Updates a message.

Facts

Method access

HTTP
JavaScript
Python
Java
HTTP
POSThttps://slack.com/api/chat.update
Bolt for Java
app.client().chatUpdate
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Bolt for Python
app.client.chat_update
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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 updated.

    Example
    C1234567890

    Timestamp of the message to be updated.

    Example
    "1405894322.002768"

    One of these arguments is required to describe the content of the message. If attachments or blocks are included, text will be used as fallback text for notifications only.

    A JSON-based array of structured attachments, presented as a URL-encoded string.

    Example
    [{"pretext": "pre-hello", "text": "text-world"}]

    A JSON-based array of structured blocks, presented as a URL-encoded string.

    Example
    [{"type": "section", "text": {"type": "plain_text", "text": "Hello world"}}]

    How this field works and whether it is required depends on other fields you use in your API call. See below for more detail.

    Example
    Hello world
    Optional arguments

    Pass true to update the message as the authed user. Bot users in this context are considered authed users.

    Example
    true

    Array of new file ids that will be sent with this message.

    Example
    F013GKY52QK,F013GL22D0T or ["F013GKY52QK","F013GL22D0T"]

    Find and link channel names and usernames. Defaults to none. If you do not specify a value for this field, the original value set for the message will be overwritten with the default, none.

    Example
    true

    JSON object with event_type and event_payload fields, presented as a URL-encoded string. If you don't include this field, the message's previous metadata will be retained. To remove previous metadata, include an empty object for this field. Metadata you post to Slack is accessible to any app or user who is a member of that workspace.

    Example
    {"event_type": "task_created", "event_payload": { "id": "11223", "title": "Redesign Homepage"}}

    Change how messages are treated. Defaults to client, unlike chat.postMessage. Accepts either none or full. If you do not specify a value for this field, the original value set for the message will be overwritten with the default, client.

    Example
    none

    Broadcast an existing thread reply to make it visible to everyone in the channel or conversation.

    Default
    false
    Example
    true

    Usage info

    This method updates a message in a channel. Though related to chat.postMessage, some parameters of chat.update are handled differently.

    Ephemeral messages created by chat.postEphemeral or otherwise cannot be updated with this method.

    New Slack apps may use this method with the chat:write scope and either a bot or user token.

    To define your message, refer to our formatting spec and our guide to composing messages.

    text, blocks or attachments

    This method will behave differently depending on whether blocks or text is supplied. Slack will always try to render the message using blocks, and use text only for notifications. If you don't include blocks, the message's previous blocks will only be retained if the text argument is not provided. If the text argument is provided and blocks are not provided, the blocks will be removed, and the provided text will be used for message rendering. To remove previous blocks, include an empty array for the blocks field.

    Similarly, the attachments field is required when not presenting text. If you don't include attachments, the message's previous attachments will be retained. To remove previous attachments, include an empty array for this field.

    Valid message types

    Only messages posted by the authenticated user are able to be updated using this method. This includes regular chat messages, as well as messages containing the me_message subtype. Bot users may also update the messages they post.

    Attempting to update other message types will return a cant_update_message error.

    To use chat.update with a bot user token, you'll need to think of your bot user as a user, and pass as_user set to true while editing a message created by that same bot user.

    The response includes the text, channel and timestamp properties of the updated message so clients can keep their local copies of the message in sync.

    Updating interactive messages

    If you're posting an interactive message, you may use chat.update to continue updating ongoing state changes around a message. Provide the ts field the message you're updating and follow the bot user instructions above to update message text, and remove or add blocks.

    Example responses

    Common successful response

    Typical success response

    {
        "ok": true,
        "channel": "C123ABC456",
        "ts": "1401383885.000061",
        "text": "Updated text you carefully authored",
        "message": {
            "text": "Updated text you carefully authored",
            "user": "U34567890"
        }
    }

    Common error response

    Typical error response

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

    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
    as_user_not_supported

    The as_user parameter does not function with workspace apps.

    block_mismatch

    Rich-text blocks cannot be replaced with non-rich-text blocks

    cant_broadcast_message

    Unable to broadcast this message.

    cant_update_message

    Authenticated user does not have permission to update this message.

    channel_not_found

    Value passed for channel was invalid.

    edit_window_closed

    The message cannot be edited due to the team message edit settings

    external_channel_migrating

    The channel is in the process of migrating and so the message cannot be updated at this time.

    invalid_attachments

    The attachments were invalid.

    invalid_blocks

    The blocks were invalid for the requesting user.

    invalid_metadata_format

    Invalid metadata format provided

    invalid_metadata_schema

    Invalid metadata schema provided

    is_inactive

    The message cannot be edited within a frozen, archived or deleted channel.

    message_not_found

    No message exists with the requested timestamp.

    metadata_must_be_sent_from_app

    Message metadata can only be posted or updated using an app-level token

    metadata_too_large

    Metadata exceeds size limit

    msg_too_long

    Message text is too long

    no_dual_broadcast_content_update

    Can't broadcast an old reply and update the content at the same time.

    no_text

    No message text provided

    slack_connect_file_link_sharing_blocked

    Admin has disabled Slack File sharing in all Slack Connect communications

    team_not_found

    Team associated with the message and channel could not be found.

    too_many_attachments

    Too many attachments were provided with this message. A maximum of 100 attachments are allowed on a message.

    update_failed

    Internal update failure.

    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
    message_truncated

    The text field of a message should have no more than 40,000 characters. We truncate really long messages.

    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