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slick history

Read channel or thread history with bounded pagination. The default scope is parent messages in a channel; --thread fetches replies to a parent timestamp.

history list

Read parent messages in a channel, capped by --max-items:

slick history list --channel C1234567890 --max-items 50

Read replies under a specific parent timestamp:

slick history list --channel C1234567890 --thread 1746284582.123456

Bound the window with oldest and latest Slack timestamps:

slick history list --channel C1234567890 --since 1746000000.000000 --until 1746999999.999999

Filter parent messages to a single author:

slick history list --channel C1234567890 --user U1234567890

Include bounded thread replies per parent:

slick history list --channel C1234567890 --include-replies --reply-limit 10

Continue from a prior page using the opaque cursor:

slick history list --channel C1234567890 --max-items 50 --cursor <meta.pagination.next_cursor>

Flags

Flags
Flag Value Description
-c, --channel <CHANNEL> Channel ID, name, or alias
-M, --max-items <N> Maximum messages to return
-s, --since <TS> Oldest Slack timestamp
-u, --until <TS> Latest Slack timestamp
-U, --user <USER> Filter by user ID
-t, --thread <TS> Read replies for parent timestamp
-C, --cursor <CURSOR> Pagination cursor
-R, --include-replies Include bounded thread replies
-L, --reply-limit <N> Maximum replies per parent

History returns parent messages by default; --thread switches to replies under a specific parent. --include-replies bounds replies per parent via --reply-limit.

Output

Human (populated):

TS                 USER       TEXT                                 REPLIES
1746284600.000001  U123ABC    Deploy complete                      3
1746284582.123456  U987XYZ    Starting deploy                      0

Human (empty result — table is suppressed, only the summary event renders):

History retrieved max_items=5

ts renders in FieldTime magenta when colour is enabled. The USER column hash-colours by user ID.

JSON envelope. Each message carries the Slack conversation object in full — expect permalink, bot_id (present for messages sent via the Slack API even when the user field is a real user), reply_count, an embedded reactions array (same shape as react list), and the rendered blocks (Block Kit payload, including the agent attribution context block when present):

{
  "meta": {"pagination": {"next_cursor": "bmV4dF90czoxNzc4NDQxNjE4OTg5NDg5", "has_more": true, "max_items": 50, "items_returned": 50}, "…": "…"},
  "data": {
    "messages": [
      {
        "type": "message",
        "user": "U123ABC",
        "bot_id": "B0B1HM17BHS",
        "text": "Deploy complete",
        "ts": "1746284600.000001",
        "thread_ts": "1746284600.000001",
        "channel": "C1234567890",
        "permalink": "https://example.slack.com/archives/C1234567890/p1746284600000001",
        "reply_count": 3,
        "reactions": [
          {"name": "+1", "count": 2, "users": ["U123ABC", "U987XYZ"]}
        ],
        "blocks": [
          {"type": "section", "text": {"type": "mrkdwn", "text": "Deploy complete"}, "block_id": "…"},
          {"type": "context", "block_id": "…", "elements": [{"type": "mrkdwn", "text": ":robot_face: _Sent via slick (agent mode)_"}]}
        ]
      },
      {"type": "message", "user": "U987XYZ", "text": "Starting deploy", "ts": "1746284582.123456", "channel": "C1234567890"}
    ]
  }
}

Opaque cursor

next_cursor is an opaque base64-encoded string — treat it as bytes; do not try to decode or modify it. Pagination continuation passes the value verbatim back via --cursor.

Pagination

Pass meta.pagination.next_cursor back as --cursor to fetch the next page. has_more is the explicit "there is more" signal; an empty next_cursor ends the walk.

Common errors

Error Cause Fix
not_in_channel (not_found, exit 2) Token identity is not a member of the channel. Add the bot to the channel, or use a user-token profile.
channel_not_found Bad channel ID. Verify with lookup channel.

See also