Slack · Schema
Slack Channel
A Slack conversation object representing a channel, direct message, multi-person direct message, or group conversation. This is the unified model returned by the conversations.* family of Web API methods, which consolidated the legacy channels.*, groups.*, im.*, and mpim.* endpoints. The type of conversation is identified by boolean flags (is_channel, is_group, is_im, is_mpim) and the is_private flag. Channels are uniquely identified by their id field, with public channels starting with C, private channels and multi-person DMs starting with G, and direct messages starting with D.
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Properties
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| id | string | The unique identifier for this conversation. Public channels begin with C, private channels and multi-person DMs begin with G, and direct messages begin with D. |
| name | string | The name of the channel without the leading # sign. Channel names can contain lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores, with a maximum length of 80 characters. Not present for direct messa |
| name_normalized | string | A normalized, lowercase version of the channel name. Useful for case-insensitive comparisons and sorting. |
| is_channel | boolean | Whether this conversation is a public channel. Public channels are visible to all members of the workspace and can be joined by anyone. |
| is_group | boolean | Whether this conversation is a private channel. Private channels are invite-only and not visible in the channel browser. |
| is_im | boolean | Whether this conversation is a direct message between two people. |
| is_mpim | boolean | Whether this conversation is a multi-person direct message. MPIMs are group DMs between 3 or more people. |
| is_private | boolean | Whether this conversation is private. True for private channels, DMs, and MPIMs. False for public channels. |
| is_archived | boolean | Whether the channel is archived. Archived channels are read-only and do not accept new messages. They can be unarchived by workspace admins. |
| is_general | boolean | Whether this is the workspace's #general channel. Every workspace has exactly one general channel that all members are automatically added to. |
| is_shared | boolean | Whether the channel is shared with another workspace using Slack Connect. |
| is_ext_shared | boolean | Whether the channel is shared with an external organization via Slack Connect. External shared channels allow cross-organization collaboration. |
| is_org_shared | boolean | Whether the channel is shared across the entire Enterprise Grid organization. Org-wide channels are available to all workspaces in the grid. |
| is_pending_ext_shared | boolean | Whether there is a pending Slack Connect invitation for this channel that has not yet been accepted. |
| is_member | boolean | Whether the authenticated user or bot is a member of this conversation. Users must be members to read history or post messages in private channels. |
| is_open | boolean | Whether the direct message or MPIM is currently open in the user's sidebar. Only relevant for DMs and MPIMs. |
| is_frozen | boolean | Whether the channel is frozen. Frozen channels do not accept new messages. |
| is_read_only | boolean | Whether the channel is read-only. In read-only channels, only admins and approved users can post. |
| is_thread_only | boolean | Whether the channel only allows threaded replies. Top-level posts are not permitted. |
| is_non_threadable | boolean | Whether threading is disabled in this channel. |
| created | integer | Unix timestamp (in seconds) of when the conversation was created. |
| creator | string | The user ID of the member who created this channel. Not present for DMs. |
| updated | integer | Unix timestamp of the last update to the conversation metadata (not the last message). |
| unlinked | integer | The number of times this shared channel has been unlinked from a partner workspace. |
| topic | object | The channel's topic. Topics appear below the channel name in the Slack client and help describe what the channel is currently being used for. |
| purpose | object | The channel's purpose. Purposes describe the intended use of the channel and help users decide whether to join. |
| previous_names | array | A list of all previous names this channel has had. Useful for tracking channel history and identifying channels that have been renamed. |
| num_members | integer | The approximate number of members in the channel. Only included in responses when explicitly requested via the include_num_members parameter. May not be perfectly accurate for large channels. |
| locale | string | The IETF language code for the channel's locale. Only included in responses when explicitly requested via the include_locale parameter. |
| user | string | For direct messages, the user ID of the other participant. Not present for channels, groups, or MPIMs. |
| shared_team_ids | array | An array of team (workspace) IDs that share this channel. Present for shared and Slack Connect channels. |
| pending_shared | array | An array of team IDs for pending shared channel invitations. |
| pending_connected_team_ids | array | An array of team IDs for pending Slack Connect invitations. |
| parent_conversation | stringnull | The parent conversation ID if this is a sub-conversation or thread-only channel. Null for top-level conversations. |
| context_team_id | string | The team (workspace) ID providing context for this conversation. Useful in Enterprise Grid environments where channels may be shared across workspaces. |
| properties | object | Additional channel properties including canvas and tab configurations. |
| last_read | string | The timestamp of the last message read by the authenticated user in this channel. |
| latest | object | The most recent message in the channel. Only included in some API responses. |
| unread_count | integer | The number of unread messages the authenticated user has in this channel. |
| unread_count_display | integer | The number of unread messages to display (may differ from unread_count based on notification settings). |
| priority | number | A priority value used for sorting channels in the sidebar. |