Slack
By connecting Slack with Slite, you can seamlessly sync important conversations and threads, and get answers without ever leaving Slack.
This guide will walk you through the key aspects of the Slite and Slack connection, including how to sync your data and how to use the @Slite bot to get the most out of your connected knowledge.
Connecting Slack & the Slite Agent
This is the first step to get started. This section covers how to connect Slite and Slack accounts, and handle historical data syncing.
Required permissions for setup
To connect Slite with Slack, you must have the necessary permissions in both platforms.
- In Slite: Permission to add or remove agent sources depends on your team's settings. By default, only Admins or Owners can set up a connection. However, a Slite admin can enable a setting to allow all members to add or remove agent sources.
- In Slack: Permission to install the app depends on your workspace's settings . By default, any Slack member can install apps. However, if your workspace has app approvals enabled, you must be a Slack Workspace Owner or Admin to install the Slite app.
Initial Slack connection
To begin, you need to connect your Slack workspace with Slite.
In Slite, click Agent Sources in the left sidebar (at the bottom).
Click + New source , then choose or search for Slack and click Connect Slack .
A new window will open. Slite is requesting permission to access your Slack workspace. Review the permissions and click Install Slite .
Then, you can close the window and go back to Slite. You may need to refresh the page to see your channels appear as available agent sources.
When you add new channels in Slack, they will automatically appear in Slite under 'Available Sources,' ready for you to select and sync.
The Slite app is not listed on the Slack App Marketplace.
This is a deliberate choice for our app's distribution, but it does not affect its security. The app still uses Slack's standard authorization process, which requires your explicit permission to access your data.
For more information on how we handle your data, you can review our End User Terms , Customer Terms of Service and our Security and Privacy Policy .
How the Slite Agent indexes your Slack channels
What we sync
Slite Agent only syncs the text messages from the public and private channels you have explicitly selected.
We don't sync direct messages, messages from other bots (like Slack workflows), or external files. This ensures your private conversations remain secure while focusing on human-generated content.
Refresh rate
New messages appear in the Slite Agent within a few seconds after they are posted in Slack.
How we handle threads
Slite Agent indexes conversations at the thread level. When a new message is sent in a channel, it starts a new conversation thread which is treated as its own sync in the background. Any replies within that same thread are then added to the original sync.
To optimize the data for searching, our system combines all of a channel's daily threads and activity into a single, continuously updating sync. This is why you will only see one item of 'content' syncing for each channel per day, even if it contains many different conversations.
Example scenario
Imagine your team's
#marketing channel on a Tuesday.9:00 AM: You post a message asking for feedback on a new ad campaign. A few teammates reply in a thread.
1:00 PM: Another teammate starts a new, separate conversation about an upcoming webinar.
3:30 PM: A quick question is asked in the channel, and a new thread begins to address it.
Even though three different conversations happened in the channel, Slite Agent will show only one item of 'content' syncing for
#marketing on that Tuesday. This single sync is continuously updated in the background as all of those conversations progress. By the end of the day, that one item of 'content' will contain all three conversations, ready for you to search.Metadata
To make your search results more useful, the Slite Agent automatically pulls and indexes key information from your conversations. This includes:
- The channel name
- The authors of the messages
- The date of the conversation
This information allows you to quickly filter and find the exact conversation you're looking for.
Syncing historical data
A note on recent Slack API changes
On May 29, 2025, Slack implemented significant API changes that affect third-party applications, including Slite's Slack integration. These changes introduced new and more restrictive rate limits on the
conversations.history and conversations.replies API methods.Impact on Slite Agent:
New installations (after May 29, 2025): The new rate limits immediately apply. This makes it challenging to fully index historical conversations and threads when you first connect.
Existing installations (before September 2, 2025): Your current connection will continue to work normally until September 2, 2025. On this date, all existing non-Marketplace apps will also be subject to the new, stricter rate limits.
Because Slite is not currently listed on the Slack Marketplace, these changes impact our ability to sync a channel's full history. We are actively working on a long-term solution to meet Slack's new requirements and will keep you informed of our progress.
Due to these changes, while your connection will continue to sync new messages as they appear, it may not be able to fully index older, historical conversations. To ensure all your historical data is indexed, you can manually export data from Slack and import it into Slite Agent.
