Deletes a message.

Facts

Method access

HTTP
JavaScript
Python
Java
HTTP
POSThttps://slack.com/api/chat.delete
Bolt for Java
app.client().chatDelete
Powered by Bolt
Bolt for Python
app.client.chat_delete
Powered by Bolt

Content types

application/x-www-form-urlencodedapplication/json
  • Rate limits

    Tier 3
  • Arguments

    Required arguments

    Authentication token bearing required scopes. Tokens should be passed as an HTTP Authorization header or alternatively, as a POST parameter.

    Example
    xxxx-xxxxxxxxx-xxxx

    Channel containing the message to be deleted.

    Example
    C1234567890

    Timestamp of the message to be deleted.

    Example
    "1405894322.002768"
    Optional arguments

    Pass true to delete the message as the authed user with chat:write:user scope. Bot users in this context are considered authed users. If unused or false, the message will be deleted with chat:write:bot scope.

    Example
    true

    Usage info

    This method deletes a message from a conversation.

    When used with a user token, this method may only delete messages that user themselves can delete in Slack.

    When used with a bot token, this method may delete only messages posted by that bot.

    The response includes the channel and timestamp properties of the deleted message.

    Example responses

    Common successful response

    Typical success response

    {
        "ok": true,
        "channel": "C123ABC456",
        "ts": "1401383885.000061"
    }

    Common error response

    Typical error response

    {
        "error": "message_not_found",
        "ok": false
    }

    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.

    ErrorDescription
    cant_delete_message

    Authenticated user does not have permission to delete this message.

    channel_not_found

    Value passed for channel was invalid.

    message_not_found

    No message exists with the requested timestamp.

    access_denied

    Access to a resource specified in the request is denied.

    account_inactive

    Authentication token is for a deleted user or workspace when using a bot token.

    deprecated_endpoint

    The endpoint has been deprecated.

    ekm_access_denied

    Administrators have suspended the ability to post a message.

    enterprise_is_restricted

    The method cannot be called from an Enterprise.

    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.

    method_deprecated

    The method has been deprecated.

    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.

    not_authed

    No authentication token provided.

    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.

    token_expired

    Authentication token has expired

    token_revoked

    Authentication token is for a deleted user or workspace or the app has been removed when using a user token.

    two_factor_setup_required

    Two factor setup is required.

    team_access_not_granted

    The token used is not granted the specific workspace access required to complete this request.

    accesslimited

    Access to this method is limited on the current network

    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.

    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 _. If you get this error, it is typically an indication that you have made a very malformed API call.

    invalid_arguments

    The method was either called with invalid arguments or some detail about the arguments passed is invalid, which is more likely when using complex arguments like blocks or attachments.

    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 POST request, but the charset specified in the Content-Type header was invalid. Valid charset names are: utf-8 iso-8859-1.

    invalid_form_data

    The method was called via a POST request with Content-Type application/x-www-form-urlencoded or multipart/form-data, but the form data was either missing or syntactically invalid.

    invalid_post_type

    The method was called via a POST request, but the specified Content-Type was invalid. Valid types are: application/json application/x-www-form-urlencoded multipart/form-data text/plain.

    missing_post_type

    The method was called via a POST request and included a data payload, but the request did not include a Content-Type header.

    ratelimited

    The request has been ratelimited. Refer to the Retry-After header for when to retry the request.

    request_timeout

    The method was called via a POST request, but the POST data was either missing or truncated.

    service_unavailable

    The service is temporarily unavailable

    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.

    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.

    WarningDescription
    missing_charset

    The method was called via a POST request, and recommended practice for the specified Content-Type is to include a charset parameter. However, no charset was present. Specifically, non-form-data content types (e.g. text/plain) are the ones for which charset is recommended.

    superfluous_charset

    The method was called via a POST request, and the specified Content-Type is not defined to understand the charset parameter. However, charset was in fact present. Specifically, form-data content types (e.g. multipart/form-data) are the ones for which charset is superfluous.

    Arguments

    Need a token? Create and install a Slack app to begin.
    This will make a real API request. Beware of using it with live workspaces.

    API response


    Submit your arguments to see the API response
    Calling chat.delete
    Java
    JavaScript
    Python
    HTTP
    Java
    import com.slack.api.bolt.App; import com.slack.api.bolt.AppConfig; import com.slack.api.bolt.jetty.SlackAppServer; import com.slack.api.methods.SlackApiException; import com.slack.api.model.event.ReactionAddedEvent; import java.io.IOException; public class ChatDelete { public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception { var config = new AppConfig(); config.setSingleTeamBotToken(System.getenv("SLACK_BOT_TOKEN")); config.setSigningSecret(System.getenv("SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET")); var app = new App(config); // `new App()` does the same // When a user reacts to a message with an X emoji, delete the message app.event(ReactionAddedEvent.class, (req, ctx) -> { var logger = ctx.logger; try { var event = req.getEvent(); // Only delete message if emoji is "x" if (event.getReaction().equals("x")) { // Call the chat.delete method using the built-in WebClient var item = event.getItem(); var result = ctx.client().chatDelete(r -> r // The token you used to initialize the app, stored in context .token(ctx.getBotToken()) .channel(item.getChannel()) .ts(item.getTs()) ); logger.info("result: {}", result); } } catch (IOException | SlackApiException e) { logger.error("error: {}", e.getMessage(), e); } return ctx.ack(); }); var server = new SlackAppServer(app); server.start(); } }
    JavaScript
    Code to initialize Bolt app
    // Require the Node Slack SDK package (github.com/slackapi/node-slack-sdk) const { WebClient, LogLevel } = require("@slack/web-api"); // WebClient instantiates a client that can call API methods // When using Bolt, you can use either `app.client` or the `client` passed to listeners. const client = new WebClient("xoxb-your-token", { // LogLevel can be imported and used to make debugging simpler logLevel: LogLevel.DEBUG });
    // The ts of the message you want to delete const messageId = "12345.9876"; // The ID of the channel that contains the message const channelId = "C12345"; try { // Call the chat.delete method using the WebClient const result = await client.chat.delete({ channel: channelId, ts: messageId }); console.log(result); } catch (error) { console.error(error); }
    Python
    Code to initialize Bolt app
    import logging import os # Import WebClient from Python SDK (github.com/slackapi/python-slack-sdk) from slack_sdk import WebClient from slack_sdk.errors import SlackApiError # WebClient instantiates a client that can call API methods # When using Bolt, you can use either `app.client` or the `client` passed to listeners. client = WebClient(token=os.environ.get("SLACK_BOT_TOKEN")) logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
    # The ts of the message you want to delete message_id = "12345.9876" # The ID of the channel that contains the message channel_id = "C12345" try: # Call the chat.chatDelete method using the built-in WebClient result = client.chat_delete( channel=channel_id, ts=message_id ) logger.info(result) except SlackApiError as e: logger.error(f"Error deleting message: {e}")
    HTTP
    POST https://slack.com/api/chat.delete Content-type: application/json Authorization: Bearer xoxb-your-token { "channel": "PARENT_CHANNEL_ID", "ts": "MESSAGE_TO_DELETE" }