File object

A file object contains information about a file shared with a workspace.

{
    "id": "F0A12BCDE",
    "created": 1531763342,
    "timestamp": 1531763342,
    "name": "tedair.gif",
    "title": "tedair.gif",
    "mimetype": "image/gif",
    "filetype": "gif",
    "pretty_type": "GIF",
    "user": "U012A3BCD",
    "editable": false,
    "size": 137531,
    "mode": "hosted",
    "is_external": false,
    "external_type": "",
    "is_public": true,
    "public_url_shared": false,
    "display_as_bot": false,
    "username": "",
    "url_private": "https://.../tedair.gif",
    "url_private_download": "https://.../tedair.gif",
    "thumb_64": "https://.../tedair_64.png",
    "thumb_80": "https://.../tedair_80.png",
    "thumb_360": "https://.../tedair_360.png",
    "thumb_360_w": 176,
    "thumb_360_h": 226,
    "thumb_160": "https://.../tedair_=_160.png",
    "thumb_360_gif": "https://.../tedair_360.gif",
    "image_exif_rotation": 1,
    "original_w": 176,
    "original_h": 226,
    "deanimate_gif": "https://.../tedair_deanimate_gif.png",
    "pjpeg": "https://.../tedair_pjpeg.jpg",
    "permalink": "https://.../tedair.gif",
    "permalink_public": "https://.../...",
    "comments_count": 0,
    "is_starred": false,
    "shares": {
        "public": {
            "C0A1BC2DE": [
                {
                    "reply_users": [
                        "U012A3BCD"
                    ],
                    "reply_users_count": 1,
                    "reply_count": 1,
                    "ts": "1531763348.000001",
                    "thread_ts": "1531763273.000015",
                    "latest_reply": "1531763348.000001",
                    "channel_name": "file-under",
                    "team_id": "T012AB3C4"
                }
            ]
        }
    },
    "channels": [
        "C0A1BC2DE"
    ],
    "groups": [],
    "ims": [],
    "has_rich_preview": false
}

Properties

Field	Type	Description
`ai_generated`	Boolean	Whether the file was AI-generated.
`bot_id`	String	ID of the bot that uploaded the file.
`bot_user_id`	String	Bot user ID associated with the file.
`channels`	Array	Contains the IDs of any channels with which the file is currently shared.
`created`	Unix timestamp	A Unix timestamp representing when the file was created.
`editable`	Boolean	Indicates whether files are stored in editable mode.
`edit_link`	String (URL)	Only present for posts and snippets and is the page at which the file can be edited.
`external_id`	String	ID of the file in an external system.
`external_type`	String	Indicates what kind of external file it is; possible values: `""`, `gdrive`, `dropbox`, `box`, `onedrive`, `app`, `undefined`, `salesforce`.
`external_url`	String (URI) or null	URL of the file in an external system.
`filetype`	String	The file's type. Note the `mimetype` and `filetype` properties do not have a 1-to-1 mapping, as multiple different files types (`html`, `js`, etc.) share the same mime type.
`groups`	Array	Contains the IDs of any private groups with which the file is currently shared. Groups are only returned if the caller is a member of that group.
`id`	String	The ID of the file object.
`ims`	Array	Contains the IDs of any direct message channels with which the file is currently shared. Messages are only returned if the caller is a member of that channel.
`initial_comment`	Object	A comment from the file uploader. Will only be set when the uploader commented on the file at the time of upload. Clients can use this to display the comment with the file when announcing new file uploads. Use `comments_count` to determine how many comments are attached to a file.
`is_external`	Boolean	Indicates whether or not the master copy of a file is stored within the system. If `is_external` is true, the `url` property will point to the externally-hosted master file.
`is_public`	Boolean	Will be `true` if the file is public.
`is_starred`	Boolean	Will be `true` if the calling user has starred the file, else it will be omitted.
`mimetype`	String	The file's mimetype.
`mode`	String	One of the following: `hosted`, `external`, `snippet` or `post`.
`name`	String	Name of the file; may be `null` for unnamed files.
`num_stars`	Integer	Contains the number of users who have starred this file. Will not be present if no users have starred it.
`permalink`	String (URL)	Points to a single page for the file containing details, comments, and a download link. If the file is available to the public, a `permalink_public` URL points to the public file itself.
`pinned_to`	Array	Contains the IDs of any channels in which the file is currently pinned.
`pretty_type`	String	A human-readable version of the type.
`public_url_shared`	Boolean	Will be `true` if the file's public URL has been shared.
`reactions`	Array of reaction objects	Contains any reactions that have been added to the file. Gives information about the type of reaction, the total number of users who added that reaction, and a (possibly incomplete) list of users who have added that reaction to the file. The users array in the `reactions` property may not always contain all users that have reacted (we limit it, and the quantity might change); however, `count` will always represent the count of all users who made that reaction (i.e., it may be greater than `users.length`). If the authenticated user has a given reaction then they are guaranteed to appear in the `users` array regardless of whether `count` is greater than `users.length` or not.
`size`	Integer	The filesize in bytes. Snippets are limited to a maximum file size of 1 megabyte.
`state`	String or null	Current file state.
`subtype`	String	File subtype.
`timestamp`	Integer or null	A deprecated property that is provided only for backwards compatibility with older clients.
`title`	String	Title of the file.
`updated`	Unix timestamp	For Post filetypes only; a Unix timestamp of when the Post was last edited.
`user`	String	The ID of the user who created the object.

