Slack setup

Connect a Slack workspace to a ViksaAI project so members can run agents from Slack.

Prerequisites

  • Slack workspace admin or permission to create apps
  • ViksaAI project with agents deployed via builder-service
  • Platform permission: chat → all (required to open Volt in the dashboard)
  • Cluster access for volt-engine-service to provision the runtime pod (managed by your platform operator)

Installation steps

  1. 1

    Open Volt in your project

    In the dashboard, go to Volt in the sidebar. Select Slack to start the install flow.

  2. 2

    Generate a Slack app manifest (optional)

    Use the in-app manifest generator to download a JSON file with the bot scopes, events, and slash commands Volt needs—including Slack AI assistant surfaces.

    In Slack: Create New App → From manifest, paste or upload the file. Skip this step if you already have a compatible app.

  3. 3

    Enable Socket Mode and collect tokens

    • Bot token (xoxb-…) — OAuth & Permissions
    • App-level token (xapp-…) — Basic Information → App-Level Tokens, with connections:write for Socket Mode
    • Signing secret — Basic Information → App Credentials
  4. 4

    Validate credentials

    Enter tokens in the Volt panel and click Validate. The platform calls Slack APIs (auth.test, team info, manifest export) and reports missing scopes or misconfiguration before install.

  5. 5

    Install runtime

    Click Install after validation succeeds.

    volt-engine-service encrypts credentials, creates a Kubernetes secret and deployment for the Slack runtime image, and marks the installation active when the pod is healthy.

  6. 6

    Invite the bot and test

    Add the bot to channels or DM it. Only Slack users who are project members in ViksaAI receive responses.

How users interact in Slack

  • Direct messages and @mentions in channels
  • Slack AI assistant thread with streaming status updates
  • Suggested prompts and thread titles (when manifest scopes allow)
  • File attachments for agent output (e.g. JSON results)

Message flow

  1. Slack delivers an event to the runtime pod (Socket Mode).
  2. Pod checks project membership via volt-engine → auth-service.
  3. Engine runs Think→Act→Observe using the project agent catalog.
  4. Tasks dispatch to pulse-service; results stream back to Slack.

Operations

ActionWhere
View status / replicasVolt → Slack → Runtime status
Pause / resumeVolt panel — scales deployment to zero or back
Rotate credentialsUpdate tokens in UI and re-validate
UninstallVolt → Uninstall — removes K8s resources and stored credentials

Example: scopes checklist

The Volt manifest generator includes required scopes. If you configure manually, ensure Socket Mode and email lookup are enabled:

slack-scopes.txt
# Bot token scopes (validated on install)
chat:write
app_mentions:read
im:history
im:read
users:read
users:read.email
assistant:write

Troubleshooting