{"id":28878,"date":"2019-01-16T21:15:07","date_gmt":"2019-01-16T13:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=28878"},"modified":"2019-01-16T15:14:40","modified_gmt":"2019-01-16T07:14:40","slug":"custom-slash-command-slack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/custom-slash-command-slack\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create Custom Slash Commands in Slack"},"content":{"rendered":"

Slack<\/a><\/strong> is a team productivity tool<\/strong> that comes with many configurations and services meant for customization<\/strong>. One of the best of its customizable features are Slash Commands<\/a><\/strong>. Slash Commands are essentially keywords<\/strong> that perform a certain action when you enter them as messages with a preceding forward slash symbol (\/)<\/strong> in Slack.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tRead Also:<\/strong>\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\t10 Useful Slack Tools For Better Productivity<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Built-in Slash commands<\/h2>\n

The current set of built-in Slash commands<\/a> performs an array of predefined functions<\/strong> in Slack. For instance, by entering the \/away<\/code> Slash Command into the message input box, you can toggle the Status of your account<\/strong>, as you can see it on the gif below.<\/p>\n

\"Slack<\/figure>\n

Custom Slash commands<\/h2>\n

You can also create custom Slash commands<\/strong> in Slack. Custom Slash commands allow developers to make secure HTTP requests<\/strong> to web applications or services, and receive relevant responses<\/strong> from them that are displayed as new Slack messages<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Recommended Reading:<\/strong>\n How to Send Customized Messages to Slack from your Application<\/a><\/p>\n

As an example, say there is a web service that returns the current score of a football match in plain text. You can create a Slash command to make a secure HTTP request<\/strong> to that web service, and display the score received as the response text<\/strong> in the Slack message window.<\/p>\n

Create a Slash command<\/h2>\n

To create a Slash command, enter the https:\/\/[yourTeam].slack.com\/apps\/build\/custom-integration<\/strong> URL to your browser\u2019s address bar, just replace the [yourTeam] placeholder<\/strong> with the name of your Slack team, and click the Slash Commands<\/span> option.<\/p>\n

\"Create<\/figure>\n

On the next screen, enter the keyword<\/strong> you want to use for your Slack Command (don\u2019t use any space), then click the Add Slash Command Integration<\/span> button. You can later edit this keyword<\/strong> if you want.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/figure>\n

On the next screen, you can configure the settings<\/strong> for your Slash command. You need to enter the URL of the web application<\/strong> you want to send your request to. You can also see a token value<\/strong> for the Slash command you\u2019ve just created, which you can use in your web server to validate the request<\/strong> sent by Slack.<\/p>\n

\"Slash<\/figure>\n

Display the response<\/h2>\n

By default<\/strong>, the responses for the requests made by Slash commands are shown as plain text<\/strong> in the message window. If you\u2019d rather show the messages in the Slack message format<\/strong> instead, the responses need to be in valid JSON<\/abbr> format<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Also, by default, the response of a Slash Command is visible only to the user who entered that command<\/strong>, and not others in the channel. This can only be changed if the response is a valid JSON carrying the property called \"response_type\"<\/code> with the value \"in_channel\"<\/code><\/strong>, then all users in the channel can see the response. The \"text\"<\/code> property holds the main text<\/strong> that will be shown in the message.<\/p>\n

\r\n\/\/ Example JSON response\r\n{\r\n\t\"response_type\": \"in_channel\",\r\n\t\"text\": \"...\"\r\n}\r\n<\/pre>\n
As an example, I\u2019ll display an ASCII art chessboard<\/strong> in response to my custom \/lets-play<\/code> Slash command I\u2019ve created in the previous section, so as to demonstrate that you can display more complicated characters<\/strong> in the response as well. You can read more on Slack\u2019s message formatting<\/strong> in the Slack API docs<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Below, you can see a screenshot of the JSON response<\/strong> my example Slash command will display, or you can find the same JSON file on Github<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\"Sample<\/figure>\n
If you also want line breaks<\/strong> in your message, use the \\n<\/code> new line character<\/strong> in the value of the \"text\"<\/code> property.<\/p>\n
Run the command<\/h2>\n
Go to a channel or to the DM<\/abbr> message window in Slack, and enter the new Slash command<\/strong> into the message input field. If you had ticked the Show this command in the autocomplete list<\/em> checkbox in your Slash command settings, you\u2019ll see your command in the suggestion list<\/strong> while typing.<\/p>\n
If you hadn\u2019t and you want to update this settings now, you can return to your Slash command settings page, and edit your configurations by clicking on the little pencil icon right to the command.<\/p>\n
Below you can see a gif demo that demonstrates how my custom Slash command<\/strong> with the ASCII art chessboard works in Slack.<\/p>\n
\"slash<\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Slack is a team productivity tool that comes with many configurations and services meant for customization. One of the best of its customizable features are Slash Commands. Slash Commands are essentially keywords that perform a certain action when you enter them as messages with a preceding forward slash symbol (\/) in Slack. Built-in Slash commands…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3397],"tags":[3538,4268],"topic":[4521],"class_list":["entry-content","is-maxi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Create Custom Slash Commands in Slack - Hongkiat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Slack is a team productivity tool that comes with many configurations and services meant for customization. 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