Slack

Slack Automation

Slack automations send real-time notifications to your team channels when new recordings are added to a folder. Keep your entire team in sync without leaving Slack.


When to Use Slack Automations

Slack automations are ideal for teams that spend their day in Slack. Use them for:

  • Real-time team alerts — Notify the team instantly when critical issues arrive

  • Bug tracking channels — Post new bugs to #bugs for engineering visibility

  • Customer support escalations — Alert support teams about VIP customer recordings

  • Product feedback loops — Share customer feedback with product managers

  • Cross-functional visibility — Keep stakeholders updated on specific workflows

  • Threaded discussions — Group related recordings into conversation threads

  • Quick actions — Assign, label, and resolve directly from Slack

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Slack vs. Email

Use Slack when:

  • Your team actively uses Slack throughout the day

  • You want immediate visibility and notifications

  • You need threaded discussions and quick collaboration

  • Interactive buttons would be useful for your workflow

Use Email when:

  • Recipients don't check Slack regularly

  • You need a permanent email record

  • Routing to ticketing systems via email

  • Reaching external stakeholders outside your Slack workspace


Prerequisites

Before setting up Slack automations, ensure you have:

  • Slack workspace with admin or app installation permissions

  • Screendesk Pro or Enterprise plan

  • Target folder for automation

  • Slack channel where the Screendesk bot will post

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OAuth Connection Process

Step 1: Connect Your Slack Workspace

This is a one-time setup that connects your Screendesk workspace to your Slack workspace.

First-time setup:

1
  1. Go to Account Settings (click your avatar in the top right)

  2. Select Integrations from the sidebar

  3. Find Slack in the integration list

  4. Click Connect Slack

2

Select your workspace

A popup appears showing your Slack workspace name.

  1. Verify you're connecting to the correct workspace

  2. Click Select Workspace to continue

  3. You'll be redirected to Slack's authorization page

3

Review permissions

Slack shows the permissions Screendesk needs:

  • Post messages to channels — Required to send notifications

  • Access channel list — Required to populate channel dropdowns

  • Upload files — Required for video thumbnails and attachments

These permissions are necessary for Slack automations to function.

4

Authorize the app

  1. Review the permissions

  2. Click Allow or Authorize in Slack

  3. You'll be redirected back to Screendesk

  4. You should see a success message: "Slack connected successfully"

5

Verify connection

Confirm the connection is active:

  1. In Account Settings → Integrations → Slack

  2. You should see:

    • Connected workspace name

    • Green status indicator

    • Disconnect button (to remove the connection)

    • Refresh Permissions button (to re-authorize)

Your Slack workspace is now connected!


Reconnecting or Changing Workspaces

To connect a different Slack workspace:

  1. Go to Account Settings → Integrations → Slack

  2. Click Disconnect to remove the current connection

  3. All Slack automations will be disabled temporarily

  4. Click Connect Slack to authorize a different workspace

  5. Re-enable your automations after connecting the new workspace

To refresh permissions:

If channels aren't appearing in dropdowns:

  1. Go to Account Settings → Integrations → Slack

  2. Click Refresh Permissions

  3. Re-authorize the app if prompted

  4. Channel list should now be updated


Setup Steps

Step 1: Open Folder Automations

Navigate to the folder where recordings trigger notifications:

1

Find your folder

  1. Click on the folder from your folders list

  2. You should see the folder name in the header

2

Access settings

  1. Click the Settings (gear) icon in the top right corner

  2. You'll see a dropdown menu with options

3

Go to automations

  1. Select the Automations tab

  2. You'll see a list of existing automations (if any)

  3. Click Add Automation at the top right

4

Select Slack

  1. A menu appears showing automation types

  2. Click Slack

  3. The Slack automation form loads


Step 2: Select Target Channel

Choose which Slack channel receives notifications from this folder.

1

Open channel dropdown

  1. Look for the Channel field

  2. Click the dropdown to see available channels

2

Search or browse channels

To search:

  • Start typing the channel name (e.g., "bugs" or "support")

  • Matching channels appear in the dropdown

To browse:

  • Scroll through the list of channels

  • Channels are sorted alphabetically

Channel types supported:

  • ✅ Public channels — Everyone can see

  • ✅ Private channels — Only invited members can see

  • ❌ Direct messages — Not supported

  • ⚠️ Slack Connect — Limited support

3

Select your channel

  1. Click on the channel name

  2. The channel appears in the field (e.g., "#bugs")

  3. Screendesk will automatically invite its bot to the channel

4

Verify bot is invited (private channels only)

For private channels, ensure the Screendesk bot is invited:

  1. Go to your Slack channel

  2. In the message box, type: /invite @Screendesk

  3. Press Enter

  4. You should see "Screendesk has joined the channel"

For public channels, this happens automatically.


