Slack Automation Interact with Slack workspaces to check messages, extract data, and automate common tasks. Quick Start Connect to an existing Slack browser session or open Slack:

Connect to existing session on port 9222 (typical for already-open Slack)

agent-browser connect 9222

Or open Slack if not already running

agent-browser

open

https://app.slack.com

Then take a snapshot to see what's available:

agent-browser snapshot

-i

Core Workflow

Connect/Navigate

Open or connect to Slack

Snapshot

Get interactive elements with refs (

@e1

,

@e2

, etc.)

Navigate

Click tabs, expand sections, or navigate to specific channels

Extract/Interact

Read data or perform actions
Screenshot: Capture evidence of findings

Example: Check unread channels

agent-browser connect 9222 agent-browser snapshot -i

Look for "More unreads" button

agent-browser click @e21

Ref for "More unreads" button

agent-browser screenshot slack-unreads.png Common Tasks Checking Unread Messages

Connect to Slack

agent-browser connect 9222

Take snapshot to locate unreads button

agent-browser snapshot -i

Look for:

- "Unreads" toggle in Activity tab (shows unread count)

- Channel names with badges/bold text indicating unreads

Navigate to Activity tab to see all unreads in one view

agent-browser click @e14

Activity tab (ref may vary)

agent-browser wait 1000 agent-browser screenshot activity-unreads.png

Or check DMs tab

agent-browser click @e13

DMs tab

agent-browser screenshot dms.png

agent-browser click @e21

More unreads button

agent-browser wait 500 agent-browser screenshot expanded-unreads.png Navigating to a Channel

agent-browser snapshot -i

Look for channel name in the list (e.g., "engineering", "product-design")

Click on the channel treeitem ref

agent-browser click @e94

Example: engineering channel ref

agent-browser wait --load networkidle agent-browser screenshot channel.png Finding Messages/Threads

Use Slack search

agent-browser snapshot -i agent-browser click @e5

Search button (typical ref)

agent-browser fill @e_search "keyword" agent-browser press Enter agent-browser wait --load networkidle agent-browser screenshot search-results.png Extracting Channel Information

Get list of all visible channels

agent-browser snapshot --json

slack-snapshot.json

Parse for channel names and metadata

Look for treeitem elements with level=2 (sub-channels under sections)

Checking Channel Details

Open a channel

agent-browser click @e_channel_ref agent-browser wait 1000

Get channel info (members, description, etc.)

agent-browser snapshot -i agent-browser screenshot channel-details.png

Scroll through messages

agent-browser scroll down 500 agent-browser screenshot channel-messages.png Taking Notes/Capturing State When you need to document findings from Slack:

Take annotated screenshot (shows element numbers)

agent-browser screenshot --annotate slack-state.png

Take full-page screenshot

agent-browser screenshot --full slack-full.png

Get current URL for reference

agent-browser get url

Get page title

agent-browser get title Sidebar Structure Understanding Slack's sidebar helps you navigate efficiently: - Threads - Huddles - Drafts & sent - Directories - [Section Headers - External connections, Starred, Channels, etc.] - [Channels listed as treeitems] - Direct Messages - [DMs listed] - Apps - [App shortcuts] - [More unreads] button (toggles unread channels list) Key refs to look for: @e12 - Home tab (usually) @e13 - DMs tab @e14 - Activity tab @e5 - Search button @e21 - More unreads button (varies by session) Tabs in Slack After clicking on a channel, you'll see tabs: Messages - Channel conversation Files - Shared files Pins - Pinned messages Add canvas - Collaborative canvas Other tabs depending on workspace setup Click tab refs to switch views and get different information. Extracting Data from Slack Get Text Content

Get a message or element's text

agent-browser get text @e_message_ref Parse Accessibility Tree

Full snapshot as JSON for programmatic parsing

agent-browser snapshot --json

output.json

Look for:

- Channel names (name field in treeitem)

- Message content (in listitem/document elements)

- User names (button elements with user info)

- Timestamps (link elements with time info)

Count Unreads

After expanding unreads section:

agent-browser snapshot -i | grep -c "treeitem"

Each treeitem with a channel name in the unreads section is one unread

Best Practices

Connect to existing sessions

Use

agent-browser connect 9222

if Slack is already open. This is faster than opening a new browser.

