Slack Search

Nia’s Slack Search lets you connect Slack workspaces, index message history, and run semantic or keyword searches across all your conversations. It supports two connection models:

Direct OAuth — Connect your own Slack workspace via the Nia dashboard
BYOT (Bring Your Own Token) — Register any Slack bot token via the API, designed for enterprise customers who need to index their end-users’ workspaces

All indexed data is stored in isolated, org-scoped namespaces. Real-time message events keep the index fresh after the initial backfill.

After the initial full index, new messages are indexed automatically in real-time via Slack’s Events API. Sends, edits, and deletes in indexed channels are reflected within seconds.

Getting Started

Connect a Workspace

Connect via OAuth from the Nia dashboard, or register a bot token via the API (BYOT).

Configure Channels

Choose which channels to index — all channels, or a specific subset.

Index

Trigger a full indexing job. Nia fetches all message history from configured channels, embeds, and stores everything in a vector index.

Run semantic or keyword searches across indexed messages via the API or MCP tools.

Connecting a Workspace

Option 1: OAuth (Dashboard)

Generate an OAuth URL and redirect the user to authorize:

curl -X POST https://api.trynia.ai/v2/slack/install \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NIA_API_KEY"

{
  "url": "https://slack.com/oauth/v2/authorize?client_id=...&scope=...&redirect_uri=..."
}

After authorization, Slack redirects back and the installation is created automatically.

Option 2: BYOT (Bring Your Own Token)

Register an external Slack bot token directly. The workspace owner creates a Slack app, installs it, and provides the bot token to you. No OAuth flow needed.

curl -X POST https://api.trynia.ai/v2/slack/install/token \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NIA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "bot_token": "xoxb-...",
    "name": "Customer Workspace"
  }'

{
  "installation_id": "a9e51db8-...",
  "team_id": "T12345",
  "team_name": "Customer Workspace",
  "status": "active"
}

The installation_id is used in all subsequent operations.

Managing Installations

List Installations

curl https://api.trynia.ai/v2/slack/installations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NIA_API_KEY"

{
  "installations": [
    {
      "id": "a9e51db8-...",
      "team_id": "T12345",
      "team_name": "Customer Workspace",
      "status": "active",
      "is_external": true,
      "indexed_channel_count": 43,
      "indexed_message_count": 1401,
      "last_sync_at": "2026-02-19T18:05:02Z"
    }
  ]
}

Configure Channels

List available channels:

curl https://api.trynia.ai/v2/slack/installations/{installation_id}/channels \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NIA_API_KEY"

Index all channels except specific ones:

curl -X POST https://api.trynia.ai/v2/slack/installations/{installation_id}/channels \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NIA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "mode": "all",
    "exclude_channels": ["C092VB132SE", "C092VB183B4"]
  }'

Or index only specific channels:

{
  "mode": "selected",
  "include_channels": ["C092TL9QAKF", "C0A15U8B3NW"]
}

Disconnect

curl -X DELETE https://api.trynia.ai/v2/slack/installations/{installation_id} \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NIA_API_KEY"

Indexing

Trigger a full indexing job that fetches all message history from configured channels:

curl -X POST https://api.trynia.ai/v2/slack/installations/{installation_id}/index \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NIA_API_KEY"

{
  "source_id": "3c7ee426-...",
  "installation_id": "a9e51db8-...",
  "status": "processing",
  "workflow_run_id": "be22e100-..."
}

Check Progress

curl https://api.trynia.ai/v2/slack/installations/{installation_id}/status \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NIA_API_KEY"

{
  "installation_id": "a9e51db8-...",
  "team_name": "Customer Workspace",
  "status": "processing",
  "progress": 45,
  "message": "Indexing #engineering (12/43)",
  "indexed_channel_count": 12,
  "indexed_message_count": 580,
  "chunk_count": 520
}

Indexing speed depends on the Slack app’s rate limit tier:

Tier	`conversations.history` rate	Who
Tier 1	~1 req/min	Non-Marketplace apps
Tier 3	~50 req/min	Marketplace-listed apps

For BYOT, the customer’s Slack app rate limits apply. Initial indexing of large workspaces (10k+ messages) may take 30-60 minutes on Tier 1. After the initial index, real-time events keep it current with no rate limit concerns.

Searching

Semantic Search

Run semantic search across indexed Slack messages with AI synthesis:

curl -X POST https://api.trynia.ai/v2/search/query \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NIA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "what did the team decide about the migration?"}],
    "slack_workspaces": ["a9e51db8-..."],
    "include_sources": true,
    "stream": true
  }'

You can combine Slack with other indexed sources like repositories:

{
  "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "how does our auth system work?"}],
  "repositories": [{"repository": "acme/backend"}],
  "slack_workspaces": ["a9e51db8-..."],
  "stream": true
}

Streamed response:

data: {"content": "Based on the Slack discussions, the team decided to..."}
data: {"sources": [{"content": "#engineering | @alice (2026-01-15)...", "metadata": {...}}]}
data: [DONE]

