bytesagain slack-automator
Send messages to Slack channels via Incoming Webhooks. Supports direct messaging, channel notifications, message templates with variable substitution, scheduled messages, formatting helpers, and full send history with export.
Requirements
- bash 4.0+
- curl (for HTTP requests to Slack)
- python3 (for JSON handling — typically pre-installed)
- Slack Incoming Webhook URL — see setup below
How to Get a Slack Webhook URL
- Go to [[Technical Reference]]([Technical Reference])
- Click Create New App → From scratch
- Name it (e.g., "Automator") and select your workspace
- In the left sidebar, click Incoming Webhooks
- Toggle Activate Incoming Webhooks to On
- Click Add New Webhook to Workspace
- Select the channel to post to and click Allow
- Copy the webhook URL (starts with `[Technical Reference])
Setup
Configure the webhook URL before sending messages:
scripts/script.sh connect [Technical Reference]
Verify connectivity:
scripts/script.sh webhook test
Commands
connect <webhook_url>
Save a Slack Incoming Webhook URL to local configuration. The URL is stored in ~/.slack-automator/config.json.
# Save your webhook URL
scripts/script.sh connect [Technical Reference]
# ✅ Webhook URL saved.
send <message>
Send a plain text message to Slack via the configured webhook.
# Send a simple message
scripts/script.sh send "Hello from Slack Automator!"
# Send a message with emoji
scripts/script.sh send "🚀 Deployment complete — v2.1.0 is live!"
# Send multi-word messages
scripts/script.sh send Build succeeded, all 142 tests passing.
notify <channel> <message>
Send a message to a specific Slack channel. The channel name will be prefixed with # if not already present.
# Notify the alerts channel
scripts/script.sh notify alerts "⚠️ Server CPU at 95%!"
# Notify with # prefix (also works)
scripts/script.sh notify "#deployments" "v3.0.2 deployed to production"
# Notify the team channel
scripts/script.sh notify general "Standup in 5 minutes!"
schedule add <time> <message>
Add a scheduled message. Time can be in HH:MM format (converted to daily cron) or a full cron expression. Schedules are saved to ~/.slack-automator/schedule.json.
# Schedule a daily message at 9:00 AM
scripts/script.sh schedule add 09:00 "Good morning, team! ☀️"
# Schedule with cron expression (every Friday at 6 PM)
scripts/script.sh schedule add "0 18 * * 5" "Happy Friday! 🎉"
# Schedule hourly reminder
scripts/script.sh schedule add "0 * * * *" "Hourly status check"
Note: Schedules are saved locally. To actually trigger them, set up a cron job that runs
slack-automator sendwith the scheduled messages.
schedule list
Display all scheduled messages with their IDs, cron expressions, and status.
scripts/script.sh schedule list
# === Scheduled Messages ===
# ✅ [1710820800] 0 9 * * * — Good morning, team! ☀️
# ✅ [1710820900] 0 18 * * 5 — Happy Friday! 🎉
schedule remove <id>
Remove a scheduled message by its ID.
scripts/script.sh schedule remove 1710820900
# ✅ Removed schedule 1710820900.
template list
List all saved message templates.
scripts/script.sh template list
# === Message Templates ===
# 📝 deploy — 🚀 Deployed *{{service}}* to production.
# 📝 alert — ⚠️ Alert: {{message}} (severity: {{level}})
template save <name> <message>
Save a reusable message template. Use {{variable}} placeholders for dynamic values.
# Save a deploy notification template
scripts/script.sh template save deploy "🚀 Deployed *{{service}}* to production ({{version}})."
# Save an alert template
scripts/script.sh template save alert "⚠️ {{level}}: {{message}}"
# Save a welcome template
scripts/script.sh template save welcome "👋 Welcome to the team, {{name}}!"
template use <name> [var=value ...]
Send a message using a saved template. Variables in {{var}} are replaced with provided var=value pairs.
