# pp-slack

This skill mirrors your Slack history into a local SQLite database with full-text search, so old messages stay reachable after Slack's retention window closes.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 373 installs · ★ 2076
- Author: Matt Van Horn
- License: Apache-2.0 · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/tree/HEAD/cli-skills/pp-slack/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-24
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/pp-slack

## What it does

The skill drives the `slack-pp-cli` binary, which syncs conversations, users, files and reactions into a local SQLite database. Search then runs against your own archive instead of Slack's API. That matters because Slack hides messages past the free-plan retention window, and export sits behind admin permissions.

On top of the mirror it computes things no endpoint returns: `catchup` for what is still waiting on you, `threads stale` for unanswered threads, `health` for channels that are going quiet. Identity resolution is there too — `users whois` turns a bare ID into a card with shared channels, timezone and last-seen.

Before anything else, confirm the CLI is installed: `slack-pp-cli --version`. If that reports command not found, the binary directory is not on `$PATH` for the runtime invoking the skill, and nothing will work until you fix it. Archive-backed commands report an unsynced mirror rather than returning empty, so an empty result is never ambiguous. Building Slack apps, Enterprise Grid administration and real-time event listening are out of scope here.

## Requirements
- Works with: Slack

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add mvanhorn/printing-press-library --skill pp-slack -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/pp-slack/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/pp-slack/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add mvanhorn/printing-press-library --skill pp-slack -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/pp-slack/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add mvanhorn/printing-press-library --skill pp-slack -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/pp-slack/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install mvanhorn/printing-press-library pp-slack
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/pp-slack/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add mvanhorn/printing-press-library --skill pp-slack -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library --path cli-skills/pp-slack
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/pp-slack/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add mvanhorn/printing-press-library --skill pp-slack -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/tree/HEAD/cli-skills/pp-slack/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- find a decision buried in a thread older than 90 days
- get a catch-up summary of everything missed overnight
- list threads nobody has answered yet
- turn an opaque Slack user ID into a person card
- spot channels that have gone idle and are archive candidates

## Example prompts
- search my archive for messages about the deploy last month
- what did I miss in slack today
- show me stale threads from the last three days

## Source text · SKILL.md · Apache-2.0

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: d613bd02bc9efb8c.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE d613bd02bc9efb8c
````text
---
name: pp-slack
description: "Every Slack read your token can make, mirrored to local SQLite so your history outlives Slack's own retention wall. Trigger phrases: `search old slack messages`, `what did I miss in slack`, `which slack channels are dying`, `find unanswered slack threads`, `who is this slack user id`, `use slack-pp-cli`, `run slack`."
author: "Matt Van Horn"
license: "Apache-2.0"
argument-hint: "<command> [args] | install cli|mcp"
allowed-tools: "Read Bash"
metadata:
  openclaw:
    requires:
      bins:
        - slack-pp-cli
    install:
      - kind: go
        bins: [slack-pp-cli]
        module: github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/productivity/slack/cmd/slack-pp-cli
---
<!-- GENERATED FILE — DO NOT EDIT.
     This file is a verbatim mirror of library/productivity/slack/SKILL.md,
     regenerated post-merge by tools/generate-skills/. Hand-edits here are
     silently overwritten on the next regen. Edit the library/ source instead.
     See the repository agent guide, section "Generated artifacts: registry.json, cli-skills/". -->

# Slack — Printing Press CLI

Created by [@mvanhorn](https://github.com/mvanhorn) (Matt Van Horn).
Contributors: [@ChrisGutierrezNet](https://github.com/ChrisGutierrezNet) (Chris G. | AI Automation), [@cathrynlavery](https://github.com/cathrynlavery) (Cathryn Lavery).

## Prerequisites: Install the CLI

This skill drives the `slack-pp-cli` binary. **You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill.** If it is missing, install it first:

1. Install via the Printing Press installer. It defaults binaries to `$HOME/.local/bin` on macOS/Linux and `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PrintingPress\bin` on Windows:
   ```bash
   npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install slack --cli-only
   ```
2. Verify: `slack-pp-cli --version`
3. Ensure the reported install directory is on `$PATH` for the agent/runtime that will invoke this skill.

If the `npx` install fails (no Node, offline, etc.), fall back to a direct Go install (requires Go 1.26.6 or newer). This installs into `$GOPATH/bin` (default `$HOME/go/bin`), so add that directory to `$PATH` instead:

```bash
go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/productivity/slack/cmd/slack-pp-cli@latest
```

If `--version` reports "command not found" after install, the runtime cannot see the binary directory on `$PATH`. Do not proceed with skill commands until verification succeeds.
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE d613bd02bc9efb8c

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the d613bd02bc9efb8c tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

First 2465 of 39267 bytes. © Matt Van Horn · Apache-2.0 · https://github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/tree/HEAD/cli-skills/pp-slack/SKILL.md

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