Slack Channel Setup

Slack is the best first channel for Dawn when you want threaded replies and recent team discussion to become usable context.

Prerequisites

• A Dawn workspace and at least one agent profile.
• A workspace owner who can connect Slack once for the workspace.
• Slack workspace admin access if you are using the standard Dawn Slack app, or Slack app credentials if you are using a custom app.

1) Choose how this workspace connects to Slack

Slack is now configured once per Dawn workspace. After that, the workspace can add as many Slack channel bindings as it needs.

1. Open Channels → Add channel → Slack.

2. If no Slack app is configured yet, Dawn shows two choices:

   • Standard Dawn App: connect the official Dawn Slack app.
   • Custom app: use your own Slack app for this workspace.

3. Only workspace owners can set up or change the workspace Slack app.

4. After Slack is connected, other workspace members can create Slack bindings for that workspace.

5. Slack channel bindings are for shared channel workflows. Slack DMs with Dawn are a separate private conversation surface.

If someone uses Dawn from a Slack DM, that conversation stays private. It does not replace shared Slack bindings, and it is also where /link can be used to connect that Slack identity to a Dawn account.

2) Standard Dawn App

1. Select Standard Dawn App in Dawn.
2. Click Connect Slack.
3. Approve the official Dawn app in Slack for the target Slack workspace.
4. After installation, Dawn returns to the channel setup flow and lets you pick channels directly.

3) Custom Slack app

Use this when your organization wants a dedicated Slack app for a specific Dawn workspace.

1. Select Custom app in Dawn.

2. Enter:

   • Client ID
   • Client Secret
   • Signing Secret

3. Save the app configuration in Dawn.

4. Copy the Redirect URI and Event callback URL shown by Dawn into your Slack app settings exactly as shown.

5. In Slack App Home settings, disable the Messages tab unless you are intentionally building a DM/App Home flow.

6. Click Connect Slack to complete installation into the target Slack workspace.

7. If you later need to reconnect the workspace to a different Slack team, remove existing Slack bindings first.

4) Required Slack scopes and events

Recommended minimum scopes:

app_mentions:read
channels:read
groups:read
chat:write
channels:history
groups:history
files:read
files:write

1. In Slack app settings, disable the App Home Messages tab.

2. Enable Event Subscriptions.

3. Set the request URL to the Event callback URL shown by Dawn for this workspace.

4. Subscribe to these events at minimum:

   app_mention
   message.channels
   message.groups

5. Use message.groups when private channels matter.

6. Reinstall app if Slack prompts for scope updates.

5) Add Slack channel bindings

1. Once Slack is connected, reopen Channels → Add channel → Slack.
2. Select the Slack channel to bind. You do not need to enter raw workspace or channel IDs.
3. Choose a trigger mode. Mention only is the safest default for most teams.
4. Set context mode to use recent discussion if you want Dawn to use the thread or channel discussion it receives as later context.
5. Attach the binding to your target agent profile.
6. Send a test mention in Slack and confirm the reply appears in the same thread or channel.

How context works in Slack

• Dawn replies directly in the same bound thread or channel where it was triggered.
• If context mode is enabled and Slack sends the surrounding messages, Dawn can use that recent discussion later when the team asks it to act.
• This works best when Dawn is already present in the thread before the discussion starts.
• Dawn does not currently fetch old Slack messages it never received earlier.

Validation checklist

• A test mention creates one visible reply in Slack and one matching conversation in Dawn.
• The saved binding points at the intended Slack channel after refresh.
• A follow-up message in the same Slack thread is handled with the expected context mode.
• If files matter, one test with an attachment succeeds end to end.

Troubleshooting

• No response to mentions: verify app_mention is enabled and the bot is in the target channel.
• Dawn replies but does not use the surrounding discussion: verify the message events above are enabled and the binding context mode is not set to Dawn-only.
• No discussion context in private channels: verify the app is actually in the private channel and message.groups is enabled.
• Connect flow fails: confirm the Redirect URI and Event callback URL shown in Dawn match your Slack app configuration.
• Message appears in Dawn but no Slack reply: verify chat:write, files:write if attachments are involved, and reinstall the app.
• Slack Marketplace review flags direct messages: disable the App Home Messages tab. Dawn is intended for bound-channel operation.
• Managers cannot configure Slack: this is expected. Only workspace owners can connect or change the Slack app for a workspace.

Summarize Slack binding health and missing scopes for this workspace.

List the last 10 Slack events and whether Dawn processed them successfully.