Take snapshots before clicking

Always

snapshot -i

to identify refs before clicking buttons.

Re-snapshot after navigation

After navigating to a new channel or section, take a fresh snapshot to find new refs.

Use JSON snapshots for parsing

When you need to extract structured data, use

snapshot --json

for machine-readable output.

Pace interactions

Add

sleep 1

between rapid interactions to let the UI update.

Check accessibility tree

The accessibility tree shows what screen readers (and your automation) can see. If an element isn't in the snapshot, it may be hidden or require scrolling.

Scroll in sidebar

Use

agent-browser scroll down 300 --selector ".p-sidebar"

to scroll within the Slack sidebar if channel list is long.

Limitations

Cannot access Slack API

This uses browser automation, not the Slack API. No OAuth, webhooks, or bot tokens needed.

Session-specific

Screenshots and snapshots are tied to the current browser session.

Rate limiting

Slack may rate-limit rapid interactions. Add delays between commands if needed.
Workspace-specific: You interact with your own workspace -- no cross-workspace automation. Debugging Check console for errors agent-browser console agent-browser errors View raw HTML of an element

Snapshot shows the accessibility tree. If an element isn't there,

it may not be interactive (e.g., div instead of button)

Use snapshot -i -C to include cursor-interactive divs

agent-browser snapshot -i -C Get current page state agent-browser get url agent-browser get title agent-browser screenshot page-state.png Example: Full Unread Check

!/bin/bash

Connect to Slack

agent-browser connect 9222

Take initial snapshot

echo "=== Checking Slack unreads ===" agent-browser snapshot -i

snapshot.txt

Check Activity tab for unreads

agent-browser click @e14

Activity tab

agent-browser wait 1000 agent-browser screenshot activity.png ACTIVITY_RESULT = $( agent-browser get text @e_main_area ) echo "Activity: $ACTIVITY_RESULT "

Check DMs

agent-browser click @e13

DMs tab

agent-browser wait 1000 agent-browser screenshot dms.png

agent-browser click @e21

More unreads button

agent-browser wait 500 agent-browser snapshot -i

unreads-expanded.txt agent-browser screenshot unreads.png

Summary

echo
"=== Summary ==="
echo
"See activity.png, dms.png, and unreads.png for full details"
References
Slack docs
:
https://slack.com/help
Web experience
:
https://app.slack.com
Keyboard shortcuts: Type ? in Slack for shortcut list

安装

Connect to existing session on port 9222 (typical for already-open Slack)

Or open Slack if not already running

Example: Check unread channels

Look for "More unreads" button

Ref for "More unreads" button

Connect to Slack

Take snapshot to locate unreads button

Look for:

- "More unreads" button (usually near top of sidebar)

- "Unreads" toggle in Activity tab (shows unread count)

- Channel names with badges/bold text indicating unreads

Navigate to Activity tab to see all unreads in one view

Activity tab (ref may vary)

Or check DMs tab

DMs tab

Or expand "More unreads" in sidebar

More unreads button

Search for channel in sidebar or by name

Look for channel name in the list (e.g., "engineering", "product-design")

Click on the channel treeitem ref

Example: engineering channel ref

Use Slack search

Search button (typical ref)

Get list of all visible channels

Parse for channel names and metadata

Look for treeitem elements with level=2 (sub-channels under sections)

Open a channel

Get channel info (members, description, etc.)

Scroll through messages

Take annotated screenshot (shows element numbers)

Take full-page screenshot

Get current URL for reference

Get page title

Get a message or element's text

Full snapshot as JSON for programmatic parsing

Look for:

- Channel names (name field in treeitem)

- Message content (in listitem/document elements)

- User names (button elements with user info)

- Timestamps (link elements with time info)

After expanding unreads section:

Each treeitem with a channel name in the unreads section is one unread

Snapshot shows the accessibility tree. If an element isn't there,

it may not be interactive (e.g., div instead of button)

Use snapshot -i -C to include cursor-interactive divs

!/bin/bash

Connect to Slack

Take initial snapshot

Check Activity tab for unreads

Activity tab

Check DMs

DMs tab

Check unread channels in sidebar

More unreads button

Summary