> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://player-zero-slack-mcp-docs.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Slack

> Connect Slack to PlayerZero to interact with AI Players directly from Slack — start investigations from messages, run workflows, receive notifications in channels, and let PlayerZero work in your workspace.

Slack is a messaging platform for teams. PlayerZero's Slack integration lets you interact with AI Players directly from Slack — starting investigations from message threads, chatting with Player threads in DMs, and running workflows.

## What You Can Do

Once connected, you can:

* **Chat with Player threads in DMs** — Send messages directly to the PlayerZero bot to ask questions about your codebase, debug issues, or investigate problems
* **@mention in channels** — Mention the PlayerZero bot in any channel to start a conversation. The bot creates a Player thread and responds in a Slack thread.
* **Start investigations from messages** — Use the **Ask PlayerZero** message shortcut to send any message thread to a Player thread, with full thread context automatically captured and optional workflow selection
* **Use the `/ask_playerzero` command** — Type `/ask_playerzero` in any channel to open the Ask PlayerZero modal without needing to right-click a message
* **Open in Chat** — Link an existing PlayerZero session to a Slack channel from the PlayerZero UI, so you can continue a conversation in Slack
* **Receive notifications in channels** — Get workflow stage approval requests, Player thread summaries, and other notifications delivered to your team's channels
* **Get direct questions as DMs** — When a Player thread has a collaboration question for a specific person, PlayerZero can deliver it as a direct message so the right teammate can answer without leaving Slack
* **Let PlayerZero work in your workspace** — During an investigation or workflow run, PlayerZero can read channel history, search earlier messages, post an update, reply in a Slack thread, and look up teammates. Organization owners choose which of these tools it may use. See [Slack MCP Tools](/connector/slack-mcp)

## Ask PlayerZero

### Message Shortcut

Right-click any message (or use the ⋯ menu) and select **Ask PlayerZero** to send it to a Player thread.

1. Select **Ask PlayerZero** from the message shortcut menu
2. Choose a **project** (if you have more than one)
3. Optionally select a **workflow** to start the Player thread in a specific workflow stage
4. Add any **additional context** to supplement the thread content
5. Click **Create**

PlayerZero automatically reads the original thread and includes it as context for the agent. The Player thread is linked back to the Slack message thread — a summary of the agent's response appears in the Slack thread with a **Full Chat** link to the complete conversation in PlayerZero. Messages you send in the Slack thread are forwarded to the Player thread.

You can preview the instructions for a selected workflow using the **Preview** button before submitting.

### Slash Command

Type `/ask_playerzero` in any channel to open the same Ask PlayerZero modal directly. Any text you include after the command is pre-filled into the message field.

The command creates a new Slack thread in the current channel and links it to the Player thread. This is useful when you want to start an investigation without a specific message to reference.

### Global Shortcut

Open Slack's global shortcuts menu and select **Ask PlayerZero** to start a new Player thread without message context.

1. Open the global shortcuts menu
2. Select **Ask PlayerZero**
3. Choose a **project** and optionally a **workflow**
4. Provide a **message** describing your question or task
5. Click **Create**

Unlike the message shortcut, this does not capture thread context — use it when you want to start a new investigation from scratch. The Player thread opens in a DM with the PlayerZero bot.

### How Thread Context Works

When you trigger the message shortcut from a message that's part of a thread, PlayerZero reads the parent message of that thread and includes its content alongside your additional context. This means the agent understands the full conversation without you needing to copy and paste.

## Workflow Stage Approvals

When a Player thread needs approval to move to the next workflow stage, PlayerZero delivers an approval notification to Slack. These notifications appear in the Slack thread where the Player thread was started (if it originated from Slack) and in any channels configured for that workflow stage.

The notification includes:

* An **Approve** button to approve the transition immediately
* An **Approve with message** button to add context or provide instructions before approving
* A **View in PlayerZero** link to open the full Player thread

After approval, a confirmation message is posted to the thread so the team can see who approved and any notes they included.

If the request has already been handled — for example, approved from another channel or from PlayerZero — the card updates in place to show that the request is no longer pending, so no one approves the same transition twice.

## Open in Chat

You can link any Player thread to a Slack channel directly from the PlayerZero UI.

From a Player thread in PlayerZero, click **Open in Chat** and select a Slack channel. PlayerZero creates a new Slack thread in that channel linked to the Player thread — messages in the Slack thread are forwarded to the Player thread, and its responses appear in the Slack thread.

If the Player thread is already connected to a Slack thread, clicking **Open in Chat** takes you directly to that Slack thread instead.

## Receive Notifications

PlayerZero delivers notifications to Slack channels based on your project and workflow configuration. Notifications include:

* **Workflow stage approval requests** when a Player thread needs human approval to continue
* **Player thread response summaries** posted to Slack threads where investigations were started
* **Notifications from monitor-initiated Player threads** when a monitor triggers a new investigation and delivers results to a configured channel

Notification routing is configured per project and per workflow stage in **Settings**. See [Notification Configuration](#notification-configuration) for details.

## Slack Tools for PlayerZero

Connecting Slack also gives PlayerZero a set of Slack tools it can use during Player threads and workflow runs. Beyond sending notifications, PlayerZero can find the right channel, read its recent history, search earlier messages, post an update, reply inside a Slack thread, and look up who is who in your workspace. A workflow that finishes an investigation can post the result into the channel that cares about it and answer the follow-up in the same Slack thread.

