Slack Chat API

The Slack Chat API is the set of chat.* methods in the Slack Web API that lets apps and bots create and manage messages in Slack workspaces. It enables posting messages to channels and DMs with Block Kit formatting, sending ephemeral messages visible only to a specific user, replying in threads, scheduling messages for later delivery, updating or deleting existing messages, retrieving permalinks, and providing custom link unfurls. These methods work over HTTP with JSON payloads, use bot/user tokens with scopes like chat:write and chat:write.public, and return metadata such as channel, ts, and thread_ts. Teams use the Chat API to automate notifications, power interactive workflows, and deliver rich conversational experiences inside Slack.