Keyword Search (Grep)

BM25 full-text keyword search over indexed messages:

curl -X POST https://api.trynia.ai/v2/slack/installations/{installation_id}/grep \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NIA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "pattern": "migration deadline",
    "channel": "engineering",
    "limit": 20
  }'

{
  "pattern": "migration deadline",
  "channel": "engineering",
  "result_count": 3,
  "results": [
    {
      "text": "#engineering | @alice (2026-01-15 14:30 UTC)\nThe migration deadline is March 1st...",
      "score": 12.5,
      "metadata": {
        "channel_name": "engineering",
        "user_name": "alice",
        "ts": "1736955000.000"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Read Channel Messages (Live)

Fetch recent messages directly from the Slack API (live, not from the index):

curl "https://api.trynia.ai/v2/slack/installations/{installation_id}/messages?channel=engineering&limit=50" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NIA_API_KEY"

{
  "channel": "engineering",
  "message_count": 50,
  "messages": [
    "@alice (2026-02-19 14:30 UTC): The deployment went smoothly",
    "@bob (2026-02-19 14:32 UTC): Great, I'll update the status page"
  ]
}

MCP Integration

Slack workspaces are searchable via Nia’s MCP tools once indexed:

# Semantic search across Slack
search(query="deployment issues last week", slack_workspaces=["a9e51db8-..."])

# Keyword grep in Slack
nia_grep(source_type="slack", slack_installation_id="a9e51db8-...", pattern="deadline")

# Read messages from a channel
nia_read(source_type="slack", slack_installation_id="a9e51db8-...", channel="engineering")

# Explore channels
nia_explore(source_type="slack", slack_installation_id="a9e51db8-...")

Enterprise Multi-Tenant Model (BYOT)

For enterprises managing multiple customer workspaces, BYOT provides a clean multi-tenant architecture:

                ┌─────────────────────────┐
                │    Enterprise (Acme)     │
                │    Nia API Key: nk_...   │
                └────────┬────────────────┘
                         │
          ┌──────────────┼──────────────┐
          │              │              │
┌─────────▼──┐  ┌───────▼────┐  ┌──────▼─────┐
│ Customer A │  │ Customer B │  │ Customer C │
│ xoxb-aaa   │  │ xoxb-bbb   │  │ xoxb-ccc   │
│ inst: id-1 │  │ inst: id-2 │  │ inst: id-3 │
└────────────┘  └────────────┘  └────────────┘

How it works:

Get an API Key

Collect Bot Tokens

Each customer creates a Slack app in their own workspace and shares the bot token with you.

Search Any Workspace

Search any workspace by passing the installation_id, or search multiple at once:

{
  "slack_workspaces": ["id-1", "id-2", "id-3"]
}

Privacy guarantees:

Each workspace is stored in a separate vector namespace scoped to your organization
Customers never interact with Nia directly
Customers can revoke access by uninstalling their Slack app at any time
Bot tokens are encrypted at rest (Fernet AES-128-CBC)

Required Slack Bot Scopes

When customers create their Slack app, they need these bot token scopes:

Scope	Purpose
`channels:read`	List public channels
`channels:history`	Read public channel messages
`channels:join`	Auto-join public channels for indexing
`groups:read`	List private channels (optional)
`groups:history`	Read private channel messages (optional)
`users:read`	Resolve user display names
`reactions:read`	Read message reactions

Minimum required: channels:read, channels:history, users:read. The other scopes are optional but recommended for full coverage.

Need Help? Join our Discord community or reach out through app.trynia.ai for support.

Getting Started

Features

Plugins and Rules

Examples & Guides

Enterprise

Privacy

Getting Started

Connecting a Workspace

Option 1: OAuth (Dashboard)

Option 2: BYOT (Bring Your Own Token)

Managing Installations

List Installations

Configure Channels

Disconnect

Indexing

Check Progress

Searching

Semantic Search

Keyword Search (Grep)

Read Channel Messages (Live)

MCP Integration

Enterprise Multi-Tenant Model (BYOT)

Required Slack Bot Scopes

Getting Started

Features

Plugins and Rules

Examples & Guides

Enterprise

Privacy

​Getting Started

​Connecting a Workspace

​Option 1: OAuth (Dashboard)

​Option 2: BYOT (Bring Your Own Token)

​Managing Installations

​List Installations

​Configure Channels

​Disconnect

​Indexing

​Check Progress

​Searching

​Semantic Search

​Keyword Search (Grep)

​Read Channel Messages (Live)

​MCP Integration

​Enterprise Multi-Tenant Model (BYOT)

​Required Slack Bot Scopes

Getting Started

Connecting a Workspace

Option 1: OAuth (Dashboard)

Option 2: BYOT (Bring Your Own Token)

Managing Installations

List Installations

Configure Channels

Disconnect

Indexing

Check Progress

Searching

Semantic Search

Keyword Search (Grep)

Read Channel Messages (Live)

MCP Integration

Enterprise Multi-Tenant Model (BYOT)

Required Slack Bot Scopes