conversations.create

Initiates a public or private channel-based conversation

This Conversations API method's required scopes depend on the type of channel-like object you're working with. To use the method, you'll need at least one of the channels:, groups:, im: or mpim: scopes corresponding to the conversation type you're working with.

Create a public or private channel using this Conversations API method.

Use conversations.open to initiate or resume a direct message or multi-person direct message.

Limits for workspace apps

At least one user needs to be invited when creating a public or private conversation. Otherwise workspace apps could create invisible channels, which might cause a few problems.

Arguments

tokenRequired

Authentication token bearing required scopes.

Examplexxxx-xxxxxxxxx-xxxx

nameRequired

Name of the public or private channel to create

Examplemychannel

is_privateOptional

Create a private channel instead of a public one

Exampletrue

This method supports application/json via HTTP POST. Present your token in your request's Authorization header. Learn more.

Naming

Channel names may only contain lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores, and must be 80 characters or less. When calling this method, we recommend storing both the channel's id and name value that returned in the response.

Channel names are always validated by this method, unlike channels.create.

Response

If successful, the command returns a rather stark conversation object

{
    "ok": true,
    "channel": {
        "id": "C0EAQDV4Z",
        "name": "endeavor",
        "is_channel": true,
        "is_group": false,
        "is_im": false,
        "created": 1504554479,
        "creator": "U0123456",
        "is_archived": false,
        "is_general": false,
        "unlinked": 0,
        "name_normalized": "endeavor",
        "is_shared": false,
        "is_ext_shared": false,
        "is_org_shared": false,
        "pending_shared": [],
        "is_pending_ext_shared": false,
        "is_member": true,
        "is_private": false,
        "is_mpim": false,
        "last_read": "0000000000.000000",
        "latest": null,
        "unread_count": 0,
        "unread_count_display": 0,
        "topic": {
            "value": "",
            "creator": "",
            "last_set": 0
        },
        "purpose": {
            "value": "",
            "creator": "",
            "last_set": 0
        },
        "previous_names": [],
        "priority": 0
    }
}

Typical error response when name already in use

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

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
`name_taken`	A channel cannot be created with the given name.
`restricted_action`	A team preference prevents the authenticated user from creating channels.
`no_channel`	Value passed for `name` was empty.
`missing_scope`	The token used is not granted the specific scope permissions required to complete this request.
`invalid_name_required`	Value passed for `name` was empty.
`invalid_name_punctuation`	Value passed for `name` contained only punctuation.
`invalid_name_maxlength`	Value passed for `name` exceeded max length.
`invalid_name_specials`	Value passed for `name` contained unallowed special characters or upper case characters.
`invalid_name`	Value passed for `name` was invalid.
`invalid_users`	Value passed for `user_ids` was empty or invalid.
`user_not_found`	One or more users in `user_ids` was not found.
`too_many_convos_for_team`	The workspace has exceeded its limit of public and private channels.
`too_many_convos_for_app_on_team`	This app has exceeded its per-workspace limit of public and private channels.
`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.
`not_allowed_token_type`	The token type used in this request is not allowed.
`is_bot`	This method cannot be called by a bot user.
`user_is_ultra_restricted`	This method cannot be called by a single channel guest.
`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 `_`. If you get this error, it is typically an indication that you have made a very malformed API call.
`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.
`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 `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
`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 `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.

Sample code

Bolt for JavaScript is a foundational framework that makes it easier to build Slack apps with the platform's latest features.

Calling conversations.create with Bolt for JavaScript

Hide code to initialize app
// Require the Bolt for JavaScript package (github.com/slackapi/bolt)
const { App, LogLevel } = require("@slack/bolt");

const app = new App({
  token: "xoxb-your-token",
  signingSecret: "your-signing-secret",
  // LogLevel can be imported and used to make debugging simpler
  logLevel: LogLevel.DEBUG
});
Show code to initialize app
// Listen for a message action with the callback_id "sample_message_action"
// Message actions require the commands scope
app.action({ callback_id: "sample_message_action" }, async ({ ack, payload, context }) => {
  // Calling ack() acknowledges the request coming from Slack
  ack();
  
  try {
    // Call the conversations.create method using the built-in WebClient
    const result = await app.client.conversations.create({
      // The token you used to initialize your app is stored in the `context` object
      token: context.botToken,
      // The name of the conversation
      name: "pretend-channel",
      // Add the user who clicked the message action into the new channel 
      user_ids: payload.user
    });

    console.log(result);
  }
  catch (error) {
    console.error(error);
  }
});
Hide code to run app
(async () => {
  // Start your app
  await app.start(process.env.PORT || 3000);

  console.log("⚡️ Bolt app is running!");
})();
Show code to run app

New to Bolt? Read our guide to Getting Started with Bolt for Javascript.

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