Slack Explorer MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server specialized in retrieving information from Slack messages and threads. It provides tools to access messages that the authenticated user can view using a User Token (xoxp).

Available Tools

• Message Search (search_messages)

  • Search Slack messages with advanced filtering options. You can search by channel, user, date range, and specific features (reactions, files, etc.).
  • Parameters
    • query: Basic search query. Use dedicated fields for inclusion modifiers (bare modifiers in this field are rejected). Exclusion modifiers prefixed with - (e.g., -in:#channel) ARE allowed here
    • in_channel: Filter by channel name (e.g., "general", "team-dev")
    • from_user: Search messages from specific user (User ID)
    • with: Search DMs/threads with specific users (array of User IDs)
    • before, after, on: Date range filtering (YYYY-MM-DD format)
    • during: Period specification (e.g., "July", "2023")
    • has: Messages containing specific features (emoji, "pin", "file", "link", "reaction")
    • hasmy: Messages where you reacted with specific emoji
    • sort: Sort method ("score" or "timestamp")
    • count: Number of results per page (1-100, default: 20)
    • page: Page number (1-100, default: 1)

• Thread Replies (get_thread_replies)

  • Get all replies in a message thread. Supports pagination for efficiently handling large numbers of replies.
  • Parameters
    • channel_id: Channel ID (required)
    • thread_ts: Parent message timestamp (required)
    • limit: Number of replies to retrieve (1-1000, default: 100)
    • cursor: Pagination cursor

• User Profiles (get_user_profiles)

  • Get profile information for multiple users in bulk. Retrieve display names, real names, email addresses, and other profile information by specifying a list of user IDs.
  • Parameters
    • user_ids: Array of user IDs (required, max 100)

• Search Users by Display Name (search_users_by_name)

  • Search users by their display name. Supports both exact match and partial match search with case sensitivity.
  • Parameters
    • display_name: Display name to search for (required)
    • exact: Enable exact match search

• File Search (search_files)

  • Search for files such as canvases, PDFs, and images. You can filter by file type, channel, user, and date range.
  • Parameters
    • query: Basic search query. Use dedicated fields for inclusion modifiers (bare modifiers in this field are rejected). Exclusion modifiers prefixed with - (e.g., -type:pdfs) ARE allowed here
    • types: Filter by file types (e.g., ["canvases", "pdfs"]). Available types: lists, canvases, documents, emails, images, pdfs, presentations, snippets, spreadsheets, audio, videos
    • in_channel: Filter by channel name (e.g., "general", "team-dev")
    • from_user: Search files from specific user (User ID)
    • with_users: Search files in DMs/threads with specific users (array of User IDs)
    • before, after, on: Date range filtering (YYYY-MM-DD format)
    • count: Number of results per page (1-100, default: 20)
    • page: Page number (1-100, default: 1)

• Canvas Content (get_canvas_content)

  • Get HTML content of Slack canvases. Retrieve canvas content by specifying canvas IDs.
  • Parameters
    • canvas_ids: Array of canvas IDs (required, max 20)

Setup

Getting a Slack User Token

1. Create an app at Slack API
2. Add the following User Token Scopes in OAuth & Permissions:
   • channels:history - For public channels
   • groups:history - For private channels
   • im:history - For direct messages
   • mpim:history - For group direct messages
   • search:read - For message search
   • users.profile:read - For user profiles
   • users:read - For user information
   • files:read - For file content access
3. Install the app to your workspace
4. Get the User OAuth Token (starts with xoxp-)
   • Tip: To use with multiple users in the same workspace, add them as Collaborators and have each user reinstall from OAuth & Permissions to get their own User OAuth Token

MCP Server Configuration

1. Configure mcp.json

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "slack-explorer-mcp": {
         "command": "docker",
         "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "--pull", "always",
           "-e", "SLACK_USER_TOKEN=xoxp-your-token-here",
           "ghcr.io/shibayu36/slack-explorer-mcp:latest"
         ]
       }
     }
   }
   

   If you're using Claude Code:

   claude mcp add slack-explorer-mcp -- docker run -i --rm --pull always \
     -e SLACK_USER_TOKEN=xoxp-your-token-here \
     ghcr.io/shibayu36/slack-explorer-mcp:latest
   

2. Use the agent to perform Slack searches

   Examples:

   • "Search for meeting-related messages in the general channel from last week"
   • "Find messages from @john.doe about 'project'"
   • "Get all thread replies for this post"

Usage

Common Search Patterns

• Search in a specific channel

  Search for "release" messages in the general channel
  

• Search messages from a specific user

  Search for yesterday's messages from @john.doe
  

• Search messages with reactions

  Search for messages with :fire: reactions
  

• Search messages you reacted to

  Search for messages where you reacted with :eyes:
  

• Search messages with file attachments

  Search for messages with file attachments
  

Using as Streamable HTTP Server

By default, the server uses stdio for MCP communication. You can start it as a Streamable HTTP server by setting the TRANSPORT=http environment variable. In HTTP mode, pass the Slack token using the X-Slack-User-Token header.

Starting the server:

# Start HTTP server (default: all interfaces 0.0.0.0, port 8080)
docker run -i --rm --pull always \
  -e TRANSPORT=http \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  ghcr.io/shibayu36/slack-explorer-mcp:latest

# Start with custom host and port
docker run -i --rm --pull always \
  -e TRANSPORT=http \
  -e HTTP_HOST=127.0.0.1 \
  -e HTTP_PORT=9090 \
  -p 9090:9090 \
  ghcr.io/shibayu36/slack-explorer-mcp:latest