# Slack & channels

Connect Slack to a project and control sessions from a channel.

Canonical page: https://kortix.com/docs/connect/slack

A channel connects a chat platform to a project. A message in a connected
channel starts a [session](/docs/work/sessions). The agent replies in the
same thread.

## Live channels

Kortix supports four channel platforms today:

- **Slack** — connect with one click through the Kortix-managed app, or bring
  your own bot token.
- **Microsoft Teams** — connect through org admin-consent OAuth, or bring your
  own Azure Bot.
- **Email** — an AgentMail-backed channel (experimental; enable it under
  Customize → Settings → Experimental).
- **Meeting bots** — a connector-backed channel for meeting transcription.

Only Slack and Microsoft Teams connect through the CLI and dashboard. Email
and meeting bots are managed from the dashboard or SDK. This page covers Slack.
Teams follows the same session, identity-linking, and credential rules.

## How a channel starts a session

The first message in a Slack thread or Teams conversation creates a session.
Every later message in that thread goes to the same session, even after the
sandbox stops and resumes. A Slack workspace connected to more than one
project shows a project picker on the first mention.

## Identity linking

Kortix links each chat sender to a Kortix account before the agent runs for
them. Run `/kortix login` in Slack and follow the link to sign in. Teams uses
the same requirement. An unlinked sender gets a prompt to link instead of a
session run.

## Where credentials live

A connected channel's bot token is a connector-scoped
[secret](/docs/project/secrets). It does not appear on the project's Secrets
page. Kortix never injects it into a sandbox. Kortix resolves the token
server-side when the agent sends a chat message.

## Connect Slack

### Start the connection

From the CLI, run:

```
kortix channels connect
```

On a host with the shared Slack app configured (Kortix Cloud, for example),
this prints a one-click install link. Open the link and pick the workspace.
Click **Allow**. Add `--wait` to make the command poll until the install
lands.

From the dashboard, open the project's Channels page and connect Slack there
instead. It uses the same install flow.

### Use your own Slack app

On a self-hosted deployment with no shared Slack app configured, `kortix
channels connect` falls back to manual mode automatically. Run `kortix
channels manifest` to print an app manifest. Create the app at
`api.slack.com/apps` from that manifest. Install the app to your workspace.
Then run:

```
kortix channels connect --manual --bot-token xoxb-... --signing-secret ...
```

### Check the connection

```
kortix channels status
```

Run `kortix channels disconnect` to remove the connection. See the
[CLI reference](/docs/cli) for every flag.

Connecting Slack adds a `channel` [connector](/docs/connect/connectors) entry
to `kortix.yaml` for you. You never write this entry by hand.

## Use Slack

Mention the bot with a task, in any channel it has joined, or open a direct
message. The thread keeps its session as described above. A bare mention with
no task gets a reminder to add one instead of starting a session.

## Control a session with slash commands

Type these as `/kortix <command>` in Slack, or as plain text in a DM. Slash
commands do not run inside the Assistant DM pane, so Kortix parses the same
words from plain text there.

| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| `login`, `logout` | Link or unlink your Slack identity |
| `switch`, `unbind` | Rebind or unbind this channel from its project |
| `projects` | List projects you can bind to |
| `sessions` | List recent sessions started in this workspace |
| `whoami` | Show the channel panel: project, agent, model, policy, and your linked identity |
| `agent <name>`, `model <id>` | Set the agent or model this channel uses |
| `policy <mode>` | Set who can start sessions here |
| `help` | List all commands |

`policy` accepts `project_open` (default — any project member who mentions
the bot gets a session), `owner_approval`, or `owner_only`.

## What does not work

- Slash commands do not fire inside the Assistant DM pane. Type
  `/kortix <command>` as plain text there instead.
- Other chat platforms, including Telegram, are not supported channels today.
  Only Slack and Microsoft Teams connect through the CLI and dashboard; email
  and meeting bots connect through the dashboard or SDK.