Previews

For posts, a short plain-text preview is also included that can be shown in place of a thumbnail.

For snippets, a preview of the contents is included (a few truncated lines of plaintext), as well as a more complex syntax-highlighted preview (preview_highlight) in HTML. The total count of lines in the snippet is returned in lines, while lines_more contains a count of lines not shown in the preview.

Depending on the file's type, you may encounter different fields relevant to that type. For instance, you may encounter fields such as image_exif_rotation, original_w, and original_h for images, but will not find those fields for HTML documents.

Access control / Sharing

Authentication is required to retrieve file URLs.

The url_private property points to a URL with the file contents. Editable-mode files will also have a url_private_download parameter, which includes headers to force a browser download. Both url_private and url_private_download require an authorization header of the form:

Authorization: Bearer A_VALID_TOKEN

In this case, A_VALID_TOKEN is representative of a real OAuth token, bearing at least the files:read scope. Learn more about OAuth Scopes.

Fields providing URLs that require this form of authentication include:

url_private
url_private_download
thumb_64
thumb_80
thumb_160
thumb_360
thumb_480
thumb_720
thumb_960
thumb_1024

The url and url_download parameters have been deprecated.

Please use url_private and url_private_download instead.

Field	Type	Description
`access`	String	Access level of the file.
`dm_mpdm_users_with_file_access`	Array of objects	DM/MPDM users with file access (each has `user_id`, `access`).
`external_workspaces_with_read_access`	Array of `team_id`	External workspaces/Slack Connect spaces this file is pinned to that the viewer is a member of.
`file_access`	String	File access level (e.g. "`check_file_info`" for Slack Connect files).
`has_more_shares`	Boolean	Whether there are additional shares not returned.
`is_restricted_sharing_enabled`	Boolean	Whether restricted sharing is enabled.
`last_read`	Integer	Unix timestamp of when the file was last read.
`most_recent_access_request_ts`	Integer	Unix timestamp of the most recent access request.
`org_or_workspace_access`	String	Organization or workspace access level.
`private_channels_with_file_access_count`	Integer	Count of private channels with access to this file.
`private_external_workspaces_with_read_access_count`	Integer	Count of external workspaces with access that the viewer is not a member of.
`restriction_type`	Integer (enum: 0, 1)	`0` = no restrictions, `1` = DSA restricted.
`skipped_shares`	Boolean	Whether some shares were skipped in the response.
`source_team`	`team_id`	Team where the file originated.
`teams_shared_with`	Array of `team_id`	Teams the file is shared with.
`user_team`	`team_id`	Team of the user who created the file.

