Slack

Slack integration lets you create and manage Errand tasks directly from your Slack workspace. You can use slash commands, mention the bot in conversations, and get real-time updates as your tasks progress — all without leaving Slack.

Features

• Slash commands — create tasks, check status, list tasks, run tasks, and view output
• Bot mentions — @mention the Errand bot in any channel to create a task from a message
• Interactive buttons — view task status and output with one click
• Real-time updates — get notified in Slack as tasks progress

Prerequisites

• Admin access to your Slack workspace (to install apps)
• A way for Slack to reach your Errand installation over the internet. You have two options:
  • Errand Cloud (recommended) — the Cloud Service acts as a webhook relay, receiving Slack events on your behalf and forwarding them to your local installation. No networking changes needed on your end.
  • Self-managed — if you prefer not to use Errand Cloud, you’ll need to expose your Errand server to the internet yourself (e.g. via port forwarding, a reverse proxy, or a VPN tunnel) so that Slack can deliver webhooks directly to it. You are responsible for securing this connection with HTTPS.

Step 1: Create a Slack App

1. Go to api.slack.com/apps
2. Click Create New App
3. Choose From scratch
4. Give your app a name (e.g. “Errand”) and select your workspace
5. Click Create App

Step 2: Configure bot token scopes

1. In the left sidebar, navigate to OAuth & Permissions
2. Scroll down to Scopes > Bot Token Scopes
3. Add the following scopes:
   • app_mentions:read - allows the bot to view messages that mention it
   • chat:write — allows the bot to send messages
   • chat:write.customize - allows the bot to send messages with custom usernames and icons
   • commands — enables slash commands
   • users:read — resolve user IDs to profile information
   • users:read.email — resolve Slack users to email addresses for audit trail

Step 3: Install the app to your workspace

1. Go to OAuth & Permissions in the left sidebar
2. Click Install to Workspace
3. Review the permissions and click Allow
4. Copy the Bot User OAuth Token (it starts with xoxb-) — you’ll need this in a later step

Step 4: Get the Signing Secret

1. In the left sidebar, go to Basic Information
2. Scroll to App Credentials
3. Click Show next to Signing Secret and copy the value

Step 5: Enter credentials in Errand

1. Open the Errand UI and go to Settings > Integrations
2. Find the Slack card and click it
3. Enter the Bot Token (xoxb-...) from Step 3
4. Enter the Signing Secret from Step 4
5. Click Test & Save — Errand will verify the credentials against the Slack API

Step 6: Configure webhook URLs

Because Errand runs locally on your machine, Slack can’t send events directly to it. Instead, Errand Cloud acts as a relay.

1. In Errand, go to Settings > Cloud Service to find your cloud endpoint URLs for:
   • Events — used for Event Subscriptions
   • Commands — used for Slash Commands
   • Interactivity — used for Interactive Components
2. Copy each URL into the corresponding section of your Slack app (see Steps 7 and 8 below)

Step 7: Enable Event Subscriptions

1. In your Slack app settings, go to Event Subscriptions
2. Toggle Enable Events to On
3. Paste the Events webhook URL from Step 6 into the Request URL field
4. Under Subscribe to bot events, click Add Bot User Event and add:
   • app_mention
5. Click Save Changes

Step 8: Create the slash command

1. In your Slack app settings, go to Slash Commands
2. Click Create New Command
3. Configure:
   • Command: /task
   • Request URL: paste the Commands webhook URL from Step 6
   • Short Description: e.g. “Create and manage Errand tasks”
   • Usage Hint: new <title> | list [status] | status <id> | output <id>
4. Click Save

Using Slack with Errand

Once everything is set up, you can interact with Errand directly from Slack:

• Create a task: Type /task new <description> in any channel
• Check task status: Type /task status to see your current task
• List tasks: Type /task list to see recent tasks
• View output: Type /task output to see the result of a completed task
• Mention the bot: Type @Errand <your request> in any channel to create a task from your message

Tasks created from Slack are automatically tagged with slack so you can easily find them later.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Bot not responding to messages	Check that your Errand Cloud connection is active in Settings > Cloud Service
Slash command returns an error	Verify the Commands webhook URL is correct in your Slack app settings
Messages not updating in real time	Check that Event Subscriptions are enabled and the app_mention event is subscribed
”not_authed” error	Regenerate the Bot Token in your Slack app and update it in Errand