Slack

A Slack channel or DM: the slack destination, from the slack package. Declare the package once in dependencies.yml; DRE installs it on demand:

dependencies.yml

plugins:
  - slack

Profile fields

Set in profiles.yml, under destinations:, in a target with type: slack.

Field	Default	Notes
token (required)		Bot token (xoxb-…) Secret: use env_var().
channel		Default channel ID (C0123) or #name.
api_url		Slack’s API URL, for a proxy.
connect_timeout	30s	How long to wait for a connection (30s, 2m, or seconds) A duration (30s, 2m) or seconds.
timeout	60s	How long a read or write may make no progress before it fails. A duration (30s, 2m) or seconds.
retries	3	How many times to try again after a temporary error (0: never)

Options

Set in the report’s output.destination entry.

Option	Type	Default	Notes
channel	string		A channel ID (C0123) or #name.
user	string		A user ID (U0123), for a direct message.
message	string		The text posted with the files.

Notes

Uploads the output to a Slack channel, or to one person’s DM, as a single post with a message. If a report produces several files, they all go in the same post.

The profile holds token, a bot token (xoxb-...), which is never logged. It can also hold a default channel, and api_url (default https://slack.com/api) for a proxy. Destination options:

Option	Meaning
channel	A channel ID (C0123ABCD) or #name. A name is looked up among the channels the bot can see.
user	A user ID (U0123ABCD). The file goes to the bot’s DM with that person.
message	The post’s text.

Give exactly one of channel or user. If you give neither, the profile’s channel is used.

destination:
  - profile: team_slack
    channel: "#finance-reports"
    message: "Monthly report for {{ var('client') }} ({{ run.date.iso }})"

Slack app setup: create an app, add a bot user, install it to the workspace, and use its bot token. Bot scopes:

• files:write: always needed.
• channels:read and groups:read: needed to post to a #name.
• im:write and chat:write: needed for user.

A DM also needs the app’s Messages tab turned on (App Home > Show Tabs > Messages Tab). With it off, Slack accepts a file for the DM and then silently drops it, so before uploading the plugin checks that the DM accepts messages. The check posts nothing, and if the tab is off the delivery fails and says what to change.

The bot must be a member of the channel. Invite it with /invite @your-bot.

Messages (slack 1.1.0): for a message output, the post is the message itself: the title in bold, then the text in Slack’s formatting, sent with chat.postMessage (scope chat:write) to the same channel or user. message: isn’t used. Slack’s recommended maximum is 4,000 characters: a longer message is posted cut short, with a note and the full message attached as its .md file (scope files:write). attach: [<output>] on the entry uploads those outputs’ files in the same post, with the message as its text.

output:
  - name: workbook
    format: xlsx
    queries: [detail]
  - name: headline
    format: message
    queries: [headline]
    text: "Revenue yesterday: **{{ results.headline.value | currency('EUR') }}**"
    destination:
      - {profile: team_slack, channel: "#finance", attach: [workbook]}

If Slack rate-limits a call or answers 503, the plugin tries again after Slack’s Retry-After (at most 60 seconds), up to retries times (see Tries again). Errors such as a rejected token, a missing scope, or the bot not being in the channel are reported with what to fix. The delivered location is the uploaded files’ permalinks.

Try the headline project

Use the complete Slack headline example for a query, conditional message and dev target that posts nothing. The minimum Slack profile is:

destinations:
  team_slack:
    targets:
      dev: {deliver: false}
      prod:
        type: slack
        token: "{{ env_var('DRE_SECRET_SLACK_BOT_TOKEN') }}"
        channel: C0123ABCD

Run a preview before selecting prod. A channel ID avoids the channel-name lookup; using a #name also requires read scopes. invalid-destination-option can mean both channel and user were supplied. delivery-failed with a missing scope needs the bot reauthorized; an absent channel membership needs the bot invited. Increasing retries cannot fix either. See message configuration, destination keys, error codes and message.