On August 24, 2021 legacy workspace apps were retired. Workspace apps were part of a brief developer preview we elected to not fully release. Since October 2018, existing workspace apps have remained functional but on August 24, 2021 workspace apps will be retired and no longer function.
Please read on if you were the developer, maintainer, administrator, or user of a vintage workspace app.
Don't know if you have a workspace app? Make sure you're signed in to all your workspaces and visit our deprecation center. Each workspace app you own or collaborate on will be listed.
Workspace apps are actually a kind of Slack app that use workspace tokens instead of bot tokens to represent and assert the identity of the app itself. (Learn more about the different token types.)
invalid_auth and a message stating the token type is retired.method_deprecated error, though your app won't see it because the workspace token you'd use to call it will already fail for the reasons above.These methods were all used as part of the workspace apps permissions API. There are no direct equivalents in Slack apps.
To determine which scopes a token has with a Slack app, note the x-oauth-scopes HTTP header included in the response to each Web API method, such as auth.test.
apps.permissions.resources.listapps.permissions.scopes.listapps.permissions.users.listapps.permissions.users.requestapps.permissions.infoapps.permissions.requestWorkspace apps' progressive permissions system emitted these events. There are no direct equivalents in Slack apps.
If you started developing Slack apps after October 2018, then it's unlikely you have a workspace app and you need do nothing to prepare.
Don't know if you have a workspace app? Make sure you're signed in to all your workspaces and visit our deprecation center. Each workspace app you own or collaborate on will be listed.
If you know you have a workspace app and it's installed on a single workspace or just a small number of workspaces, we recommend you manually migrate your app to a Slack app.
For single workspace apps, your migration path will mostly be limited to:
For larger installations, we plan to offer migration services in Summer 2021.
Here is how to accomplish common workspace apps goals in Slack apps:
I want to install apps on the "workspace level" and not have apps uninstalled when an installer leaves a workspace
Slack apps take care of this through each app's "bot user token," which will persist as long as the app is installed in the workspace, regardless of the installer's membership. Slack apps may also be installed organization-wide.
I want users to choose which channels my app is installed in
Slack apps give users this choice through the familiar conversation invite flows built in to Slack. Additionally, bot users may ask for the channels:manage and chat:write.public permissions to self-manage public channel membership and conversational abilities.
I want a bot user token with granular permissions capable of taking action across a whole workspace
Slack apps are built with a granular permission model for bot user tokens applied at the workspace level. Map the permissions you use in workspace apps to those available for bot users and you'll find most capabilities carry over to similarly-named scopes.
I want app home conversations with the installing user
Slack apps offer a richer App Home experience including a rich Block Kit canvas and access to a direct message conversation with each user in a workspace.
I want to ask for permissions progressively
While there's no conversational UI flow to request elevated permissions, Slack apps can still progressively request permissions by sending users through installation flows multiple times.
I want to limit the resources apps may access
The bot user component of Slack apps is largely governed by a combination of channel membership and granular permissions. While an app isn't granted to specific resources like channels and users, the type of data a bot token can access can be further narrowed by asking only for a restrictive set of scopes.
I want to rotate my access tokens programmatically
Slack apps can't do this yet. We plan to offer token rotation for Slack apps in Summer 2021.
I want to run my app securely behind the firewall
Workspace apps couldn't do this but Slack apps can -- with Socket Mode!
If you're unsure how to migrate your workspace app, reach out to our support and developer relations teams.
One of the largest issues to consider during migration is transferring channel membership for private channels.
The only users who may invite a bot user into a private channel are the members of that channel.
As you migrate to a Slack app, you'll have to inform users of your existing workspace app that they'll need to invite your new app's bot user to each private channel they want your app to serve in.
If you have a workspace app and do nothing, the app will stop working. API calls it makes will not succeed. Eventually, your app's membership in channels will disappear. Finally, your app's official record in our database and access in application management will be completely removed.
We completed the retirement on August 24, 2021.
Slack apps are ready for you to migrate to today.
Here's a timeline detailing the various announcements we've made about the life & death of workspace apps over the years.