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SlackCLI

Inspect, read and download Slack files

slackcli files inspects metadata, prints textual content, and downloads Slack-hosted files. Every command accepts a file ID or Slack file URL.

Reading files requires the files:read scope when you use standard authentication. Browser-session authentication uses the existing browser cookie and token.

files info

Section titled “files info”
Terminal window
slackcli files info F1234567890
slackcli files info https://myteam.slack.com/files/U123/F1234567890/report.txt
slackcli files info F1234567890 --json

Human-readable output includes the file ID, name, type, size, owner, creation time, and permalink when Slack provides them. It does not print private download URLs.

--json returns the complete file object from Slack. This can include url_private and url_private_download, so treat the output as private.

files read

Section titled “files read”
Terminal window
# Print textual content
slackcli files read F1234567890


# Read Slack's plain-text extraction from an email file
slackcli files read F1234567890


# Read the original textual file instead of Slack's extraction
slackcli files read F1234567890 --raw


# Return the content and its source as JSON
slackcli files read F1234567890 --json

Slack email files can include a plain_text field in their metadata. The command uses that field by default. Otherwise, it downloads the original when the MIME type identifies a textual file.

--raw always reads the original textual file. Text reads are capped at 10 MB. The command refuses to print binary files; use files download for those.

JSON output has this shape:

{
  "id": "F1234567890",
  "name": "message.eml",
  "title": "Message",
  "mimetype": "message/rfc822",
  "source": "plain_text",
  "content": "From: sender@example.com\n..."
}

source is plain_text or original.

files download

Section titled “files download”
Terminal window
slackcli files download F1234567890 --output ./report.pdf
slackcli files download "$FILE_URL" --output ./message.eml

The command streams the original bytes to the output path. It does not convert binary data to text or hold the complete download in memory.

The output path is required. The command refuses to overwrite an existing file. Choose another path or remove the existing file before you retry.

File URLs and workspaces

Section titled “File URLs and workspaces”

Supported URLs include normal Slack file permalinks, Canvas document URLs, and private Slack file URLs. When a permalink names a different workspace from the selected browser-authenticated workspace, SlackCLI warns before making the API request. Use --workspace <id|name> to select the matching workspace.

Private files.slack.com URLs do not identify their workspace, so SlackCLI cannot provide a workspace-mismatch warning for those URLs.

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