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SlackCLI

Slack links and timestamps

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Anywhere the CLI takes a channel, user, canvas, or file ID, you can paste the Slack URL instead — the form “Copy link” actually gives you. Bare IDs keep working exactly as before.

Terminal window
# Equivalent
slackcli conversations read C1234567890
slackcli conversations read https://myteam.slack.com/archives/C1234567890
Pasted value Understood as
https://myteam.slack.com/archives/C1234567890 channel C1234567890
https://myteam.slack.com/archives/D0987654321 DM D0987654321
https://myteam.slack.com/team/U9876543210 user U9876543210
https://myteam.slack.com/docs/T012AB/F1234567890 canvas F1234567890
https://myteam.slack.com/files/U9876543210/F1234567890/report.txt file F1234567890
https://files.slack.com/files-pri/T012AB-F1234567890/download/report.txt file F1234567890

Channel names and user handles

Section titled “Channel names and user handles”

Channel and user arguments also take a name. SlackCLI looks it up and uses the ID, so you do not need a search channels call first:

Terminal window
slackcli messages send --recipient-id="#general" --message "Deploy done"
slackcli conversations read general --limit 20 --json
slackcli messages send --recipient-id=@alice --message "ping"
slackcli users info alice@example.com --json
Value Understood as
#general or general the channel named general (on a channel argument)
@alice or alice the user whose Slack handle is alice (on a user argument)
alice@example.com the user with that email address
C1234567890, @U9876543210, a Slack URL used as given — no lookup

Where it works: messages send and messages draft (--recipient-id), messages edit, messages delete, messages react, messages unreact and the saved write verbs (--channel-id), conversations read, get, mark-read, members list, members add, members remove, join and leave (<channel>, and <users...> for add/remove), canvas list and canvas read (--channel), users info, and the <users...> of usergroups add and usergroups remove. (<group> in usergroups already took a handle or name.)

Rules worth knowing:

  • Quote the #. In a shell, --recipient-id #general is a comment: the shell drops everything from the #. Write --recipient-id "#general" or --recipient-id=#general.
  • Exact matches only, case-insensitive. Channels match on the channel name among public and private, non-archived channels the identity can see; users match on the Slack handle, not the display or real name. There is no partial or fuzzy matching. An all-upper-case value of 7+ characters (GENERAL) has the shape of a Slack ID and is used as one, not looked up; names are lower-case in Slack, so write general.
  • Never a guess. A name that matches nothing exits 1 with not_found and a hint to run slackcli search channels <query> or search people <query>. A name that matches more than one thing exits 1 with invalid_input and lists the candidate IDs. Nothing is sent or changed in either case. A handle still held by a deactivated account loses to the active account with the same handle.
  • --recipient-id takes both. A bare name there is looked up as a channel and as a user. If both exist, the command refuses; write #name or @name.
  • Email needs a scope. users.lookupByEmail needs users:read.email on an app token; without it the command exits 1 with permission_denied. Pass the user ID or @handle instead.
  • Names cost calls; IDs do not. A channel name pages through conversations.list, a handle through users.list (1000 per page, paced by the rate limiter), so it can take a while on a large workspace. An ID or a Slack URL makes no extra call. With --json the resolved ID is in the output (channel_id, added, …), so a script can reuse it.

Timestamps

Section titled “Timestamps”

Timestamps work the same way — the permalink form is accepted wherever the dotted API form is:

Pasted value Understood as
p1234567890123456 1234567890.123456
1234567890123456 1234567890.123456
1234567890.123456 unchanged

--permalink

Section titled “--permalink”

For commands that target one specific message, --permalink replaces the channel and the timestamp in one go:

Terminal window
# Instead of this
slackcli messages react --channel-id=C1234567890 --timestamp=1234567890.123456 --emoji=heart


# Just paste the link
slackcli messages react --permalink="https://myteam.slack.com/archives/C1234567890/p1234567890123456" --emoji=heart

Available on messages send, messages react, messages unreact, messages edit, messages delete, messages draft, the saved write verbs (add, update, complete, reopen, remove), conversations read, conversations get, and conversations mark-read.

Rules worth knowing:

  • Pass either --permalink or the explicit inputs, not both.
  • When the link points at a threaded reply, commands that take a --thread-ts correctly use the parent message, so a reply link makes you reply in the right thread rather than starting a new one.
  • If the pasted link’s workspace subdomain does not match the workspace the command will actually call, SlackCLI warns you up front instead of letting Slack answer with a confusing message_not_found. (This check only applies to browser-authenticated workspaces, which are the ones that store a URL.)

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