Step 3: Configure Message Template

Customize what appears in the Slack message using template variables.

1

Message template field

The Message Template section lets you design the notification message.

Default template:

Default output example:

2

Add template variables

Use these variables to insert dynamic content:

Recording Information:

Variable
Description
Example

{{recording.title}}

Recording title

"Checkout page crash"

{{recording.url}}

Link to recording

Full URL

{{recording.customer_email}}

Who submitted it

{{recording.duration}}

Duration in seconds

"45"

{{recording.created_at}}

When submitted

"Feb 6, 2026 at 2:30 PM"

Technical Details:

Variable
Description

{{recording.browser}}

Browser and version

{{recording.os}}

Operating system

{{recording.resolution}}

Screen resolution

{{recording.country}}

Geographic location

System Information:

Variable
Description

{{recording.console_errors}}

JavaScript errors (formatted)

{{recording.network_errors}}

Failed HTTP requests

Context:

Variable
Description

{{folder.name}}

Current folder name

{{account.name}}

Workspace name

View complete variable reference →

3

Use Slack formatting

Format text using Slack's mrkdwn syntax:

Format
Syntax
Result

Bold

*text*

Makes text bold

Italic

_text_

Makes text italic

Strikethrough

~text~

Strikethrough text

Code

`code`

Monospace code

Link text

<url|Link text>

Clickable link

@Username

<@U123ABC>

Mention a user

#Channel

<#C123ABC>

Reference a channel

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Line Breaks

To add blank lines between sections, use an empty line in your template. Slack will render it as space between blocks.

4

Example templates

Simple notification:

Bug report with context:

Customer feedback:

Support escalation:

Technical details:


Step 4: Configure Message Options

Choose additional content to include in the notification.

1

Message content options

Option
Description
Default
Use When

Video Preview

Thumbnail image of the recording

✅ On

You want visual context

Customer Email

Submitter's email address

✅ On

Identifying who reported it

Duration

Recording length in seconds

✅ On

Understanding scope

Console Errors

JavaScript errors from browser

❌ Off

Debugging technical issues

System Info

Browser, OS, resolution details

❌ Off

For technical support teams

Action Buttons

Quick action buttons in Slack

✅ On

Interactive workflow

2

Enable video preview

When enabled, shows a thumbnail image of the recording:

  1. Look for Include Video Preview toggle

  2. Turn it ON (green)

  3. Slack messages will show a preview image

  4. Team members can see the issue at a glance

When to enable:

  • Always recommended for visual context

  • Bug reports benefit from seeing what's happening

  • Helps with triage and prioritization

3

Include console errors (optional)

Shows JavaScript errors from the recording:

  1. Look for Include Console Errors toggle

  2. Turn it ON (green)

  3. Error summary appears in the message

  4. Engineers can see the exact error immediately

When to enable:

  • For technical bug reports

  • When engineering team needs debugging context

  • For urgent production issues

4

Include system info (optional)

Shows browser, OS, and resolution details:

  1. Look for Include System Info toggle

  2. Turn it ON (green)

  3. Technical details appear in the message

  4. Helps with reproduction and debugging

When to enable:

  • For engineering and QA teams

  • When device compatibility matters

  • For complex bug reproduction

5

Enable action buttons

Adds interactive buttons directly in Slack:

  1. Look for Action Buttons toggle

  2. Turn it ON (green)

  3. Buttons appear in the message

Available buttons:

  • View Recording — Opens in Screendesk

  • Copy Link — Copies URL to clipboard

  • Assign to Me — Self-assigns the recording (Pro+)

These buttons speed up workflow without leaving Slack.


Step 5: Configure Threading (Optional)

Group related recordings into conversation threads for organized discussions.

1

Enable threading

Threading keeps related messages together in a single conversation.

  1. Look for Enable Threading toggle

  2. Turn it ON (green)

  3. Choose a threading key from the dropdown

Threading is useful for:

  • Tracking all issues from one customer

  • Daily summaries of related issues

  • Building threaded conversations in Slack

2

Select threading key

Choose how to group messages into threads:

By Customer Email:

  • All recordings from the same customer appear in one thread

  • Useful for customer support folders

  • Shows customer conversation history

By Folder:

  • All recordings in the folder create a daily thread

  • Useful for general bug or feedback folders

  • Keeps all issues from one day together

By Recording Type:

  • Group by content type if your folder has mixed content

  • Useful for diverse workflows

3

Threading example

With threading disabled:

All messages appear separately in the channel.

