Conversation object
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A conversation object contains information about a channel-like thing in Slack. It might be a public channel, a private channel, a direct message, a multi-person direct message, or a huddle. You'll find all of these objects throughout the Conversations API. Different fields are included in the object payload depending on the type of conversation (channel, DM, MPIM, etc.). The legacy objects—channel, group, im, and mpim—reference pages are nested under this one for posterity, but they are all now represented by the conversation object.
Example responses
An example response for the conversations.info method is as follows:
{
"ok": true,
"channel": {
"id": "C123456",
"name": "general",
"is_channel": true,
"is_group": false,
"is_im": false,
"is_mpim": false,
"is_private": false,
"created": 1449252889,
"is_archived": false,
"is_general": true,
"unlinked": 0,
"name_normalized": "general",
"is_shared": false,
"is_frozen": false,
"is_org_shared": false,
"is_pending_ext_shared": false,
"pending_shared": [],
"context_team_id": "T12345ABCDE",
"updated": 1689965803820,
"parent_conversation": null,
"creator": "W123456",
"is_ext_shared": false,
"shared_team_ids": ["T12345ABCDE"],
"pending_connected_team_ids": [],
"is_member": true,
"topic": {
"value": "For public discussion of generalities",
"creator": "W123456",
"last_set": 1449709364
},
"purpose": {
"value": "This part of the workspace is for fun. Make fun here.",
"creator": "W123456",
"last_set": 1449709364
},
"properties": {
"posting_restricted_to": {
"type": ["admin"]
},
"threads_restricted_to": {
"type": ["ra"]
},
"tabs": [
{
"id": "files",
"label": "",
"type": "files"
},
{
"id": "bookmarks",
"label": "",
"type": "bookmarks"
}
]
},
"previous_names": [ "specifics", "abstractions", "etc" ],
}
}
An example response for the conversations.history method is as follows:
{
"ok": true,
"messages": [
{
"type": "message",
"text": "",
"user": "USLACKBOT",
"channel": "C12345ABCDE",
"room": {
"id": "R12345ABCDE",
"name": "",
"media_server": "",
"created_by": "U12345ABCDE",
"date_start": 1689964161,
"date_end": 0,
"participants": [],
"participant_history": ["U12345ABCDE"],
"participants_camera_on": [],
"participants_camera_off": [],
"participants_screenshare_on": [],
"participants_screenshare_off": [],
"canvas_thread_ts": "1689964161.419229",
"thread_root_ts": "1689964161.419229",
"channels": ["C12345ABCDE"],
"is_dm_call": false,
"was_rejected": false,
"was_missed": false,
"was_accepted": false,
"has_ended": false,
"background_id": "GRADIENT_03",
"canvas_background": "GRADIENT_03",
"is_prewarmed": false,
"is_scheduled": false,
"attached_file_ids": [],
"media_backend_type": "free_willy",
"display_id": "",
"external_unique_id": "12345abc-123a-123b-123c-12345abcde7",
"app_id": "A00",
"call_family": "huddle",
"pending_invitees": {},
"last_invite_status_by_user": {}
},
"no_notifications": true,
"permalink": "https://example.com",
"subtype": "huddle_thread",
"ts": "1689964161.419229",
"blocks": [
{
"type": "rich_text",
"block_id": "aBcDe",
"elements": [
{
"type": "rich_text_section",
"elements": [
{
"type": "text",
"text": "A huddle started"
}
]
}
]
}
],
"team": "T12345ABCDE"
},
// ...
