Skip to content

slick message

Send, edit, and delete Slack messages. Markdown input is converted to Block Kit by default; --blocks accepts raw Block Kit JSON. Slack-side message operations require chat:write (and matching channel scopes); user-token profiles can edit and delete only their own messages.

slick message send     Send a Slack message
slick message edit     Edit an owned Slack message
slick message delete   Delete an owned Slack message
slick message scheduled list     List scheduled Slack messages
slick message scheduled delete   Delete a scheduled Slack message

For thread replies, see reply. For reactions, see react.

message send

slick message send --channel C1234567890 --message "Deploy complete"
echo "Deploy complete" | slick message send --channel C1234567890 --file -

# DMs (single user, group DM, or by Slack-profile email)
slick message send --user U1234567890 --message "Build artifact ready"
slick message send --user dev@example.com,ops@example.com --message "Review please"

# Raw Block Kit input
slick message send --channel C1234567890 --blocks --file blocks.json

# Preview without sending
slick message send --channel C1234567890 --message "Deploy complete" --dry-run

# Schedule a future send. Natural-language times are not accepted here. (_yet_)
slick message send --channel C1234567890 --message "Deploy tomorrow" --schedule 2026-06-01T15:00:00-04:00
slick message send --channel C1234567890 --message "Deploy in 90 minutes" --schedule 90m
slick message send --user dev@example.com --message "DM follow-up" --schedule 90m

Flags

-c, --channel <CHANNEL>  Channel ID, name, or alias
-u, --user <USER>…       User ID or alias; repeat or comma-separate for group DM
-m, --message <TEXT>     Message body
-f, --file <FILE>        Read message body from file or - for stdin
-N, --filename <NAME>    Filename metadata for stdin sources
-b, --blocks             Treat message source as raw Block Kit JSON
-s, --schedule <WHEN>    Schedule for future send: RFC3339, Go duration, or Unix seconds
-n, --dry-run            Preview without sending
    --attribution                Force attribution on for this command
    --no-attribution             Disable attribution for this command
    --attribution-label <LABEL>      Override attribution label
    --attribution-emoji <EMOJI>      Override attribution emoji
    --attribution-message <TEXT>     Override attribution message

If default_channel is set in config, both --channel and --user can be omitted for immediate sends. Scheduled sends require an explicit --channel or --user target.

--user accepts Slack user IDs, configured aliases, and Slack-profile email addresses resolved via users.lookupByEmail. Repeat the flag or comma-separate values to open a group DM. If Slack returns users_not_found for an email, that address did not match a Slack user in the active workspace.

--schedule accepts only RFC3339 timestamps, Go durations such as 90m or 2h30m, and Unix seconds. It rejects every other format, including natural-language strings such as tomorrow at 9am. Scheduled sends accept either --channel or --user; scheduled DMs resolve/open the DM before calling Slack's scheduled-message API. Real scheduled --user sends return the raw DM or MPIM conversation ID in data.channel. Scheduled sends return scheduled_message_id, not ts, because Slack does not assign a message timestamp until the message fires.

Markdown handling

Markdown converts to semantic Block Kit blocks where possible (paragraphs, headings, tables). Unsupported block-level constructs — lists, blockquotes, fenced code, raw HTML — are preserved as readable section blocks rather than dropped.

Output

Human (real send):

Message sent channel=C7N2Q8L4P ts=1746284582.123456 permalink=p1746284582123456

When Slack metadata is available in human mode, channel may render as a friendly clickable label such as #deployments or @johndoe. Use JSON output for the raw conversation ID plus channel_name, channel_hr, and channel_url metadata.

Human (--dry-run). ts is the literal "dry-run", no permalink is emitted, and dry_run=true joins the event:

Message sent channel=C7N2Q8L4P ts=dry-run dry_run=true

JSON envelope (real send):

{
  "meta": {"command": "message.send", "workspace": "default", "timestamp": "…", "request_id": "…"},
  "data": {
    "message": {
      "type": "message",
      "text": "Deploy complete",
      "ts": "1746284582.123456",
      "channel": "C7N2Q8L4P",
      "channel_name": "deployments",
      "channel_hr": "#deployments",
      "channel_url": "https://app.slack.com/client/T8KQ42P9D/C7N2Q8L4P"
    },
    "permalink": "https://example.slack.com/archives/C7N2Q8L4P/p1746284582123456",
    "attribution": true
  },
  "errors": []
}

JSON envelope (--dry-run). No Slack call is made, so ts is the literal string "dry-run", permalink is absent, and dry_run: true joins the data record:

{
  "data": {
    "message": {
      "type": "message",
      "text": "Deploy complete",
      "ts": "dry-run",
      "channel": "C7N2Q8L4P",
      "channel_url": "https://app.slack.com/client/T8KQ42P9D/C7N2Q8L4P"
    },
    "dry_run": true,
    "attribution": true
  }
}

permalink is Slack's chat.getPermalink HTTP URL in JSON. Human mode renders the short form (p1746284582123456) as an OSC 8 terminal hyperlink on supporting terminals.