AI / Skills

Field	Type	Description
`ai_skill_example_prompts`	Array of string	AI-generated example prompts that trigger this skill.
`ai_skill_library_count`	Integer	Number of users who added this skill to their library.
`ai_skill_usage_count`	Integer	Total times this skill has been loaded across all users.
`ai_summary`	Object	AI-generated file summary.
`excluded_from_slack_ai`	Boolean	Whether the file is excluded from Slack AI.
`is_ai_suggested`	Boolean	Whether the file was suggested by AI.
`is_skill`	Boolean	Whether this canvas is a Slackbot AI skill.
`skill_description`	String	Description of what this skill does.

Audio / Video / Media

Field	Type	Description
`aac`	String	URL to AAC audio.
`acc`	String	URL to ACC audio.
`audio_wave_samples`	Array of integers	Audio waveform sample data.
`duration_ms`	Integer	Duration of audio/video in milliseconds.
`hls`	String	URL to HLS video stream.
`hls_embed`	String	URL to HLS embed stream.
`hls_preview`	String	URL to HLS preview stream.
`is_transcription_region_supported`	Boolean	Whether transcription is supported for this file.
`media_display_type`	String	How the media should be displayed.
`media_progress`	Object	Media playback progress tracking.
`mp4`	String	URL to MP4 video.
`mp4_low`	String	URL to low-bitrate MP4 video.
`vtt`	String	WebVTT subtitle/caption content.

Canvas properties

Field	Type	Description
`canvas_agent_creator_id`	String	AI agent ID that created the canvas.
`canvas_creator_id`	String	User ID of the canvas creator.
`canvas_default_agent_id`	String	Default AI agent ID for the canvas.
`canvas_metadata`	Object	Canvas metadata (contains `originating_huddle_id`, `items`).
`canvas_printing_enabled`	Boolean	Whether canvas printing org pref is enabled.
`canvas_readtime`	Number	Approximate read time for canvas content.
`is_channel_space`	Boolean	Whether the file is a channel space canvas.
`linked_channel_id`	String	Channel ID this canvas is linked to.
`source_canvas_id`	`file_id`	Source canvas ID if this canvas was duplicated.
`team_pref_version_history_enabled`	Boolean or null	Whether version history team pref is enabled.
`title_blocks`	Array of `rich_text_title_block`	Structured title blocks for canvases.

Canvas template properties

Field	Type	Description
`canvas_template_mode`	Enum	Template publication status. Possible values: `draft`, `published`, `sales_draft`, `sales_published`, `solutions_published`.
`is_global_template`	Boolean	Whether this is a global template.
`is_org_visible`	Boolean	Whether the template is visible to the org.
`template_conversion_ts`	Integer or null	Unix timestamp of template conversion.
`template_converter_id`	`user_id` or null	User who converted the template.
`template_description`	String	Template description.
`template_icon`	String	Template icon.
`template_locale`	String	Template locale.
`template_name`	String	Template name.
`template_title`	String	Template title.

Editing / Collaboration

Field	Type	Description
`can_toggle_canvas_lock`	Boolean or null	Whether the viewer can toggle the canvas lock.
`edit_timestamp`	Integer or null	Unix timestamp of last edit.
`editor`	`user_id` or null	Current editor of the file.
`editors`	Array of string	List of canvas editor user IDs.
`editors_count`	Integer or null	Number of editors.
`is_locked`	Boolean	Whether the file is locked.
`last_editor`	`user_id` or null	Last user to edit the file.
`non_owner_editable`	Boolean or null	Whether non-owners can edit the file.
`show_badge`	Boolean	Whether to show an editor badge.

