack-skills-plugin --skill slack-search -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/slack-search in slackapi/slack-skills-plugin) into .claude/skills/slack-search in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Slack Search in Codex?

Run `npx skills add slackapi/slack-skills-plugin --skill slack-search -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/slack-search in slackapi/slack-skills-plugin) into .agents/skills/slack-search in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Slack Search in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add slackapi/slack-skills-plugin --skill slack-search -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/slack-search, .gemini/skills/slack-search, .github/skills/slack-search and .opencode/skills/slack-search in your project.

What does Slack Search need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Slack Search is instructions for the agent only.

Does Slack Search access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Slack Search safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Slack Search use?

Slack Search is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Slack Search use?

About 1.5k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 5.9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Slack Search?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Slack Search: Setup Context A8c (woocommerce/woocommerce-ios, 358 stars), Factory MCP (warpdotdev/warp, 65k stars), Vercel Connect (vercel/vercel-plugin, 301 stars) and Code Design Rationale Investigator (cursor/plugins, 10k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Slack Search?

slackapi (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in slackapi/slack-skills-plugin, which has 144 GitHub stars. The repository holds 7 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.

Source: slackapi/slack-skills-plugin on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.