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Set up the Slack MCP server

Slack publishes an official MCP server at mcp.slack.com that lets AI agents search messages, read channels, send messages, and manage canvases. This guide walks through creating a Slack app, configuring OAuth, and connecting it to MintMCP as a remote MCP.

Prerequisites​

  • A MintMCP admin account
  • A Slack workspace where you can install apps

Create a Slack app​

The fastest way to create the app is a one-click link that pre-loads the full configuration—app name, OAuth scopes, redirect URL, bot user, and the Slack MCP server toggle. If you'd rather reuse an existing Slack app, skip to Configure an existing app.

  1. Create the MintMCP Slack app. Slack opens the create-app screen with the manifest already loaded.
  2. Pick the workspace where you want to install the app.
  3. Review the summary—name, scopes, and redirect URL—then click Create.

The app is created with the Slack MCP server already enabled, so you can continue to Copy the client ID and secret.

Review or customize scopes​

Beyond the scopes, the one-click link names the app MintMCP Slack, adds the redirect URL https://app.mintmcp.com/oauth/callback, creates the bot user, and enables the Slack MCP server. The OAuth scopes it requests cover every capability the MCP server supports:

CapabilityScopes
Search messagessearch:read.public, search:read.private, search:read.mpim, search:read.im
Search filessearch:read.files
Search userssearch:read.users
Send messageschat:write
Read channels and threadschannels:history, groups:history, mpim:history, im:history
Create and update canvasescanvases:read, canvases:write
Read user profilesusers:read, users:read.email
Bot: list channelschannels:read (bot scope)

To change which scopes the app exposes—for example, removing chat:write so agents can only read data—you don't need to recreate the app. Open OAuth & Permissions in your new app's sidebar, then add or remove scopes under Bot Token Scopes and User Token Scopes: use the trash icon to remove a scope, or Add an OAuth Scope to add one.

Configure an existing app​

If you're reusing an existing Slack app instead of creating one from the manifest, add the redirect URI, the required OAuth scopes, and enable MCP manually:

  1. Go to OAuth & Permissions in the sidebar.
  2. Under Redirect URLs, add https://app.mintmcp.com/oauth/callback and click Save URLs.
  3. Under User Token Scopes, add the scopes your team needs from the table above. At minimum, you'll likely want the search and channel history scopes.
  4. Under Bot Token Scopes, add channels:read.
  5. In the left menu, go to Features > Agents & AI Apps, then turn on Model Context Protocol.

Copy the client ID and secret​

  1. Go to Settings > Basic Information in the sidebar.
Slack app Settings sidebar with Basic Information selected
  1. Under App Credentials, copy the Client ID and Client Secret. You'll need both in the next step.

Add Slack to MintMCP​

  1. In MintMCP, go to MCP store > Manage store.
  2. Find the Slack MCP server and click to configure it.
  3. Open OAuth Client Advanced Settings and paste the Client ID and Client Secret from your Slack app.
  4. Save the configuration.

Connect and verify​

Once configured, team members can connect to the Slack MCP server from their MCP client. On first connection, each user authorizes with their Slack account through OAuth, so every action is attributed to the right person.

Security considerations​

  • Slack's MCP server uses confidential OAuth with your app's client_id and client_secret—keep the secret secure.
  • Each user authenticates individually, so tool calls are tied to their Slack identity and permissions.
  • Only apps published in the Slack Marketplace or internal apps can use Slack's MCP server. Unlisted apps are not supported.
  • Be careful when connecting Slack's MCP server alongside other MCP servers, since different servers have different security characteristics. Review Slack's MCP security guidance for details.

Next steps​