Email properties

Field	Type	Description
`attachments`	Array of object	Email attachments (each has `filename`, `size`, `mimetype`, `url`, `slack_file_id`, etc.).
`cc`	Array of `email_address`	CC recipients.
`email_security`	Object	Email security info (contains `has_valid_dmarc`).
`from`	Array of `email_address`	Email sender(s).
`headers`	Object	Raw email headers.
`inline_attachment_count`	Integer	Number of inline email attachments.
`meeting_metadata`	Object	Meeting metadata extracted from calendar invites (contains `meeting_object_id`, `meeting_provider`, `title`, `description`, etc.).
`office_pdf`	String	URL to Office document PDF conversion.
`original_attachment_count`	Integer	Original number of email attachments.
`sent_to_self`	Boolean	Whether the email was sent to the user's own address.
`simplified_html`	String	Simplified HTML version of the email.
`subject`	String	Email subject line.
`to`	Array of `email_address`	Email recipients (each has `address`, `name`, `original`, `slack_user_id`).

Lifecycle / Deletion

Field	Type	Description
`date_delete`	Integer	Unix timestamp of file deletion.
`is_archived`	Boolean	Whether the file is archived.
`is_deleted`	Boolean	Whether the file has been deleted.
`is_hidden_by_limit`	Integer	Whether the file is hidden due to a limit.
`is_legally_held`	Boolean	Whether the file is under a legal hold.
`is_tombstoned`	Boolean	Whether the file has been tombstoned.
`migrated_id`	String	ID of the file after migration.
`update_notification`	Integer or null	Unix timestamp of update notification.

Lists properties

Field	Type	Description
`list_csv_download_url`	String	URL to download the list as CSV.
`list_limits`	Object	The List count of the current amount of rows/items, columns, views, and archived items. It also has the limits for each entity, including the maximum amount of items a List can have. Task tracking field columns (`todo_completed`, `todo_due_date`, and `todo_assignee` type columns) don't count towards the `column_count` limit.
`list_metadata`	Object	This field contains List information such as List schema, which includes all columns with header names of the List. This field also has List view information (all existing views for the given List) and subtasks schema (column information for subtasks). The header name for columns will be present in the `schema[].name` field, and List view names will be present in the `views[].name` field.
`list_records`	Array of `list_record`	List row/record data.
`list_template_localization_status`	String	Localization status of the list template.
`list_template_mode`	Ref (`template_status`)	List template publication status.
`list_template_type`	Ref (`template_type`)	List template type.
`todos`	Ref (`list_todo_message_attachment`)	List todo message attachment data.

Stars / Saved / Pinning

Field	Type	Description
`actions`	Array of object	File actions (each has `ts`, `event_type`).
`favorites`	Array of object	Favorites collections containing this file (each has `collection_id`, `collection_name`, `position`).
`pinned_info`	Object	Detailed pinning information.
`saved`	Object	Saved/bookmarked message reference.

Text content / Previews

Field	Type	Description
`alt_text_highlights`	String	Alt text with search highlighting markers.
`alt_txt`	String	Alternative text for image files.
`annotation_count`	Integer	Number of annotations on the file.
`contents`	String	Full file contents.
`contents_extracts`	Array of string	Content extracts from the file.
`contents_highlight`	String	File contents with search highlighting.
`file_contents_hl`	Object	File contents with highlighting (contains `lines` array).
`formatted`	String	Formatted content.
`has_more`	Boolean	Whether more content is available.
`path_to_root`	Array of string	Path hierarchy to root.
`plain_text`	String	Plain text version of the file.
`preview_is_truncated`	Boolean	Whether the preview was truncated.
`preview_plain_text`	String	Plain text preview.

Thumbnails (dimensions and extra formats)

If a thumbnail is available for the file, the URL to a 64x64 pixel thumbnail will be returned as the thumb_64 property.

The thumb_80 property, when present, contains the URL of an 80x80 pixel thumbnail. Unlike the 64px thumbnail, this size is guaranteed to be 80x80, even when the source image was smaller (it is padded with transparent pixels).

A variable-sized thumbnail will be returned as thumb_360, with its longest size no bigger than 360 pixels(although it may be smaller depending on the source size). Dimensions for this thumb are returned in thumb_360_w and thumb_360_h. In the case where the original image was an animated gif with dimensions greater than 360 pixels, an animated thumbnail is also created and passed as thumb_360_gif.

