project-slack-arch

@U8SQAAMQB has joined the channel

@U0AD74K18T1 Spawn new agent for this project, make him listen to all messages in this channel.
This project is about archiving this slack workspace continuously and making the archive browsable

@U0AD74K18T1 has joined the channel

On it — setting up a dedicated agent for #project-slack-arch.

Now patching the config to add the agent, binding, and channel entry for C0AGNFK72RX:

Done. Created the Slack Archive agent (slack-arch) bound to #project-slack-arch (C0AGNFK72RX) with requireMention: false. Gateway is restarting — the new agent will pick up all messages in that channel.

Restart confirmed — the slack-arch agent is live and listening in #project-slack-arch. It'll respond to the next message there.

Create a repo and plan for the project implementation

Got it — creating the repo and drafting an implementation plan now. Will post back shortly with the plan for review.

Repo created and plan is up:

Repo: https://github.com/polarium-org/slack-archive (private)

Architecture:
• Archiver — Node.js script that incrementally fetches messages from all channels via Slack API (conversations.list → conversations.history → conversations.replies), stores in SQLite
• Web UI — SvelteKit app serving a browsable interface with channel sidebar, message timeline, thread view, and full-text search (FTS5)
• Database — SQLite with tables for channels, users, messages, reactions, files, and sync state

Implementation phases:

1. Core Archive — DB schema, archiver script, user sync, initial backfill
2. Web UI — Channel list, message timeline, threads, search, deep linking
3. Continuous Sync — Incremental fetching via OpenClaw cron, reactions, file metadata
4. Polish — Deploy to slack-archive.sandscape.cc, date filtering, export, auth
Full plan: https://github.com/polarium-org/slack-archive/blob/main/ROADMAP.md

Before I start building — a few questions:

1. Slack API token: I can use the OpenClaw bot token for reading via the message tool's read action. But for the standalone archiver script, do you want me to use the same bot token (I'd need it as an env var), or set up a separate app?
2. Scope: Archive public channels only, or private channels too?
3. Should I start building now, or do you want to adjust the plan first?

On it! Let me create the repo and put together an implementation plan. I'll reply in #project-slack-arch once it's ready.

Now let me think through the architecture and create everything.

Good, repo created. Now let me figure out what Slack API access we have and design the architecture.

Now let me check what Slack API access we have — specifically what scopes the bot token has:

Now let me post the plan to the channel:

not fetching via openclaw cron. What is the matter with you? this is independent app

You're right, my bad. This is a standalone app — the archiver runs as its own process (e.g. a long-running service or system cron), not through OpenClaw. No dependency on OpenClaw at runtime.

Updated approach:
• SvelteKit app with a built-in background sync process that periodically fetches new messages
• Own Slack bot token via env var
• SQLite database
• Deployed to slack-archive.sandscape.cc via Dokku like any other project

The remaining questions still stand:

1. Token: Use the existing bot token, or create a separate Slack app for this?
2. Scope: Public channels only, or private too?
3. Good to start building?

Fair point — this should be a standalone app that runs independently, not tied to OpenClaw at all. Let me update the plan.

Welcome to nginx!
If you see this page, the nginx web server is successfully installed and working. Further configuration is required.

Got it — the app's waiting on Dokku. I'll build the whole thing now and deploy it. Going with: standalone SvelteKit app, own Slack bot token via env var, public channels, SQLite, background sync built in. Will report back when it's live.

Looks like the Dokku app is provisioned and waiting. Time to ship something. Let me build this out and deploy.

App's deployed and live — https://slack-archive.sandscape.cc is returning 200 with SSL.

What's there:
• Channel sidebar, date-grouped message timeline, thread view, full-text search
• Background sync runs every 5 min (incremental, rate-limit aware, auto-joins channels)
• SQLite with FTS5, dark/light theme, URL-driven navigation
• Repo: https://github.com/polarium-org/slack-archive

One thing needed: the Slack bot token. The app's running but sync is paused until the token is set:

ssh <mailto:dokku@sandscape.cc|dokku@sandscape.cc> config:set slack-archive SLACKBOTTOKEN=xoxb-...

The bot needs these scopes: channels:history, channels:read, channels:join, users:read, reactions:read. Want me to use the same bot token OpenClaw uses, or should we create a separate Slack app for this?

Can openclaw slack bot read all the channels?

The OpenClaw bot is currently a member of ~21 channels (all the project channels). Whether it can read all channels depends on its OAuth scopes:

• If it has channels:history + channels:read — it can read any public channel it's a member of
• If it also has channels:join — the archive app can auto-join public channels it's not in yet
• For private channels it would need groups:history + groups:read

I can't see the actual scopes from here (the token is redacted in config). You can check in the Slack app settings at https://api.slack.com/apps → your app → OAuth & Permissions.

If the scopes are there, we can reuse the same bot token for the archive app. If not, either add the missing scopes to the existing app, or create a dedicated Slack app just for archiving. Up to you — what do you prefer?

Let me check what channels the bot can see.

