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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​

  1. Go to api.slack.com/apps. If you already have a Slack app you want to reuse, select it and skip to Configure an existing app. Otherwise, click Create New App.
Slack API Your Apps page with the Create New App button

  1. Select From an app manifest and pick the workspace where you want to install the app.

  2. Switch the manifest format to JSON and replace the contents with the following:

{
  "display_information": {
    "name": "MintMCP Slack"
  },
  "oauth_config": {
    "redirect_urls": [
      "https://app.mintmcp.com/oauth/callback"
    ],
    "scopes": {
      "user": [
        "search:read.public",
        "search:read.private",
        "search:read.mpim",
        "search:read.im",
        "search:read.files",
        "search:read.users",
        "chat:write",
        "channels:history",
        "groups:history",
        "mpim:history",
        "im:history",
        "canvases:read",
        "canvases:write",
        "users:read",
        "users:read.email"
      ]
    }
  },
  "settings": {
    "org_deploy_enabled": false,
    "socket_mode_enabled": false,
    "token_rotation_enabled": false
  }
}

This manifest requests all the OAuth scopes Slack's MCP server supports. Remove any scopes your team doesn't need—for example, drop chat:write if agents should only read data.

Scope reference:

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

  1. Click Next, review the summary, and click Create.

  2. On the confirmation page, click Got It to go to your app's settings.

Configure an existing app​

If you created the app from the manifest above, the redirect URI and scopes are already configured—skip to Copy the client ID and secret.

If you're reusing an existing Slack app, you need to add the redirect URI and the required OAuth scopes:

  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.

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​