With threading by customer:

Related issues are grouped together.


Step 6: Test the Automation

Verify everything works before activating.

1

Send test message

  1. Click Send Test Message at the bottom of the form

  2. The test message is sent to your selected channel immediately

  3. Check your Slack channel for the test message

  4. It appears as a regular notification with sample data

What to verify in the test:

  • ☐ Message posted to correct channel

  • ☐ Template variables populated (no {{}} showing)

  • ☐ Video preview loads (if enabled)

  • ☐ Action buttons appear and work

  • ☐ Formatting looks good

  • ☐ Links are clickable

  • ☐ No error messages

2

Review formatting

  1. Look at the test message in Slack

  2. Check that:

    • Bold formatting displays correctly (*text*)

    • Links are clickable (<url|text>)

    • Line breaks appear properly

    • Emoji render correctly

    • Preview image displays (if enabled)

If something looks wrong, edit the template and test again.

3
  1. Click the "View Recording" link in the test message

  2. It should open the Screendesk app in a new tab

  3. Verify you're viewing the correct recording

If links don't work, check that {{recording.url}} is in your template.

4

Verify buttons (if enabled)

If you enabled action buttons:

  1. Click each button in the test message

  2. View button should open the recording

  3. Copy Link button should copy the URL

  4. Assign button should self-assign (if visible)

Test on desktop and mobile if your team uses both.


Step 7: Save and Activate

Once testing is complete, save your automation.

1

Save the automation

  1. Click Save at the bottom of the form

  2. You'll see a success message

  3. The automation is created and enabled by default

  4. You're returned to the Automations tab

2

Verify in automations list

  1. You should see the new automation in the Automations tab

  2. It shows:

    • Automation type: "Slack"

    • Target channel: "#channel-name"

    • Status toggle: ON (green)

    • Edit and delete options

The automation is now live. Every recording added to this folder will send a message to the selected Slack channel.

3

Manage the automation

To edit:

  1. Click the automation in the list

  2. Make your changes

  3. Click Save

To disable temporarily:

  1. Toggle the status to OFF (gray)

  2. No messages will be sent

  3. Toggle back ON to re-enable

To delete:

  1. Click the automation

  2. Click Delete

  3. Confirm deletion

  4. Messages will no longer be sent


Message Formatting Examples

Here are ready-to-use message templates for common scenarios:

Example 1: Simple Team Alert

Use case: Basic notification for any folder

Configuration:

Renders as:


Example 2: Engineering Bug Alert

Use case: Notify engineers with debugging context

Configuration:

Best for:

  • Engineering teams

  • Technical support

  • Production issues

  • Debugging context needed


Example 3: VIP Customer Escalation

Use case: Alert leadership about important customers

Configuration:

Best for:

  • Enterprise customers

  • High-priority accounts

  • Leadership visibility

  • Escalation channels


Example 4: Customer Support Intake

Use case: Support team triage and routing

Configuration:

Best for:

  • Support teams

  • Customer service

  • Intake channels

  • Encourages action


Example 5: Product Feedback Summary

Use case: Share customer feedback with product team

Configuration:

Best for:

  • Product managers

  • Feature request channels

  • Customer feedback

  • Product roadmap input


Multiple Channel Setup

Post the same recordings to multiple channels by creating separate automations.

Common Multi-Channel Patterns

Pattern 1: Team + Leadership

For the "Bug Reports" folder:

  • Automation 1 → #engineering (full details)

  • Automation 2 → #exec-updates (summary only)


Pattern 2: Functional Silos

For the "Customer Issues" folder:

  • Automation 1 → #support-team (all issues)

  • Automation 2 → #product-team (only features)

  • Automation 3 → #engineering (only bugs)

Implementation: Create three identical automations with different channels but same message template. All recordings reach their respective teams.


Pattern 3: Severity-Based Routing

For the "Production" folder:

  • Automation 1 → #incidents (critical bugs)

  • Automation 2 → #bugs (standard bugs)

  • Automation 3 → #backlog (feature requests)

Implementation: Use your folder structure to separate by severity, then create separate automations for each folder.


Setup Steps for Multiple Automations:

  1. Open the folder

  2. Go to Settings → Automations

  3. Click Add Automation

  4. Select Slack

  5. Select first channel (e.g., #engineering)

  6. Configure message template

  7. Click Save

  8. Click Add Automation again

  9. Select second channel (e.g., #exec-updates)

  10. Use same or different template

  11. Click Save

Both automations are now active. Each channel receives notifications independently.