Every time you add a new channel to sync in Slite Agent, you'll need to follow this same export-and-import process to ensure its full history is indexed. Slite Agent's automatic syncing will handle all new messages from that point forward.
Step 1: Export your data from Slack
The first step is to export your data from your Slack workspace. You will need to be on a Slack plan that allows for data exports.
Follow the instructions provided by Slack to download a zip file of your workspace's conversations and files.
Step 2: Import your exported data into Slite Agent
Once you have your Slack export file, you can import it into Slite Agent.
In Slite, click Agent Sources in the left sidebar (at the bottom).
Find the Slack connection and click on Settings .
You will see a button to Import past messages. Click on this.
Drag and drop the zip file you downloaded from Slack and follow the prompts to begin the import.
Once your zip file is successfully uploaded, you'll see a confirmation message on screen.
Slite Agent will now begin indexing the historical conversations and threads from your file. This process may take some time depending on the size of your data. Once complete, your historical Slack content will be fully searchable within the Slite Agent.
Every time you add a new channel to sync in Slite Agent, you'll need to follow this same export-and-import process to ensure its full history is indexed. Slite Agent's automatic syncing will handle all new messages from that point forward.
Using the @Slite bot in Slack
Once your Slack workspace is connected to Slite, you can bring Slite Agent's powerful search and Q&A features directly into your daily workflow using the
@Slite bot.The
@Slite bot allows you to ask questions and get instant answers without leaving Slack, drawing from all the data you have synced with Slite Agent.Where to find the Slite app
Because the Slite app is not listed on the Slack Marketplace, it will appear under your Slack workspace's Installed Apps list once you've connected it from the Slite interface. You can access this list from your workspace settings or under the "Apps" section in the Slack native interface.
How to use the bot
DM @Slite to chat
You can have a private conversation with the
@Slite bot by sending it a direct message. It will use all the agent sources you have synced in Slite to answer your questions.In a DM, you don't even need to tag
@Slite after the first message; you can simply continue the conversation like you're chatting to a teammate.
Invite @Slite to channels
You can invite the
@Slite bot to any public or private channel. You can either type /invite @Slite in the channel, or if you tag the bot without it being in the channel, you'll be prompted to "Add them".To ask a question, you must tag
@Slite and then ask anything. The bot can answer questions based on the conversations within that specific channel or pull from any of the general agent sources you have synced with Slite Agent. The answer will appear as a thread reply. To follow up with the bot, you'll need to tag @Slite again in the thread each time.
Managing your questions and sources
- You can open any question you ask in the Slite Agent to continue your work there.
- You can also delete your question from the Slack thread.
- In both DMs and channels,
@Slitewill always provide citations to its sources, including links to open them, regardless of the tool they came from (e.g., Google Drive, Confluence, etc.).
Removing the bot from a channel
To remove the
@Slite bot from a channel, simply type the slash command /remove @Slite in the message box and press Enter.Account linking and permissions
The Slite app for Slack is designed to respect individual user permissions. This means that when you ask a question, the bot will only generate an answer based on the content that you have access to.
Automatic account linking
When your Slite account is first connected to Slack by an administrator, we match all Slite users by their email addresses with the corresponding email addresses in the Slack workspace.
- If a user's email matches, they are automatically "linked" to the Slite app and can start using the
@Slitebot right away without any additional setup. - If a user's email addresses are different, they will be prompted to authenticate when they first try to use the bot.
Re-linking your account
If a user unlinks their account from the Slite app directly within the Slack native interface, they can easily re-link by following a simple process:
Send a message to
@Slite in the "Messages" section.Alternatively, start a new DM with
@Slite or tag @Slite in a channel.The bot will then ask them to authenticate, guiding them through the re-linking process.
Access for non-Slite users
Since the Slite app is an installed app on the Slack workspace, anyone in the workspace can try to interact with it. However, if a user tags
@Slite and they do not have a corresponding Slite account, they will be directed to log in or create an account before they can proceed.Access control & privacy
Slite Agent follows Slack's existing permissions: it only indexes the public and private channels you explicitly select, and only for people who already have access to them. Users are matched by email, so each person can only search and receive answers from channels they are a member of. Slite Agent never syncs DMs or bot messages.
Note: If you ask @Slite a question in a public channel, the answer will be visible to everyone in that channel — even if the answer is based on sources only you have access to.