Depending on the original file's size, you may even find a thumb_480, thumb_720, thumb_960, or thumb_1024 property.

All thumbnails require an authorization header as described above.

Field	Type	Description
`converted_pdf`	String	URL to a converted PDF version of the file.
`deanimate`	String (URI)	URL to deanimated version of the file (distinct from `deanimate_gif`).
`thumb_480_gif`	String (URI)	URL to animated 480px thumbnail for GIFs.
`thumb_480_h`	Integer	Height of the 480px thumbnail.
`thumb_480_w`	Integer	Width of the 480px thumbnail.
`thumb_720_h`	Integer	Height of the 720px thumbnail.
`thumb_720_w`	Integer	Width of the 720px thumbnail.
`thumb_800`	String (URI)	URL to 800px thumbnail.
`thumb_800_h`	Integer	Height of the 800px thumbnail.
`thumb_800_w`	Integer	Width of the 800px thumbnail.
`thumb_960_h`	Integer	Height of the 960px thumbnail.
`thumb_960_w`	Integer	Width of the 960px thumbnail.
`thumb_1024_h`	Integer	Height of the 1024px thumbnail.
`thumb_1024_w`	Integer	Width of the 1024px thumbnail.
`thumb_pdf`	String (URI)	URL to PDF thumbnail.
`thumb_pdf_h`	Integer	Height of the PDF thumbnail.
`thumb_pdf_w`	Integer	Width of the PDF thumbnail.
`thumb_tiny`	String	Tiny inline thumbnail (base64-encoded).
`thumb_video`	String (URI)	URL to video thumbnail.
`thumb_video_h`	Integer	Height of the video thumbnail.
`thumb_video_ts`	String	Timestamp within the video used for the thumbnail.
`thumb_video_w`	Integer	Width of the video thumbnail.
`url_static_preview`	String	URL to a static preview image.

Transcription / Huddle

Field	Type	Description
`huddle_date_end`	Integer	End time of the huddle (Unix timestamp).
`huddle_date_start`	Integer	Start time of the huddle (Unix timestamp).
`huddle_participant_ids`	Array of `user_id`	User IDs of all huddle participants.
`huddle_summary_id`	`summary_id`	ID of the associated huddle summary.
`huddle_transcript_file_id`	`file_id`	ID of the associated huddle transcript file.
`huddle_transcription`	Object	Full huddle transcription (contains `blocks`, `lines`, `date_start`, `date_end`, `channel_id`, `transcription_time_ranges`).
`is_huddle_canvas`	Boolean	Whether the file is a huddle canvas.
`transcription`	Object	Transcription data for audio/video files.
`transcription_hl`	Object	Transcription with search highlighting (contains `lines` array with `start_time_ms`, `contents`).

Work objects / App integration

Field	Type	Description
`app_id`	String	ID of the associated app.
`app_name`	String	Name of the associated app.
`app_provides_file_work_objects`	Boolean	Whether the app provides file work objects.
`embedded_file_ids`	Array of string	IDs of files embedded within this file.
`entity_id`	String	Work object entity ID associated with this file.
`full_size_preview_supported`	Boolean	Whether full size preview is supported in work objects.
`is_salesforce_file`	Boolean	Whether the file is a Salesforce file.
`product_icon`	Object	Product icon to use when rendering the file.
`quip_thread_id`	String	Associated Quip thread ID.

Slack Connect files

When a file is uploaded to a Slack Connect channel, file object properties are not immediately accessible to apps listening via the Events API or the legacy RTM API. Instead, the payload will contain a file object with the key-value pair "file_access": "check_file_info" meaning that further action is required from your app in order to view an uploaded file's metadata.

{
    ...
    "files": [
        {
          "id": "F12345678",
          "mode": "file_access",
          "file_access": "check_file_info",
          "created": 0,
          "timestamp": 0,
          "user": ""
        }
      ]
    ...
}

See the Slack Connect overview page for more details on how to handle this scenario.

