Deploy Clawdbot on Slack: Boost Team Productivity

1Create Slack App

Start by creating a new Slack application in your workspace:

1. Visit api.slack.com/apps
2. Click "Create New App"
3. Choose "From scratch"
4. Name your app (e.g., "Team Assistant")
5. Select your workspace

2Configure Bot Permissions

Navigate to "OAuth & Permissions" and add these Bot Token Scopes:

Required Scopes:
- app_mentions:read
- channels:history
- channels:read
- chat:write
- chat:write.public
- commands
- groups:history
- groups:read
- im:history
- im:read
- im:write
- users:read
- reactions:write

3Enable Event Subscriptions

In "Event Subscriptions", enable events and subscribe to:

Bot Events:
- app_mention
- message.channels
- message.groups
- message.im

You'll need a public URL for the Request URL. We'll set this up after deploying OpenClaw.

4Initialize OpenClaw for Slack

Create a new OpenClaw project configured for Slack:

openclaw init slack-bot --platform slack
cd slack-bot

Project structure:

slack-bot/
├── openclaw.config.js
├── .env.example
├── commands/
│   ├── help.js
│   └── status.js
├── events/
│   ├── message.js
│   └── app_mention.js
└── package.json

5Configure Environment Variables

Copy .env.example to .env and add your Slack credentials:

# Slack Configuration
SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-your-bot-token
SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET=your-signing-secret
SLACK_APP_TOKEN=xapp-your-app-token

# OpenClaw Settings
OPENCLAW_API_KEY=your_openclaw_api_key
OPENCLAW_PORT=3000
OPENCLAW_MODE=production

# Optional Features
ENABLE_SLASH_COMMANDS=true
ENABLE_SHORTCUTS=true
LOG_LEVEL=info

6Customize Bot Configuration

Edit openclaw.config.js for your team's needs:

module.exports = {
  name: 'Team Assistant',
  
  // AI Configuration
  ai: {
    model: 'openclaw-v2',
    temperature: 0.7,
    maxTokens: 500,
    contextWindow: 15
  },
  
  // Slack-specific settings
  slack: {
    socketMode: true,
    appToken: process.env.SLACK_APP_TOKEN,
    signingSecret: process.env.SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET,
    token: process.env.SLACK_BOT_TOKEN
  },
  
  // Feature toggles
  features: {
    slashCommands: true,
    shortcuts: true,
    homeTab: true,
    messageActions: true
  },
  
  // Response templates
  responses: {
    greeting: 'Hi there! :wave: How can I help you today?',
    thinking: 'Let me think about that... :thinking_face:',
    error: 'Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again.',
    noPermission: 'Sorry, you need admin permissions for that.'
  }
};

7Create Slash Commands

Add a custom slash command in commands/team-status.js:

module.exports = {
  command: '/team-status',
  description: 'Check team availability',
  
  async execute({ command, ack, say, client }) {
    await ack();
    
    try {
      const users = await client.users.list();
      const activeUsers = users.members.filter(u => 
        !u.is_bot && u.presence === 'active'
      );
      
      await say({
        blocks: [
          {
            type: 'section',
            text: {
              type: 'mrkdwn',
              text: `*Team Status* :chart_with_upwards_trend:\n${activeUsers.length} members online`
            }
          },
          {
            type: 'divider'
          },
          {
            type: 'section',
            fields: activeUsers.slice(0, 10).map(u => ({
              type: 'mrkdwn',
              text: `:green_circle: <@${u.id}>`
            }))
          }
        ]
      });
    } catch (error) {
      await say('Error fetching team status');
    }
  }
};

8Install App to Workspace

Install your app to the Slack workspace:

1. Go to "Install App" in your app settings
2. Click "Install to Workspace"
3. Review permissions and authorize
4. Copy the Bot User OAuth Token to your .env file

9Start OpenClaw

Launch your Slack bot:

openclaw dev

Expected output:

🚀 OpenClaw Slack Bot Starting...
✓ Configuration loaded
✓ Socket mode enabled
✓ Connected to Slack
✓ Slash commands registered: 3
✓ Event handlers loaded: 4
✓ Bot online: Team Assistant
→ Listening for messages and commands!