channels.history
This method is deprecated.
Fetches history of messages and events from a channel.
Facts
Method URL: | https://slack.com/api/channels.history | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Preferred HTTP method: | GET | ||||||||
Accepted content types: | application/x-www-form-urlencoded | ||||||||
Rate limiting: | Tier 3 | ||||||||
Works with: |
|
This method is deprecated. It will stop functioning in February 2021 and will not work with newly created apps after June 10th, 2020. Learn more.
Please use these methods instead:
This method returns a portion of message events from the specified public channel.
To read the entire history for a channel, call the method with no latest
or
oldest
arguments, and then continue paging using the instructions below.
To retrieve a single message, set latest
to the message’s ts
value, inclusive
to true
, and dial your count
down to 1
.
This method cannot be called with bot user tokens belonging to Slack apps, although legacy bot tokens will work. To use this method in a Slack app, use a user token imbued with the necessary scope. Stay tuned for updates as we bring a fuller feast of features to bots belonging to Slack apps.
Arguments
token
Authentication token bearing required scopes. Tokens should be passed as an HTTP Authorization header or alternatively, as a POST parameter.
Examplexxxx-xxxxxxxxx-xxxx
channel
Channel to fetch history for.
ExampleC1234567890
count
Number of messages to return, between 1 and 1000.
Default: 100
100
inclusive
Include messages with latest or oldest timestamp in results.
Default: 0
true
latest
End of time range of messages to include in results.
Default: now
1234567890.123456
oldest
Start of time range of messages to include in results.
Default: 0
1234567890.123456
unreads
Include unread_count_display
in the output?
Default: 0
true
application/x-www-form-urlencoded
querystring or POST body. This method does not currently accept application/json
.
Response
Common successful response
Typical success response containing the channel's history
{
"ok": true,
"messages": [
{
"type": "message",
"ts": "1358546515.000008",
"user": "U2147483896",
"text": "Hello"
},
{
"type": "message",
"ts": "1358546515.000007",
"user": "U2147483896",
"text": "World",
"is_starred": true,
"reactions": [
{
"name": "space_invader",
"count": 3,
"users": [
"U1",
"U2",
"U3"
]
},
{
"name": "sweet_potato",
"count": 5,
"users": [
"U1",
"U2",
"U3",
"U4",
"U5"
]
}
]
},
{
"type": "something_else",
"ts": "1358546515.000007"
},
{
"text": "Containment unit is 98% full",
"username": "ecto1138",
"bot_id": "B19LU7CSY",
"attachments": [
{
"text": "Don't get too attached",
"id": 1,
"fallback": "This is an attachment fallback"
}
],
"type": "message",
"subtype": "bot_message",
"ts": "1503435956.000247"
}
],
"has_more": false
}
Alternate response
Typical success response with latest
timestamp and inclusive
parameters specified
{
"ok": true,
"latest": "1512085950.000216",
"messages": [
{
"type": "message",
"user": "U012AB3CDE",
"text": "I find you punny and would like to smell your nose letter",
"ts": "1512085950.000216"
}
],
"has_more": false
}
Common error response
Error response when the specified channel cannot be found
{
"ok": false,
"error": "channel_not_found"
}
Navigating through collections of messages
The messages
array contains up to 100 messages between latest
and oldest
. If
there were more than 100 messages between those two points, then has_more
will be true
.
Provide timestamps in latest
and oldest
to specify the period in channel’s history you want to cover. If a message has the same timestamp as latest
or oldest
it will not be included in the list, unless inclusive
is true. The inclusive
parameter is ignored when latest
or oldest
is not specified.
If the response includes has_more
then the client can make another call, using the ts
value of the final messages as the latest
param to get the next page of messages.
If there are more than 100 messages between the two timestamps then the
messages returned are the ones closest to latest
. In most cases an
application will want the most recent messages and will page backward from
there. If oldest
is provided but not latest
then the messages returned are
those closest to oldest
, allowing you to page forward through history if
desired.
Retrieving a single message
channels.history
can also be used to pluck a single message from the archive.
You'll need a message's ts
value, uniquely identifying it within a channel. You'll also need that channel's ID.