JSON envelope (--schedule). Scheduled messages have no ts until Slack posts them, so scheduled_message_id is the reference for list/delete:

{
  "data": {
    "channel": "C1234567890",
    "channel_name": "deployments",
    "channel_hr": "#deployments",
    "channel_url": "https://app.slack.com/client/T8KQ42P9D/C1234567890",
    "scheduled_message_id": "Q123",
    "post_at": 1780335600,
    "post_at_iso": "2026-06-01T19:00:00Z",
    "text": "Deploy tomorrow",
    "attribution": {"enabled": true, "label": "slick"}
  }
}

message edit

Edit your own message. Slack permits edits only to messages your token identity sent.

slick message edit --channel C1234567890 --timestamp 1746284582.123456 --message "Corrected text"
slick message edit --channel C1234567890 --timestamp 1746284582.123456 --message "Updated" --dry-run

Flags

-c, --channel <CHANNEL>  Channel ID, name, or alias
-t, --timestamp <TS>     Message timestamp
-m, --message <TEXT>     Message body
-f, --file <FILE>        Read message body from file or - for stdin
-b, --blocks             Treat message source as raw Block Kit JSON
-n, --dry-run            Preview without mutating
    --attribution                Force attribution on for this command
    --no-attribution             Disable attribution for this command
    --attribution-label <LABEL>      Override attribution label
    --attribution-emoji <EMOJI>      Override attribution emoji
    --attribution-message <TEXT>     Override attribution message

Human (--dry-run):

Message edited channel=C7N2Q8L4P ts=1746284582.123456 dry_run=true

JSON envelope (real edit). Slack's chat.update does not return a permalink, and slick suppresses data.message.blocks even when the edit re-renders Block Kit — verify rendered output via history list or the Slack UI when needed. The attribution field is still present:

{
  "data": {
    "message": {
      "type": "message",
      "text": "Corrected text",
      "ts": "1746284582.123456",
      "channel": "C1234567890"
    },
    "attribution": true
  }
}

message delete

Delete your own message. Requires --force unless you also pass --dry-run.

slick message delete --channel C1234567890 --timestamp 1746284582.123456 --dry-run
slick message delete --channel C1234567890 --timestamp 1746284582.123456 --force

Flags

-c, --channel <CHANNEL>  Channel ID, name, or alias
-t, --timestamp <TS>     Message timestamp
-n, --dry-run            Preview without mutating
-F, --force              Confirm deletion

Output

Human:

Message deleted channel=C7N2Q8L4P ts=1746284582.123456 dry_run=true

JSON envelope keeps ts (formerly timestamp before v0.4.0):

{
  "data": {"channel": "C7N2Q8L4P", "ts": "1746284582.123456", "dry_run": true}
}

The deleted field was removed in v0.4.0; the action label conveys success and errors[] conveys failure.

message scheduled list

List pending scheduled messages. Pass --channel to narrow the result to one conversation, or omit it to ask Slack for the workspace-visible scheduled messages for the active token.

slick message scheduled list --channel C1234567890 --limit 20 --output=json
slick message scheduled list --cursor <next-cursor> --output=json

Flags

-c, --channel <CHANNEL>  Channel ID, name, or alias
-C, --cursor <CURSOR>    Pagination cursor
-L, --limit <N>          Maximum scheduled messages to return

Human output in a TTY or with --output=human renders a table. CHANNEL uses a readable #channel or @user name when Slack metadata is readable, and DM marks direct-message conversations:

ID           CHANNEL       DM     POST_AT               TEXT
Q123         #deployments  false  2026-06-01T19:00:00Z  Deploy tomorrow
Q124         @johndoe      true   2026-06-01T20:00:00Z  Hello from slick — sched…

When there are no pending messages, human output keeps the same action label and adds count=0:

Scheduled messages retrieved count=0

JSON output uses data.scheduled_messages[] and cursor metadata:

{
  "meta": {
    "command": "message.scheduled.list",
    "pagination": {"next_cursor": "cur-2", "has_more": true, "max_items": 20, "items_returned": 1}
  },
  "data": {
    "scheduled_messages": [
      {
        "id": "Q123",
        "channel": "C1234567890",
        "channel_name": "deployments",
        "channel_hr": "#deployments",
        "channel_url": "https://app.slack.com/client/T8KQ42P9D/C1234567890",
        "channel_type": "channel",
        "is_dm": false,
        "post_at": 1780335600,
        "post_at_iso": "2026-06-01T19:00:00Z",
        "text_preview": "Deploy tomorrow"
      }
    ]
  }
}

For automation, use JSON. The human CHANNEL value is display-only; pass the raw data.scheduled_messages[].channel value back to message scheduled delete or to future scheduled sends. JSON also adds optional channel_name, channel_hr, channel_url, channel_type, channel_user, and is_dm fields when metadata can be resolved.

text_preview is capped at 200 Unicode characters and ends with … when truncated.

message scheduled delete

Delete a pending scheduled message by exact channel and scheduled-message ID. No --force flag is required.

slick message scheduled delete --channel C1234567890 --scheduled-id Q123 --dry-run
slick message scheduled delete --channel C1234567890 --scheduled-id Q123 --output=json

Flags

-c, --channel <CHANNEL>  Channel ID, name, or alias
    --scheduled-id <QID> Scheduled message ID returned by scheduled send/list
-n, --dry-run            Preview without mutating

JSON output:

{
  "data": {"channel": "C1234567890", "scheduled_message_id": "Q123", "deleted": true}
}

Common errors

Error Cause Fix
validation_error: --channel or --user is required No destination given and default_channel isn't set in config. Provide --channel/--user, or set default_channel.
not_in_channel (not_found, exit 2) App or user is not a member of the channel. Add the bot to the channel, or use a user token that is a member.
channel_not_found Bad channel ID or alias not configured. Verify with lookup channel.
user_not_found Email or alias did not resolve. Use a known Slack user ID or verify via lookup user.
cant_update_message / cant_delete_message (validation_error, exit 4) Slack disallows the edit/delete for this token identity. Use the user token that originally sent the message.
Schedule validation_error --schedule was in the past, beyond 120 days, or not RFC3339/duration/Unix seconds. Use a future RFC3339 timestamp, Go duration, or Unix seconds.
Raw Block Kit validation_error with no stdout data Malformed JSON, unsupported block types, missing required fields, or Slack limits. Inspect the --blocks JSON; the error envelope describes the rule that failed.

See also