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.

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 -
slick message send --channel C1234567890 --message "Deploy complete" --dry-run

slick message send --user U1234567890 --message "Build artifact ready"
slick message send --user dev@example.com,ops@example.com --message "Review please"

slick message send --channel C1234567890 --blocks --file blocks.json

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¶

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.

Scheduled sends accept either --channel or --user; scheduled DMs resolve/open the DM before calling the Slack 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 the Slack API does not assign a message timestamp until the message fires.

Markdown handling¶

Markdown converts to Block Kit before posting:

• Paragraphs and headings render as section blocks with mrkdwn text. (Headings do not become Slack header blocks — slick treats them as section text so Slack renders them inline with the rest of the message.)
• Tables render as native Block Kit table blocks. Slack rejects messages containing more than one table block, so slick errors out rather than truncating.
• Unsupported block-level constructs — lists, blockquotes, fenced code, raw HTML — are preserved as readable section blocks rather than dropped.
• User content is escaped. Section-block text passes through slack-go/slackutilsx.EscapeMessage before posting: & → &, < → <, > → >. Slack sentinels like <!channel>, <@U…>, <#C…>, <!subteam^…>, and the <url|label> link pattern in piped content render as literal text instead of firing mentions or forging links. Markdown blockquotes (> quoted) and bare URLs (https://example.com) still render correctly — Slack decodes the escapes before mrkdwn parsing.

slick lookup user --filter john.doe -o compact | jq -r '.users[0].id'
# → U123ABC
printf '%s' '[{"type":"section","text":{"type":"mrkdwn","text":"Deploy failed — <@U123ABC>"}}]' \
  | slick message send --channel C1234567890 --blocks --file -

Output¶

Message sent channel=C7N2Q8L4P ts=1746284582.123456 permalink=p1746284582123456

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

{
  "meta": {"command": "message.send", "workspace": "default", "timestamp": "2026-05-26T03:00:56Z", "request_id": "337f5bd1-a5f2-4bb8-8da5-510cb801f62d"},
  "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": []
}

{
  "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
  }
}

{
  "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"}
  }
}

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.

message edit¶

Edit your own message. The Slack API 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¶

Output¶

Message edited channel=C7N2Q8L4P ts=1746284582.123456 dry_run=true

{
  "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¶

Output¶

Message deleted channel=C7N2Q8L4P ts=1746284582.123456 dry_run=true

{
  "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 the Slack API 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¶

Output¶

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…

Scheduled messages retrieved count=0

{
  "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¶

JSON output:

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

Common errors¶

See also¶

• reply — thread replies (separate top-level command).
• react — reactions on messages.
• history — verify rendered output after edits.
• status, auth, config.
• Slack API methods: chat.postMessage, chat.update, chat.delete, chat.scheduleMessage, chat.scheduledMessages.list, chat.deleteScheduledMessage.