Connect Slack

What you’ll set up

When someone chats on your website, the message shows up in a Slack channel you choose. You answer in Slack, and the visitor sees your reply on the site.

This takes about 10–15 minutes the first time. You’ll create a Slack app from a JSON template CanWeChat gives you (Create New App → From a manifest — not “From scratch”), then paste a few values back into CanWeChat. You don’t need to write code.

Step 1 — Open Connect in CanWeChat

Sign in to CanWeChat and go to Integrations.

On the Slack card, click Connect. A window opens with a block of text called the app manifest — that’s the template Slack needs. Click Copy JSON and keep this tab open.

Step 2 — Create the Slack app

In a new browser tab, go to api.slack.com/apps and sign in to Slack.

Click Create New App → From a manifest → pick your workspace → paste the JSON you copied → Next → Create.

You’ll land on the new app’s settings page. Leave that page open.

Step 3 — Install it to your workspace

In the left menu, click Install App, then Install to Workspace, and allow access.

Important: until you do this, Slack won’t show the token you need. If the page still says “0 authed users,” go back and finish Install to Workspace.

Step 4 — Copy three values

Bot token: In the left menu open OAuth & Permissions (not Basic Information). Copy the Bot User OAuth Token. It starts with xoxb-. Ignore Client Secret, Verification Token, and anything starting with xapp- — those are the wrong ones.

Signing secret: Open Basic Information. Under App Credentials, copy Signing Secret.

Channel ID: In Slack, open the channel where you want chats (for example #support). Click the channel name at the top → About / channel details → copy Channel ID. It looks like C… or G…, not #support.

If the channel is private, type /invite @CanWeChat in that channel first so the bot can post there.

Step 5 — Connect and turn on events

Back in CanWeChat, paste the bot token, signing secret, and channel ID, then click Connect Slack. Channel name is optional.

After it says connected, return to the Slack app settings → Event Subscriptions. Turn events on if needed, and click Verify next to the Request URL. Do this only after Connect succeeds — if you verify too early, Slack will say it failed.

How to reply

Send a test message from your website chat. You should see a new message in your Slack channel, often with visitor details (page, browser) and a link to open it in the CanWeChat inbox.

Click Reply in thread under that message and type your answer as yourself. Don’t reply as the CanWeChat app, and don’t post a brand-new message at the top of the channel — only the thread counts.

If the visitor sent a photo or PDF, it should appear in the same thread. If you only see the words “Attachments: …” and no file, open Connect again, copy the latest JSON, paste it into Slack → App Manifest → Save, then Install App → Reinstall to Workspace, and try again.

If something goes wrong

I can’t find a token starting with xoxb-: You’re probably on Basic Information. Go to OAuth & Permissions after installing the app.

Connect fails: Double-check you used the Channel ID (C…/G…), invited the bot to private channels, and pasted the xoxb- token.

Nothing shows up in Slack: Make sure Slack is your active destination on Integrations, the bot is in the channel, and Event Subscriptions shows a green verified URL.

Visitor doesn’t see my reply: Reply inside the thread Slack created for that chat, as a normal person — not as the bot.