Provide another message's ts
value as the latest
parameter. Specify true
for the inclusive
parameter and set the count
to 1
. If it exists, you'll receive the queried message in return.
GET /api/channels.history?channel=C2EB2QT8A&latest=1476909142.000007&inclusive=true&count=1
Authorization: Bearer TOKEN_WITH_CHANNELS_HISTORY_SCOPE
Easily generate a permalink URL for any specific message using chat.getPermalink
.
Message types
Messages of type "message"
are user-entered text messages sent to the channel, while other types are events that happened within the channel. All messages have both a type
and a sortable ts
, but the other fields depend on the type
. For a list of all possible events, see the channel messages documentation.
Messages that have been reacted to by team members will have a reactions array delightfully included.
If a message has been starred by the calling user, the is_starred
property will be present and true. This property is only added for starred items, so is not present in the majority of messages.
The is_limited
boolean property is only included for free teams that have
reached the free message limit. If true, there are messages before the current
result set, but they are beyond the message limit.
Errors
This table lists the expected errors that this method could return. However, other errors can be returned in the case where the service is down or other unexpected factors affect processing. Callers should always check the value of the ok
params in the response.
Error | Description |
---|---|
channel_not_found | Value passed for |
invalid_ts_latest | Value passed for |
invalid_ts_oldest | Value passed for |
not_in_channel | Caller is not a member of the channel. |
not_authed | No authentication token provided. |
invalid_auth | Some aspect of authentication cannot be validated. Either the provided token is invalid or the request originates from an IP address disallowed from making the request. |
account_inactive | Authentication token is for a deleted user or workspace. |
token_revoked | Authentication token is for a deleted user or workspace or the app has been removed. |
no_permission | The workspace token used in this request does not have the permissions necessary to complete the request. Make sure your app is a member of the conversation it's attempting to post a message to. |
org_login_required | The workspace is undergoing an enterprise migration and will not be available until migration is complete. |
ekm_access_denied | Administrators have suspended the ability to post a message. |
missing_scope | The token used is not granted the specific scope permissions required to complete this request. |
not_allowed_token_type | The token type used in this request is not allowed. |
method_deprecated | The method called is retired and no longer accepts requests. Examine the error closely for suggestions on alternative methods to use or browse api.slack.com/changelog for more information. |
deprecated_endpoint | The endpoint has been deprecated. |
two_factor_setup_required | Two factor setup is required. |
enterprise_is_restricted | The method cannot be called from an Enterprise. |
team_access_not_granted | The token used is not granted the specific workspace access required to complete this request. |
invalid_arguments | The method was either called with invalid arguments or some detail about the arguments passed are invalid, which is more likely when using complex arguments like blocks or attachments. |
invalid_arg_name | The method was passed an argument whose name falls outside the bounds of accepted or expected values. This includes very long names and names with non-alphanumeric characters other than |
invalid_array_arg | The method was passed an array as an argument. Please only input valid strings. |
invalid_charset | The method was called via a |
invalid_form_data | The method was called via a |
invalid_post_type | The method was called via a |
missing_post_type | The method was called via a |
team_added_to_org | The workspace associated with your request is currently undergoing migration to an Enterprise Organization. Web API and other platform operations will be intermittently unavailable until the transition is complete. |
ratelimited | The request has been ratelimited. Refer to the |
accesslimited | Access to this method is limited on the current network |
request_timeout | The method was called via a |
service_unavailable | The service is temporarily unavailable |
fatal_error | The server could not complete your operation(s) without encountering a catastrophic error. It's possible some aspect of the operation succeeded before the error was raised. |
internal_error | The server could not complete your operation(s) without encountering an error, likely due to a transient issue on our end. It's possible some aspect of the operation succeeded before the error was raised. |
Warnings
This table lists the expected warnings that this method will return. However, other warnings can be returned in the case where the service is experiencing unexpected trouble.
Warning | Description |
---|---|
missing_charset | The method was called via a |
superfluous_charset | The method was called via a |
method_deprecated | The method called has been deprecated and may soon stop functioning. Examine the warning closely for suggestions on alternative methods to use or browse api.slack.com/changelog for more information. |