# Use deploy template with variables
scripts/script.sh template use deploy service=api-server version=v2.1.0
# Sends: 🚀 Deployed *api-server* to production (v2.1.0).
# Use alert template
scripts/script.sh template use alert level=HIGH message="Database connection timeout"
# Use welcome template
scripts/script.sh template use welcome name=Alice
webhook test
Send a test message to verify webhook connectivity. The test message includes a timestamp.
scripts/script.sh webhook test
# Testing webhook connectivity...
# ✅ Webhook is working! Test message sent.
webhook info
Show the current webhook configuration. The URL is partially masked for security.
scripts/script.sh webhook info
# === Webhook Configuration ===
# URL: [Technical Reference]
# Full URL stored in: ~/.slack-automator/config.json
format <style> <message>
Format a message using Slack's mrkdwn syntax and optionally send it. Available styles:
| Style | Slack Syntax | Example Output |
|---|---|---|
bold |
*text* |
text |
italic |
_text_ |
text |
code |
`text` |
text |
codeblock |
```text``` |
code block |
quote |
> text |
quoted text |
strike |
~text~ |
|
list |
• item |
bulleted list |
# Format as bold
scripts/script.sh format bold "Important announcement"
# Output: *Important announcement*
# Format as code block
scripts/script.sh format codeblock "const x = 42;"
# Output: ```const x = 42;```
# Format comma-separated items as bullet list
scripts/script.sh format list "Task 1, Task 2, Task 3"
# Output:
# • Task 1
# • Task 2
# • Task 3
history
Show the 20 most recent messages from the send history, including timestamps, actions, status, and channels.
scripts/script.sh history
# === Message History ===
# ✅ [2025-03-19 09:00:00] send: Good morning, team!
# ✅ [2025-03-19 09:15:30] notify → #alerts: CPU alert cleared
# ❌ [2025-03-19 10:00:00] send: Failed message (webhook down)
# Total: 42 message(s)
stats
Show usage statistics including message counts, success rate, action breakdown, and date range.
scripts/script.sh stats
# === Slack Automator Stats ===
# Messages sent: 42
# Successful: 40
# Failed: 2
# Success rate: 95.2%
# Scheduled: 3
# Templates: 5
#
# Actions breakdown:
# send: 30
# notify: 8
# template-use: 4
#
# Period: 2025-01-15 → 2025-03-19
export <format>
Export message history to a file. Supported formats: json, csv, txt.
# Export as JSON
scripts/script.sh export json
# ✅ Exported history to ~/.slack-automator/export.json
# Export as CSV (for spreadsheets)
scripts/script.sh export csv
# ✅ Exported 42 entries to ~/.slack-automator/export.csv
# Export as plain text
scripts/script.sh export txt
config [key] [value]
View or set configuration values. Available keys: webhook_url, default_channel, username, icon_emoji.
# View all configuration
scripts/script.sh config
# === Slack Automator Configuration ===
# webhook_url = [Technical Reference]
# default_channel = #general
# Set a specific value
scripts/script.sh config default_channel "#engineering"
# ✅ Set default_channel = #engineering
# Get a specific value
scripts/script.sh config default_channel
# default_channel = #engineering
help
Print usage information and the list of all available commands.
scripts/script.sh help
version
Print the current version string.
scripts/script.sh version
# slack-automator v3.0.2
Data Storage
All data is stored in ~/.slack-automator/:
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
config.json |
Webhook URL and settings |
history.json |
Complete message send history |
schedule.json |
Scheduled messages |
templates/ |
Saved message templates (.txt) |
Examples
Quick Start
# 1. Connect your webhook
scripts/script.sh connect [Technical Reference]
# 2. Test it works
scripts/script.sh webhook test
# 3. Send your first message
scripts/script.sh send "Hello, Slack! 👋"
CI/CD Integration
# Save a deploy template
scripts/script.sh template save deploy "🚀 *{{service}}* deployed to *{{env}}* ({{version}})"
# Use it in your pipeline
scripts/script.sh template use deploy service=web-app env=production version=v1.2.3
Monitoring Alerts
# Direct alert to a channel
scripts/script.sh notify alerts "🔴 Database connection pool exhausted — 0/50 available"
# Formatted alert
scripts/script.sh format bold "CRITICAL: Payment service unreachable"
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