Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
96 lines (63 loc) · 4.45 KB

SLACK-APP-BUILD.md

File metadata and controls

96 lines (63 loc) · 4.45 KB

Setting Up the Slack App for BriefOps

This guide walks you through setting up a Slack app that integrates with BriefOps. You will create a custom Slack app, configure OAuth tokens, set up the necessary slash command (/briefops), and link the app to your Google Cloud deployment.

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:

  • A Slack workspace where you have permission to create and install apps.
  • Access to the Slack API at https://api.slack.com.
  • Your Google Cloud project set up with BriefOps deployment (using the Terraform steps in the main README).

Step 1: Create a New Slack App

  1. Visit https://api.slack.com/apps and click Create New App.

  2. Choose From Scratch and provide a name for your app (e.g., BriefOps) and select the Slack workspace where you want to install it.

  3. Click Create App.

Step 2: Configure OAuth & Permissions

  1. In your newly created app, go to the OAuth & Permissions section in the sidebar.

  2. Scroll to Scopes and add the following Bot Token Scopes:

    • commands – To enable the use of the /briefops command.
    • chat:write – To allow the app to post messages in Slack.
    • channels:history – To allow the app to read messages in public channels.
    • groups:history – To allow the app to read messages in private channels.
    • im:history – To allow the app to read messages in direct messages.
    • mpim:history – To allow the app to read messages in group direct messages.

  3. After adding the scopes, click Install App to Workspace.

  4. You will be redirected to authorize the app for your workspace. Click Allow.

  5. Once installed, copy the Bot User OAuth Token and App-Level Token. These tokens will be used in your Google Cloud environment as environment variables.

Step 3: Set Up the Slash Command /briefops

  1. In the Slack app dashboard, navigate to the Slash Commands section.

  2. Click Create New Command and configure the command as follows:

    • Command: /briefops
    • Request URL: This is the URL of your deployed BriefOps app on Google Cloud Run. It should look something like this: 
      https://<your-cloud-run-service-url>/slack/events
    • Short Description: Summarize Slack channel conversations
    • Usage Hint: [days]
    • Escape channels, users, and links sent to your app: Check this box.

  3. Click Save.

Step 4: Set Up Event Subscriptions (Optional for Future Features)

If you plan to extend the functionality of BriefOps beyond slash commands (e.g., real-time event handling for channel activities), you'll need to enable Event Subscriptions.

  1. Go to Event Subscriptions in the Slack app dashboard.

  2. Toggle the Enable Events switch to On.

  3. Set the Request URL to the URL of your deployed BriefOps app on Google Cloud Run: https://<your-cloud-run-service-url>/slack/events

  4. Scroll down to Subscribe to Bot Events and add the following events:

  • message.channels – To listen to messages posted in channels.
  • message.groups – To listen to messages posted in private channels.
  • message.im – To listen to messages posted in direct messages.
  1. Click Save Changes.

Step 5: Set Environment Variables in Google Cloud

Now that you have the necessary tokens from Slack, update your Google Cloud environment by providing the values in Google Secret Manager via Terraform or setting the environment variables directly.

In your terraform.tfvars or Google Secret Manager, set the following:

# Slack tokens (replace these with your own Slack app credentials)
SLACK_APP_TOKEN      = "replace-this-token-with-your-own-slack-app-token"
SLACK_BOT_TOKEN      = "replace-this-token-with-your-own-slack-bot-token"
SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET = "replace-this-token-with-your-own-slack-signing-secret"

Make sure these tokens are securely stored in Google Secret Manager or as part of your environment variables within Google Cloud Run.

Step 6: Test the App

Once the deployment is complete and the app is installed, you can start using the /briefops command in your Slack workspace:

/briefops [days]

For example, /briefops 7d will summarise the last 7 days of messages in the current channel.

If everything is set up correctly, the BriefOps app will respond with a summary of messages from the specified period in the channel where the command was executed.