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

   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:

   bash

   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

  code

  Search for "release" messages in the general channel
  

• Search messages from a specific user

  code

  Search for yesterday's messages from @john.doe
  

• Search messages with reactions

  code

  Search for messages with :fire: reactions
  

• Search messages you reacted to

  code

  Search for messages where you reacted with :eyes:
  

• Search messages with file attachments

  code

  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