Slack is where much of your team’s real-time knowledge lives — in channel threads, quick decisions made in DMs, and files shared in conversations. By connecting Slack, you let Knoq reach into that context on your behalf so you can ask natural language questions like “what did the team decide about pricing last week?” and get a direct answer, without digging through hundreds of messages yourself.
What Knoq can access
Once connected, Knoq can read the following resources from your Slack workspace — limited to what your own Slack account has permission to see:
- Channel messages in public and private channels you are a member of
- Direct message threads you participate in
- Thread replies nested under messages in accessible channels
- User and channel metadata — names, topics, and membership
- Shared files and message attachments referenced in accessible conversations
Knoq queries Slack in real time using Slack’s official API. Nothing is indexed or stored in Knoq’s systems — every search happens live at the moment you ask.
What Knoq cannot access
- Channels or DMs you are not a member of
- Workspace admin settings, billing information, or user management data
- Messages in workspaces other than the one you authorized
Connect Slack
Open Settings → Integrations
In Knoq, click your avatar in the top-right corner, select Settings, then choose Integrations from the left sidebar.
Find the Slack connector
Locate the Slack card in the gallery. You can filter by the Communication category chip to find it quickly.
Click Connect
Click the Slack card and press Connect. Knoq redirects you to Slack’s OAuth authorization page.
Authorize Knoq on Slack's page
Slack shows you the permissions Knoq is requesting. Review them — they are read-only scopes — then click Allow. If your Slack workspace requires admin approval for OAuth apps, you may see a request submission screen instead; ask your Slack admin to approve the Knoq app.
Return to Knoq
Slack redirects you back to Settings → Integrations. The Slack card now shows a green Connected badge. Head to the Knoq chat and try your first Slack query.
Example queries
Once Slack is connected, you can ask Knoq questions like these directly in the chat:
Summarize this week's discussion in #product
Find the latest update on the launch thread in #marketing
Show recent messages in #engineering that mention the API rate limit
What did the team decide about the Q4 roadmap in the all-hands channel?
Find the file Sarah shared in #design last Tuesday
Permissions
Knoq requests read-only access to your Slack workspace. The table below summarises what each type of access covers:
| Access | What it covers |
|---|
| Public channel messages | Read messages in public channels you belong to |
| Private channel messages | Read messages in private channels you belong to |
| Direct messages | Read messages in your direct message conversations |
| Channel and user metadata | Resolve channel names, topics, and user names referenced in messages |
| File attachments | Access files attached to messages you can see |
Knoq cannot post messages, send DMs, create channels, modify workspace settings, or take any write action in your Slack workspace. If you ever see unexpected Slack activity, it is not coming from Knoq.
Troubleshooting
“Workspace not found” or the authorization fails midway
This usually means the OAuth flow was interrupted. Close the authorization tab, return to Settings → Integrations, and try connecting again. Make sure you are logged in to the correct Slack account in your browser before clicking Connect.
The connector shows a red error badge after connecting
Your Slack token may have been revoked by a workspace admin, or the app may have been uninstalled from your workspace. Go to Settings → Integrations, click the Slack card, and press Disconnect followed by Connect to re-authorize. If the problem persists, ask your Slack admin to verify that the Knoq app is still authorized for your workspace.
Results from Slack seem incomplete
Knoq can only return results from channels and conversations you are a member of. If you’re not seeing messages from a particular channel, check that your Slack account is actually a member. You can also try reconnecting to refresh your access token and ensure it reflects your current channel membership.
Your Slack workspace requires admin approval
Some organizations restrict which OAuth apps users can authorize. If you see a “Request to install” screen instead of the authorization prompt, submit the request and ask your Slack workspace admin to approve the Knoq app. Once approved, return to Settings → Integrations and click Connect again. 