Scopes
A Slack app's capabilities and permissions are governed by the scopes it requests.
Bot Token Scopes
Scopes that govern what your app can access.
OAuth ScopeDescription
appmentions:read
View messages that directly mention @U0AD74K18T1 in conversations that the app is in

channels:history
View messages and other content in public channels that "Cedric" has been added to

channels:read
View basic information about public channels in a workspace

chat:write
Send messages as @U0AD74K18T1

files:read
View files shared in channels and conversations that "Cedric" has been added to

files:write
Upload, edit, and delete files as "Cedric"

groups:history
View messages and other content in private channels that "Cedric" has been added to

im:history
View messages and other content in direct messages that "Cedric" has been added to

mpim:history
View messages and other content in group direct messages that "Cedric" has been added to

pins:read
View pinned content in channels and conversations that "Cedric" has been added to

pins:write
Add and remove pinned messages and files

reactions:write
Add and edit emoji reactions

users:read
View people in a workspace

Almost everything we need is there. We have:
:whitecheckmark: channels:history — public channel messages
:whitecheckmark: channels:read — list public channels
:whitecheckmark: groups:history — private channel messages
:whitecheckmark: users:read — user profiles
:whitecheckmark: files:read — file metadata

Missing:
:x: reactions:read — needed to fetch reactions on messages
:x: channels:join — needed for auto-joining public channels the bot isn't in yet

We can work without both — just won't archive reactions initially, and the bot will only archive channels it's already a member of (or gets manually invited to). Alternatively, you can add those two scopes in the Slack app settings and reinstall.

Want me to just go ahead with the existing token as-is? Or add the missing scopes first?

now: Scopes
A Slack app's capabilities and permissions are governed by the scopes it requests.
Bot Token Scopes
Scopes that govern what your app can access.
OAuth ScopeDescription
appmentions:read
View messages that directly mention @U0AD74K18T1 in conversations that the app is in

channels:history
View messages and other content in public channels that "Cedric" has been added to

channels:join
Join public channels in a workspace

channels:read
View basic information about public channels in a workspace

chat:write
Send messages as @U0AD74K18T1

files:read
View files shared in channels and conversations that "Cedric" has been added to

files:write
Upload, edit, and delete files as "Cedric"

groups:history
View messages and other content in private channels that "Cedric" has been added to

im:history
View messages and other content in direct messages that "Cedric" has been added to

mpim:history
View messages and other content in group direct messages that "Cedric" has been added to

pins:read
View pinned content in channels and conversations that "Cedric" has been added to

pins:write
Add and remove pinned messages and files

reactions:read
View emoji reactions and their associated content in channels and conversations that "Cedric" has been added to

reactions:write
Add and edit emoji reactions

users:read
View people in a workspace

Perfect — reactions:read and channels:join both added. We now have everything we need. Same bot token will work for the archive app.

I'll set it on Dokku now and the sync should start automatically.

Token set and redeployed with a bug fix. It's live and syncing — the bot is auto-joining channels and pulling message history:

[sync] Syncing users...
[sync] Syncing channels...
[sync] Fetching messages for #general (since 0)
[sync] Joined #hudba, will retry next cycle
[sync] Joined #random, will retry next cycle
[sync] Fetching messages for #project-hn-aggregator (since 0)
[sync] Fetching messages for #project-coverer (since 0)

Give it a few minutes for the initial backfill, then check https://slack-archive.sandscape.cc

I need to get the actual bot token value. Let me check the local config file directly:

There's a SQL bug. Let me check the code and fix it.

Found it — the SQL uses double quotes "" which SQLite interprets as a column identifier. Should be single quotes ''.

The Dokku server can't pull from GitHub. Let me push directly.

It's deployed and syncing. The bot is auto-joining channels and fetching messages.

• show threads as third column/right panel.
• for threads i don't see all the messages

On it — threads as a right panel instead of a separate page, and fixing the missing thread messages. Working on it now.

Deployed. Two fixes:

1. Threads as right panel — clicking a thread link now opens it as a side panel alongside the message list instead of navigating to a separate page. URL is ?thread=<ts> so it's still deep-linkable. Close button to dismiss.
2. Missing thread messages — the sync was looking for threadts = '' to find thread parents, but Slack sets threadts to the message's own ts. Fixed the query. Thread replies will sync on the next cycle (within 5 min).
Check it out: https://slack-archive.sandscape.cc

Let me look at the current thread-related code to understand both issues.

I see both problems. Let me fix them:

1. Missing thread messages: The sync looks for threadts = '' to find thread parents, but Slack sets threadts to the message's own ts for parent messages. So threads never get fetched.
2. Thread panel: I'll convert it from a separate page to a right panel on the channel view.

Now I have the full picture. Let me make all the changes:

Now convert the channel page to support a thread panel via ?thread=ts query param:

Now rewrite the channel page to include the thread panel:

Now update MessageItem to use threadUrl prop instead of hardcoded link:

Now update the old thread route to redirect to the new URL format:

Now commit, push, and deploy:

Deployed. The sync is running with incremental timestamps now (not from 0), so existing data is preserved and threads will get picked up on the next full cycle.

Good. now if slack deleted historical data because we have free account, would it stay stored here?

Good. How about files? Do we store them too?
Did we not forget about anything else?

Sorry for the delay — I was deep in the code making all the changes. Everything's deployed now, I just posted the summary above. Check https://slack-archive.sandscape.cc — files, avatars, and thread sync should all be working now.