Channel-Specific Folder Examples

Create dedicated folder + channel pairs for organized workflows:

Folder Name
Slack Channel
Purpose
Message Template

Bug Reports

#bugs

Engineering triage

Include console errors

Feature Requests

#product-feedback

Product input

Link to customer email

Urgent Issues

#incidents

On-call alerts

Emphasize urgency

Support Tickets

#customer-support

Team intake

Include customer info

Enterprise Accounts

#vip-customers

Leadership visibility

Highlight importance

QA Test Results

#qa-reports

Testing team

Include system info

Customer Complaints

#escalations

Management review

Detailed context

Setup approach:

  1. Create folders matching your business workflow

  2. Create corresponding Slack channels

  3. Set up one automation per folder → channel pair

  4. Customize templates for each channel's audience

This creates a clean, organized notification system where teams only see relevant content.


Interactive Features

Action Buttons

When enabled, messages include buttons for quick actions:

Available actions:

Button
Action
Use Case

View Recording

Opens in Screendesk app

Review the issue

Copy Link

Copies URL to clipboard

Share with others

Assign to Me

Self-assign the recording

Take ownership

Button workflow:

Pro tip: Action buttons reduce friction. Team members don't need to leave Slack to engage with recordings.


Threading Conversations

Keep related recordings grouped together.

Thread behavior:

Setting
Result
Example

Threading OFF

Each recording is separate message

New message every time

Threading by Customer

Same customer = same thread

All messages from one user together

Threading by Folder

Daily thread per folder

All day's issues in one thread

Thread advantage:

  • Related issues are easy to find

  • Reduces channel clutter

  • Enables discussion threads

  • Shows conversation history

Example thread:


Managing Slack Integration

View Connected Workspace

See your current Slack connection:

  1. Go to Account Settings → Integrations

  2. Find Slack integration

  3. You should see:

    • Workspace name: "My Company Slack"

    • Status: "Connected" (green indicator)

    • Last synchronized: timestamp

    • Disconnect button

    • Refresh Permissions button


Refresh Channel List

If newly created channels don't appear:

  1. Go to Account Settings → Integrations → Slack

  2. Click Refresh Permissions

  3. Re-authorize if prompted (Slack sign-in)

  4. Channel list updates

  5. New channels now appear in automation setup


Disconnect Slack

To remove the Slack integration:

  1. Go to Account Settings → Integrations → Slack

  2. Click Disconnect

  3. Confirm you want to disconnect

  4. Important: All Slack automations are disabled

  5. To re-enable, reconnect Slack workspace

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Troubleshooting

Messages not posting to Slack

Symptom: Messages don't appear in the Slack channel

Solutions:

1

Verify bot is invited

For private channels, the Screendesk bot must be explicitly invited.

In your Slack channel:

You should see: "Screendesk has joined the channel"

For public channels, this happens automatically.

2

Check automation status

  1. Open folder Settings → Automations

  2. Find the Slack automation

  3. Verify toggle is ON (green)

  4. If OFF, click to enable

Disabled automations won't send messages.

3

Verify Slack is connected

  1. Go to Account Settings → Integrations

  2. Check that Slack shows "Connected" (green)

  3. If disconnected, click Connect Slack

  4. Re-authorize in Slack

  5. Re-enable the automation

4

Check channel selection

  1. Edit the automation

  2. Verify the correct channel is selected

  3. Channel name appears as #channel-name

  4. Save if you made changes

5

Test with send test message

  1. Edit the automation

  2. Click Send Test Message

  3. Check the Slack channel for the test

  4. If test appears, automation works

  5. If test doesn't appear, check permissions

Successful test = automation will work for real recordings


Channels not appearing in dropdown

Symptom: Channel list is empty or missing channels

Solutions:

  1. Refresh permissions:

    • Go to Account Settings → Integrations → Slack

    • Click Refresh Permissions

    • Re-authorize if prompted

  2. Check bot permissions in Slack:

    • Go to your Slack workspace

    • Click Settings & administration → Manage apps

    • Find Screendesk

    • Verify it has access to view channels

  3. Reconnect Slack:

    • Disconnect the current workspace

    • Click Connect Slack again

    • Re-authorize with fresh permissions

  4. Check channel visibility:

    • You can only see channels you're a member of

    • Join the private channel first

    • Then refresh and it will appear


"Not authorized" or permission errors

Symptom: Error message saying "Not authorized" or "Slack connection failed"

Solutions:

  1. Reconnect Slack:

    • Go to Account Settings → Integrations → Slack

    • Click Disconnect

    • Click Connect Slack

    • Re-authorize completely

  2. Check Slack admin permissions:

    • Ensure your Slack account has app installation rights

    • Contact your Slack workspace admin if not

  3. Verify token hasn't expired:

    • Click Refresh Permissions

    • Re-authorize in Slack

    • Tokens refresh automatically


Video preview not showing

Symptom: Messages appear but thumbnail image is missing

Solutions:

  1. Enable video preview in automation:

    • Edit the automation

    • Turn ON Include Video Preview toggle

    • Click Save

  2. Check Slack file permissions:

    • Screendesk needs permission to upload files to Slack

    • Go to Slack → App settings → Verify file upload permission

    • Reconnect if needed

  3. Check image generation:

    • Some recordings may not generate previews

    • Ensure recording completed successfully

    • Test with a different recording


Delayed messages

Symptom: Messages arrive several minutes after recording is uploaded

Solutions:

  1. Check Screendesk status:

  2. Check Slack status:

    • Visit Slack status page

    • Ensure Slack APIs are operational

    • Check for rate limiting

  3. Reduce automation frequency:

    • If folder has many automations, reduce number

    • Slack API has rate limits

    • Space out automations or use threading

  4. Contact support:


Rate limiting errors

Symptom: "Rate limited" or "Slack API error" messages

Solutions:

  1. Consolidate automations:

    • Multiple automations to same channel = many messages

    • Combine into one automation if possible

    • Use threading to reduce message count

  2. Space out recordings:

    • Slack limits message frequency per channel

    • Don't post 100+ messages per minute

    • Batch processing helps

  3. Contact Slack support:

    • For persistent rate limiting

    • Slack can increase limits for enterprise accounts

    • Work with your workspace admin


View automation logs

Check detailed execution history:

  1. Open folder Settings → Automations

  2. Click on the Slack automation

  3. Select Execution Log tab

  4. View recent executions

Log shows:

  • Success — Message posted to Slack

  • ⚠️ Warning — Posted but flagged or delayed

  • Failed — Error with description

Use logs to troubleshoot issues and verify automations are running.


Best Practices

Use dedicated channels

Avoid posting to high-traffic channels like #general or #random.

❌ Don't do this:

Post everything to #general

  • Creates notification fatigue

  • Important messages get lost

  • Hard to find old issues

✅ Do this:

Create dedicated channels:

  • #bugs → Engineering bugs

  • #support → Support issues

  • #feedback → Customer feedback

  • #incidents → Critical issues

Team members can opt in/out of channels


Group related messages to reduce channel clutter.

Benefits:

  • Easier to scan channel history

  • Related messages stay together

  • Reduces notification spam

  • Encourages discussion threads

When to use:

  • Customer support (thread by customer)

  • Bug tracking (thread by severity)

  • Feedback collection (thread by day)


Include action buttons

Make it easy for team members to engage without leaving Slack.

Benefits:

  • Quick access to recordings

  • Reduces friction

  • Self-assignment enables ownership

  • Copy link for sharing

Recommended: Always enable action buttons unless they're not relevant to your workflow.


Keep message templates concise

Put important information first. Slack viewers scan quickly.

❌ Too long:

✅ Concise:

Mobile users and quick scanners appreciate concise messages.


Tailor templates to audience

Different channels need different information.

Channel
Focus
Include

#bugs

Debug info

Console errors, system info

#support

Customer context

Email, duration, category

#feedback

Customer voice

Quote, customer email

#incidents

Severity

Urgency indicators, owner

Match your template to what the channel's audience needs.


Test before going live

Always send a test message before relying on an automation.

Testing checklist:

  • ☐ Message posts to correct channel

  • ☐ All variables populate correctly

  • ☐ Formatting renders properly

  • ☐ Links are clickable

  • ☐ Buttons work (if enabled)

  • ☐ Preview image loads (if enabled)

  • ☐ No error messages appear


Monitor execution logs

Regularly check that automations are working:

  1. Weekly review of execution logs

  2. Watch for failed or delayed messages

  3. Alert on > 5% failure rate

  4. Fix issues quickly

This ensures reliability for your team.


Don't over-notify

Reserve Slack automations for important folders.

Questions to ask:

  • Does the team need instant notification?

  • Is the volume manageable (< 50/day)?

  • Is the channel relevant?

  • Will it drive action?

If unsure, use email instead. You can always add Slack later.


Use folder-specific templates

Match each folder's automation to its purpose.

Examples:

Bug Reports folder:

Feature Requests folder:

Support Tickets folder:

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