}
Conversation-related booleans
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
is_archived | Indicates a conversation is archived, frozen in time. |
is_channel | Indicates whether a conversation is a channel. Private channels created before March 2021 (with IDs that begin with G) will return false, and is_group will be true instead. Use is_private to determine whether a channel is private or public. |
is_ext_shared | Indicates whether a conversation is part of a Shared Channel with a remote organization. Your app should make sure the data it shares in such a channel is appropriate for both workspaces. is_shared will also be true. |
is_general | Means the channel is the workspace's "general" discussion channel (even if it may not be named #general). That might be important to your app because almost every user is a member. |
is_group | Means the channel is a private channel created before March 2021. is_private will also be true. |
is_im | Means the conversation is a direct message between two distinguished individuals or a user and a bot. is_private will also be true. |
is_member | Indicates whether the user, bot user or Slack app associated with the token making the API call is itself a member of the conversation. |
is_mpim | Represents an unnamed private conversation between multiple users. is_private will also be true. |
is_org_shared | Indicates whether this shared channel is shared between Enterprise Grid workspaces within the same organization. It's a little different from (externally) Shared Channels, yet is_shared will be true. |
is_pending_ext_shared | Means the conversation is ready to become an is_ext_shared channel, but needs some kind of approval or sign off first. Best to treat it as if it were a shared channel, even if it traverses only one workspace. |
is_private | Means the conversation is privileged between two or more members. Ensure that you meet their privacy expectations. |
is_read_only | Means the conversation can't be written to by the user performing the API call. |
is_shared | Means the conversation is in some way shared between multiple workspaces. Look for is_ext_shared and is_org_shared to learn which kind it is, and if that matters, act accordingly. |
is_thread_only | Means the conversation can't be written to by the user performing the API call, except to reply to messages in the channel. |
num_members | The number of members in the conversation. num_members may not make an appearance in the response for conversation types like DMs, where the number of members is constant. |
Other conversation-related attributes
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
name | String | Indicates the name of the channel-like thing, without a leading hash sign. Don't get too attached to that name; it may change — instead, when working with channel-like things, focus on their IDs, their type, and the team/workspace they belong to. |
creator | String | The ID of the member that created this conversation. |
created | Int | Timestamp of when the conversation was created. |
conversation_host_id | String | Appears on shared channel objects and indicates the "host" of the shared channel. The value may contain a workspace's ID (beginning with T) or an Enterprise Grid organization's ID (beginning with E). |
topic | String | Provides information about the channel topic. |
purpose | String | Provides information about the channel purpose. |
updated | Int | The timestamp, in milliseconds, when the channel settings were updated — for example, the "topic" or "description" of the channel changed. |
Some API methods; for example, conversations.join, can include extra state information for channels when the calling user is a member:
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
last_read | Int | The timestamp for the last message the calling user has read in this channel. |
unread_count | Int | A full count of visible messages that the calling user has yet to read. |
unread_count_display | Int | A count of messages that the calling user has yet to read that matter to them (excludes things like join/leave messages). |
latest | String | The latest message in the channel. |
properties | Object | Additional channel properties (see below). |
The properties object contains many additional fields that appear based on the context of the object.
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
posting_restricted_to | Object | An object comprised of three arrays: subteam, type, and user, each offering a different way to restrict who can post in the channel. |
threads_restricted_to | Object | An object comprised of three arrays: subteam, type, and user, each offering a different way to restrict who can post in threads in the channel. |
at_channel_restricted | Boolean | Indicates if the @channel mention is restricted. |
at_here_restricted | Boolean | Indicates if the @here mention is restricted. |
huddles_restricted | Boolean | Indicates if huddles are restricted. |
sharing_disabled | Boolean | Indicates if sharing is disabled. |
canvas | Object | The channel canvas. |
record_channel | Object | Properties for SFDC Record channels. |
crm | Object | Properties for Slack CRM. |
worklfow | Object | Properties for a workflow; currently contains one field, primary_workflow_url. |
tabs | Object | List of channel tabs. Each tab has an id, label, type, data, and is_disabled property. Its type can be any of the following: list, canvas, files, bookmarks, folder, pins, workflows, channel_canvas, record_list, record_overview, record_summary, record_related_list,salesforce_list_view. |
huddles | Object | Properties for huddles for the channel the huddle occurred in. |
membership_limit | Integer | Limit of users in channel. |
channel_workflows | Array | An array of workflows in the channel. |
channel_solutions | Object | Properties for channel solutions: workflow_trigger_ids, workflow_workflow_ids, canvas_ids, list_ids. |
default_tab_id | String | Indicates which tab in the channel is the default. |
auto_open_tab_id | String | Indicates which tab in the channel auto opens. |
meeting_notes | Object | Properties for channel meeting notes. |
These channel objects are not the same object type as those for private channels created before March 2021, which are considered group objects.