cloudthinker-ai Slack Deployment Notification Skill
Post a deployment notification for {{ service_name }} {{ version }} to {{ channel_name }}.
Workflow
Step 1 — Gather Deployment Information
Collect the following details to compose the notification:
- Deployer name — who triggered the deployment
- Changelog — key changes in this release (3-5 bullet points max)
- Deployment type — rolling / blue-green / canary / full-replace
- Estimated duration — how long the deployment is expected to take
- Rollback version — previous version (for rollback instructions)
- PR/release link — link to PR, release notes, or deployment job
Step 2 — Select Message Format
Choose the message format based on {{ notification_type | "completed" }}:
started — deployment is beginning:
{
"channel": "{{ channel_name }}",
"blocks": [
{
"type": "header",
"text": { "type": "plain_text", "text": "🚀 Deployment Started" }
},
{
"type": "section",
"fields": [
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Service:*\n{{ service_name }}" },
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Version:*\n{{ version }}" },
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Environment:*\n{{ environment }}" },
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Deployer:*\n[deployer name]" }
]
},
{
"type": "section",
"text": { "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Changes:*\n[bullet list of changes]" }
},
{
"type": "context",
"elements": [
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "Strategy: [deployment type] | ETA: [duration] | <[link]|Release Notes>" }
]
}
]
}
completed — deployment succeeded:
{
"channel": "{{ channel_name }}",
"blocks": [
{
"type": "header",
"text": { "type": "plain_text", "text": "✅ Deployment Completed" }
},
{
"type": "section",
"fields": [
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Service:*\n{{ service_name }}" },
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Version:*\n{{ version }}" },
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Environment:*\n{{ environment }}" },
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Duration:*\n[actual duration]" }
]
},
{
"type": "section",
"text": { "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Deployed by:* [deployer name]\n*Changes:*\n[bullet list of changes]" }
},
{
"type": "context",
"elements": [
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "<[link]|Release Notes> | Rollback: `[rollback command or version]`" }
]
}
]
}
failed — deployment failed:
{
"channel": "{{ channel_name }}",
"blocks": [
{
"type": "header",
"text": { "type": "plain_text", "text": "❌ Deployment Failed" }
},
{
"type": "section",
"fields": [
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Service:*\n{{ service_name }}" },
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Version:*\n{{ version }}" },
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Environment:*\n{{ environment }}" },
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Failed at:*\n[step that failed]" }
]
},
{
"type": "section",
"text": { "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Error:*\n[error description]\n\n*Rollback status:* [automatic/manual rollback status]" }
},
{
"type": "context",
"elements": [
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "<[deployment log link]|View Logs> | Deployed by: [deployer]" }
]
}
]
}
rollback — rollback in progress or completed:
{
"channel": "{{ channel_name }}",
"blocks": [
{
"type": "header",
"text": { "type": "plain_text", "text": "⏪ Rollback Initiated" }
},
{
"type": "section",
"fields": [
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Service:*\n{{ service_name }}" },
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Rolling back to:*\n[previous version]" },
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Environment:*\n{{ environment }}" },
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "*Reason:*\n[reason for rollback]" }
]
},
{
"type": "context",
"elements": [
{ "type": "mrkdwn", "text": "Initiated by: [name] | <[incident link]|Incident>" }
]
}
]
}
Step 3 — Post to Slack
#!/bin/bash
# Send the notification using the Slack connection
PAYLOAD='[formatted JSON block from Step 2]'
curl -s -X POST "${SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL}" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d "$PAYLOAD" | jq -r 'if . == "ok" then "✅ Posted to {{ channel_name }}" else "❌ Error: \(.)" end'
Or using Slack API (with bot token):
curl -s -X POST "https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_BOT_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d "$PAYLOAD" | jq '{ok: .ok, ts: .ts, error: .error}'
Step 4 — Confirm Delivery
After posting, confirm:
- Message was delivered successfully (API returned
"ok": true) - Message timestamp for threading future updates
- Share the message link with the user
Counter-Rationalizations
| Shortcut | Counter | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "We can skip some steps for this case" | Adapt the workflow steps, don't skip them | Skipped steps are where incidents and oversights originate |
| "The user seems to already know what to do" | Complete all workflow phases with the user | The workflow catches blind spots that experience alone misses |
| "This is a minor case, full process is overkill" | Scale the process down, don't turn it off | Minor cases become major when unstructured; the process scales, not disappears |
| "I'll fill in the details later" | Complete each section before moving on | Deferred details are forgotten; real-time capture is more accurate |
| "The template output isn't necessary" | Always produce the structured output format | Structured output enables comparison, audit trails, and handoff to other teams |
Output Format
Produce:
- Preview of the Slack message content (what will be posted)
- Confirmation of successful delivery with channel and timestamp
- Message link for referencing in future communications
Best Practices
- Keep changelogs to 3-5 bullet points — link to full release notes for details
- Always include rollback information so responders can act fast if issues arise
- Use threads for follow-up status updates (monitoring windows, post-deploy checks)
- For {{ environment }} = production: ping
@hereor@channelin the message for visibility - For staging/dev environments: no pinging, just informational message