Three limits apply:

* **Channel access** — PlayerZero works only in channels the PlayerZero bot can reach. The bot joins public channels automatically when it needs to act in one; private channels require an invitation first
* **Its own messages** — PlayerZero can edit or delete only the messages it posted itself
* **Project access** — The tools follow the project access set on the Slack connection, so a Player thread or workflow run in a project outside that list does not see them

Organization owners choose which of these tools PlayerZero may use, and that choice applies across the organization. See [Slack MCP Tools](/connector/slack-mcp) for the full tool list, project scoping, and how approval requirements apply to messages PlayerZero sends.

<Note>
  Slack tools come with the Slack connection. There is no separate connection to create and no credential to manage. If your organization connected Slack before Slack tools were introduced, an organization owner needs to reconnect it so the workspace permissions the tools need are granted. See [Reconnecting an Existing Connection](#reconnecting-an-existing-connection).
</Note>

## Scopes & Permissions

<Info>
  PlayerZero requests only the permissions needed for AI agents to assist with debugging, communication, and issue management. We follow the principle of least privilege — each permission directly enables a specific capability.
</Info>

| Scope                  | Why It's Needed                                                                                                                                                    |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `app_mentions:read`    | **@mention responses** — Allows PlayerZero to detect when someone mentions the bot in a channel and respond                                                        |
| `channels:history`     | **Thread context** — Enables reading message threads to provide full context when a shortcut is triggered from a channel                                           |
| `channels:join`        | **Channel access** — Allows the bot to join public channels where it needs to deliver notifications or respond to mentions                                         |
| `channels:read`        | **Channel discovery** — Lets PlayerZero list available channels during setup so you can choose where to receive notifications                                      |
| `chat:write`           | **Responses and notifications** — Enables sending agent responses, investigation results, and approval notifications                                               |
| `chat:write.customize` | **Attributed messages** — Allows the bot to send messages on behalf of team members (e.g., "Alice (via PlayerZero)") when relaying messages from the PlayerZero UI |
| `commands`             | **Slash command and shortcuts** — Required for the `/ask_playerzero` command and the Ask PlayerZero shortcuts                                                      |
| `files:write`          | **File sharing** — Enables sharing files (e.g., diagrams, reports) generated by AI agents                                                                          |
| `groups:history`       | **Private channel threads** — Same as `channels:history` but for private channels                                                                                  |
| `groups:read`          | **Private channel info** — Same as `channels:read` but for private channels                                                                                        |
| `im:history`           | **DM conversations** — Enables reading direct messages with the bot                                                                                                |
| `im:write`             | **DM initiation** — Enables the bot to open direct message conversations                                                                                           |
| `mpim:history`         | **Group DM conversations** — Enables participating in group direct message threads                                                                                 |
| `users:read`           | **User mapping** — Allows matching Slack users to PlayerZero accounts for proper attribution                                                                       |
| `users:read.email`     | **Email matching** — Uses email addresses to link Slack identities with PlayerZero user accounts                                                                   |

## Setup

<Note>
  Setup starts in PlayerZero — no pre-configuration in Slack is required. The Slack connection is managed under **Collaboration**, not the Ticketing page (which is used for tools like Jira and Linear).
</Note>

1. In PlayerZero, navigate to **Settings → Collaboration**
2. Click the **Slack** card to open its detail page
3. Click **Enable** — a popup window will open for Slack authorization
4. Sign in to Slack and authorize PlayerZero in your workspace
5. After authorization, the popup closes and you'll see the Slack detail page with configuration options

Once connected, all Slack capabilities are immediately available — the `/ask_playerzero` command, message shortcuts, DMs with the bot, @mention responses, and the Slack tools PlayerZero uses during investigations. No additional configuration is needed beyond the initial connection.

### Reconnecting an Existing Connection

Slack tools need workspace permissions that connections made before their release did not request. If the Slack MCP row on the Slack detail page asks you to reconnect, an organization owner can grant them by disconnecting and reconnecting:

1. Navigate to **Settings → Collaboration** and click the **Slack** card
2. Click **Disable** in the page header and confirm
3. Click **Enable** and complete Slack authorization again

Disabling stops PlayerZero from sending messages to Slack and clears the stored Slack credentials. Your organization and project notification settings are kept, so you do not need to configure them again after reconnecting.

<Note>
  Only organization owners can enable or disable the Slack connection.
</Note>

### Channel Access

The PlayerZero bot automatically joins public channels when it needs to deliver a notification or respond to a mention. No manual invitation is required for public channels.

For **private channels**, you need to manually invite the bot by typing `/invite @PlayerZero` in the channel before PlayerZero can post there.

### Notification Configuration

Once Slack is connected, you can configure where notifications are delivered at the organization and project level.

**Organization-level defaults:**

* Set a default Slack channel for notifications from the Collaboration settings page
* Control which projects are authorized to use the Slack connection — either all projects or a specific set

**Per-project, per-stage channels:**

* Each project can configure notification channels independently
* Assign different Slack channels to different workflow stages — for example, route approval requests to `#support-triage` and engineering escalations to `#eng-alerts`
* Enable or disable workflow notifications (approval requests, stage transitions) per project

**Business hours:**

* Optionally restrict notifications to business hours based on your team's timezone
* Notifications generated outside business hours are held and delivered when business hours resume

**Direct messages:**

* Turn on **Send direct messages** for a project to deliver direct questions to individual teammates as Slack DMs, alongside the channel notifications above
* Choose what is sent as a direct message with the scope setting: **All questions**, **Direct questions only**, or **Workflow approval questions only**
* Configure it at **Organization settings → Collaboration → Slack**, then select the project, turn on **Send direct messages**, and click **Save**

## Get Started

👉 [Slack MCP Tools](/connector/slack-mcp)

👉 [AI Player overview](/features/ai-player)

👉 [Workflow overview](/features/workflows)

👉 [Setup guide](/developer-guide/quickstart-guide)