File types

Possible filetype values include, but are not limited to, the following:

Type	Description
`auto`	Auto Detect Type
`text`	Plain Text
`ai`	Illustrator File
`apk`	APK
`applescript`	AppleScript
`binary`	Binary
`bmp`	Bitmap
`boxnote`	BoxNote
`c`	C
`csharp`	C#
`cpp`	C++
`css`	CSS
`csv`	CSV
`clojure`	Clojure
`coffeescript`	CoffeeScript
`cfm`	ColdFusion
`d`	D
`dart`	Dart
`diff`	Diff
`doc`	Word Document
`docx`	Word document
`dockerfile`	Docker
`dotx`	Word template
`eml`	Email
`eps`	EPS
`epub`	EPUB
`erlang`	Erlang
`fla`	Flash FLA
`flv`	Flash video
`fsharp`	F#
`fortran`	Fortran
`gdoc`	GDocs Document
`gdraw`	GDocs Drawing
`gif`	GIF
`go`	Go
`gpres`	GDocs Presentation
`groovy`	Groovy
`gsheet`	GDocs Spreadsheet
`gzip`	Gzip
`html`	HTML
`handlebars`	Handlebars
`haskell`	Haskell
`haxe`	Haxe
`indd`	InDesign Document
`java`	Java
`javascript`	JavaScript
`jpg`	JPEG
`json`	JSON
`keynote`	Keynote Document
`kotlin`	Kotlin
`latex`	LaTeX/sTeX
`lisp`	Lisp
`lua`	Lua
`m4a`	MPEG 4 audio
`markdown`	Markdown (raw)
`matlab`	MATLAB
`mhtml`	MHTML
`mkv`	Matroska video
`mov`	QuickTime video
`mp3`	mp4
`mp4`	MPEG 4 video
`mpg`	MPEG video
`mumps`	MUMPS
`numbers`	Numbers Document
`nzb`	NZB
`objc`	Objective-C
`ocaml`	OCaml
`odg`	OpenDocument Drawing
`odi`	OpenDocument Image
`odp`	OpenDocument Presentation
`ods`	OpenDocument Spreadsheet
`odt`	OpenDocument Text
`ogg`	Ogg Vorbis
`ogv`	Ogg video
`pages`	Pages Document
`pascal`	Pascal
`pdf`	PDF
`perl`	Perl
`php`	PHP
`pig`	Pig
`png`	PNG
`post`	Slack Post
`powershell`	PowerShell
`ppt`	PowerPoint presentation
`pptx`	PowerPoint presentation
`psd`	Photoshop Document
`puppet`	Puppet
`python`	Python
`qtz`	Quartz Composer Composition
`r`	R
`rtf`	Rich Text File
`ruby`	Ruby
`rust`	Rust
`sql`	SQL
`sass`	Sass
`scala`	Scala
`scheme`	Scheme
`sketch`	Sketch File
`shell`	Shell
`smalltalk`	Smalltalk
`svg`	SVG
`swf`	Flash SWF
`swift`	Swift
`tar`	Tarball
`tiff`	TIFF
`tsv`	TSV
`vb`	VB.NET
`vbscript`	VBScript
`vcard`	vCard
`velocity`	Velocity
`verilog`	Verilog
`wav`	Waveform audio
`webm`	WebM
`wmv`	Windows Media Video
`xls`	Excel spreadsheet
`xlsx`	Excel spreadsheet
`xlsb`	Excel Spreadsheet (Binary, Macro Enabled)
`xlsm`	Excel Spreadsheet (Macro Enabled)
`xltx`	Excel template
`xml`	XML
`yaml`	YAML
`zip`	Zip

Properties​

Previews​

Access control / Sharing​

AI / Skills​

Audio / Video / Media​

Canvas properties​

Canvas template properties​

Editing / Collaboration​

Email properties​

Lifecycle / Deletion​

Lists properties​

Stars / Saved / Pinning​

Text content / Previews​

Thumbnails (dimensions and extra formats)​

Transcription / Huddle​

Work objects / App integration​

Slack Connect files​

File types​