setup-slack-mcp

Set Up Slack MCP Server

Guide the user step-by-step through setting up the redhat-community-ai-tools/slack-mcp server for Claude Code.

The server uses browser session tokens (xoxc/xoxd) extracted from a logged-in Slack session — no Slack admin approval or OAuth app required.

Step 0: Ensure This Plugin Is Installed

Check if the plugin is already installed:

cat ~/.claude/plugins/installed_plugins.json 2>/dev/null || echo '{}'

If slack-mcp does not appear in the output, the plugin needs to be registered as a marketplace source first. Read ~/.claude/settings.json and add redhat-community-ai-tools under extraKnownMarketplaces (create the key if it doesn't exist, preserve all existing content):

"extraKnownMarketplaces": {
  "redhat-community-ai-tools": {
    "source": {
      "source": "settings",
      "name": "redhat-community-ai-tools",
      "plugins": [
        {
          "name": "slack-mcp",
          "source": {
            "source": "github",
            "repo": "redhat-community-ai-tools/slack-mcp"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Then tell the user:

I've updated your ~/.claude/settings.json. Please run these two commands in the Claude Code prompt box, then come back:

1. /reload-plugins
2. /plugin install slack-mcp@redhat-community-ai-tools

Once installed, tell me and I'll continue the setup.

Wait for the user to confirm before proceeding.

Step 1: Check Prerequisites

python3 --version   # needs 3.8+
podman --version    # or: docker --version

If podman/docker is missing, tell the user to install it and stop here.

Steps 2–6: Run the Setup Script

The setup script handles everything from here: venv creation, Playwright install, token extraction, wrapper script generation, and Claude Code registration.

Download and run it in a separate terminal (it cannot run inside Claude Code because it opens a browser window):

python3 <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/redhat-community-ai-tools/slack-mcp/main/scripts/setup-slack-mcp.py)

Or if the user has already cloned this repo:

python3 /path/to/slack-mcp/scripts/setup-slack-mcp.py

Tell the user:

Run the script in a separate terminal. It will:

1. Install Playwright and Chromium (one-time, ~2 min)
2. Pull the quay.io/redhat-ai-tools/slack-mcp container image
3. Open a Chromium browser — log in to Slack, then press Enter in the terminal
4. Prompt you for a Slack channel ID to receive server logs (a self-DM or DM with Slackbot works well — navigate there in https://app.slack.com and copy the last segment of the URL)
5. Write the wrapper script and update ~/.claude/settings.json automatically

Come back here when the script prints "Setup complete!"

Wait for the user to confirm the script finished before proceeding.

Step 7: Restart and Verify

Tell the user:

Please fully restart Claude Code now. The slack MCP tools will not be available until the next session.

Wait for the user to confirm they have restarted.

The slack MCP server should now appear in the available tools. Suggest they test it by asking: "What channels do I have access to in Slack?"

Token Refresh

Tokens expire when the Slack browser session ends (typically weeks to months). When they stop working, run:

python3 /path/to/slack-mcp/scripts/setup-slack-mcp.py --refresh-tokens

No other changes needed — the wrapper script picks up the new tokens automatically.