How to connect to Slack

Getting Started

Slack is a team communication and collaboration tool.  Onna integrates with Slack's API to extract all related data and metadata from an entire Slack account, a specific channel, or private/multiparty chats.  We currently integrate with Slack for Teams and Slack Enterprise Grid.  

Integration Features

Type of Account Needed 

Our Slack integration can collect from one user account. You'll need credentials for each account you want to collect from. 

If you're interested in our Slack integration for compliance purposes, please view our Slack Enterprise Grid article.  

Files Collected

All files available through their public API are synced, including, but not limited to:

• Messages posted on channels, direct messages (dms) and multiperson instant messages (mpim)

• Files posted on channels, dms and mpims

• Posts created in your files section, channels, dms and mpims

• Snippets created in your files section, channels, dms and mpims

• Files created in your files section, channels, dms and mpims

Onna's sync modes

We currently support two syncing modes - One-Time Sync and Auto-Sync and Archive.

• One-time sync: Onna will perform a one-time sync that collects information from the source only once during a specified time range or up until the date the source was added.

• Auto-Sync and Archive:  Onna will perform a full sync and archive the information collected. Onna will then automatically sync and archive any new information after the initial sync

The synchronization scope currently encompasses specific channels, all one on one conversations, and multi party conversations.

This integration can be used to experience search across multiple platforms, including Slack for Teams. 

Note: Pay As You Go users and Free Trial users can only create one-time sync datasources. If you would like to upgrade your account for archive collections please contact our customer success team.

How to add a Slack collection

From My Sources click on Add new source and select Slack

This will open the following modal window

The first section covers the Source name. This is the name of your source in Onna. We've pre-filled it with the name of the source you're adding however this is entirely customizable. 

The next section allows you to specify what you'd like to sync from Slack. You can choose to collect the entire account or specific parts. Direct messages, private channels and multiparty messages are user specific. 

Under advanced options we have the sync type. If you'd like to change any of the configuration that is demonstrated, click on Configure on right-hand side to modify the sync type.

Click on the Configure or Done and you will be taken through Slack's OAuth flow where you'll be giving permissions to Onna to collect files from that user's account.

Click Authorize to finalize the OAuth process. Note: Click on configure, to be taken to the following page to customize your source. The first thing you'll see listed are the channels from the account. 

You can choose to select all or specify exactly which you'd like to sync.

Scrolling to the bottom of the modal will reveal the option to sync future channels as well as the ability to select the sync mode. 

Note: The ability to sync future channels is only available for auto-sync and archive

After you've selected the synchronization mode you'll also have the option to specify the time range for your sync. Clicking on Done will take you back to the Sources page where you'll see your source Syncing.

Within the source, you'll see results beginning to populate. 

Channels and conversations are html files. A file is created every 24hrs and is saved in UTC. The standard title for chat files will be:

• Type of chat [e.g. channel, personal message] name of channel or person [e.g. general, random] and date [YYYY-MM-DD]

Attachments that are sent through chats are extracted and processed separately. 

Slack conversations in Onna 

On the left hand side, you have the html file. You can see the naming convention mentioned before : Type of chat [e.g. channel, direct message] name of channel or person [e.g. general, random, Person A and Person B] and date [YYYYMMDD]

Each message contains the user name and the time and date stamp (UTC) the message was sent. The most recent messages appear at the bottom. 

On the right hand side is the details panel for this file. This will give you more insight into this file such as: what source this file is found in, the size, type, modified and creation dates, as well as participants on this day and members of the channel (who may or may not have been an active participant that day). 

The second message demonstrates the example of an attachment that has been shared through Slack. Onna offers a link to view the attachment separately and also lists the document in the document details tab on the right. The attachment will open in its native format, in this case PDF. 

Back in the results screen, you are able to filter results by date range, categories, and/or extensions using the menu on the left.  The filter panel is customizable by clicking on the gear icon at the bottom right. 

From that same screen, you can also sort by different columns and choose other metadata fields to sort by using the toggle on the right hand side. 

Clicking on the information icon on the top right will take you to the source details where you can see how many files it has and its size.

Click on Audit Logs to see logs from collection and processing. You can learn more about accessing and navigating the the source's collection audit logs in this article.

Ready to start collecting from Slack?

Slack FAQ
For sources that are on auto-sync and archive, will Onna pick up new channels when they're created?
Yes! However, this option had to be selected upon creation of the source. It is set by default for sources created after December 2018. 

Does Onna process attachments separately?
Yes, attachments sent through channels will be processed and indexed separately unless they're sent as links. 

Why am I redirected to the Google login page when opening a document shared in Slack?
When opening files in your browser you may be directed to the Google login screen.
This is due to the Google document file being shared via slack, but Onna does not have the authorization to pull the document. When opening the file we will direct the user to the URL on the chance that it is a public document, and then download a placeholder document.

How do I search for specific channels or users?
Check out our Slack search guide to help obtain the information you want to query.

What order will Slack files sync?
When a Slack sync starts files are collected in the following order:

1. Public channels

2. Private channels

3. Direct messages (DMs)

4. Multi-party messages (MPIMs) 

Why do I see more channels listed that the user is a member of?
For the Slack (non-enterprise) collection, all public channels will be listed (and collected if selected), not just those channels that a user is a member of.

Are Slack reactions searchable in Onna?

For standard Slack collections it is possible to search reactions in your data using the actual reaction character.

How can I identify the custodian to my files in my Slack export?

For regular Slack collections, the export CSV will have the users in the RelatedUsers_List of related users field.