Opens or resumes a direct message or multi-person direct message.

Notices

Information about required scopes
This Conversations API method's required scopes depend on the type of channel-like object you're working with. You only need the scopes corresponding to that conversation type, found below in Required scopes.

Facts

Method access

HTTP
JavaScript
Python
Java
HTTP
POSThttps://slack.com/api/conversations.open
Bolt for Java
app.client().conversationsOpen
Powered by Bolt
Bolt for Python
app.client.conversations_open
Powered by Bolt
Bolt for JavaScript
app.client.conversations.open
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
    Optional arguments

    Resume a conversation by supplying an im or mpim's ID. Or provide the users field instead.

    Example
    G1234567890

    Do not create a direct message or multi-person direct message. This is used to see if there is an existing dm or mpdm.

    Default
    Example
    true

    Boolean, indicates you want the full IM channel definition in the response.

    Example
    true

    Comma separated lists of users. If only one user is included, this creates a 1:1 DM. The ordering of the users is preserved whenever a multi-person direct message is returned. Supply a channel when not supplying users.

    Example
    W1234567890,U2345678901,U3456789012

    Usage info

    The Conversations API method opens a direct message (DM) or a multi-person direct message (MPIM).

    You can then send a message to the conversation using the chat.postMessage method.

    Creating channels
    Use the conversations.create method instead for public or private channels.
    Using the users parameter

    Provide 1 to 8 user IDs in the users parameter to open or resume a conversation. Providing only 1 ID will create a direct message. Providing more than 1 will create a multi-person direct message (mpim).

    Don’t include the ID of the user you’re calling conversations.open on behalf of – we do that for you.

    If there are no conversations already in progress including that exact set of members, a new multi-person direct message conversation begins.

    Subsequent calls to conversations.open with the same set of users will return the already existing conversation.

    The response structure is altered by providing return_im parameter. When set to false, the default, just a conversation's ID is returned. When set to true, the entire conversation object is returned.

    Example responses

    Common successful response

    Typical success response

    {
        "ok": true,
        "channel": {
            "id": "D069C7QFK"
        }
    }

    Alternate response

    Passing return_im will expand the response to include more info about a conversation

    {
        "ok": true,
        "no_op": true,
        "already_open": true,
        "channel": {
            "id": "D069C7QFK",
            "created": 1460147748,
            "is_im": true,
            "is_org_shared": false,
            "user": "U069C7QF3",
            "last_read": "0000000000.000000",
            "latest": null,
            "unread_count": 0,
            "unread_count_display": 0,
            "is_open": true,
            "priority": 0
        }
    }

    Common error response

    Typical error response

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

    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
    channel_not_found

    Value passed for channel was invalid.

    invalid_user_combination

    All external people must already be in at least one channel together to send a message.

    method_not_supported_for_channel_type

    This type of conversation cannot be used with this method.

    missing_scope

    The token used is not granted the specific scope permissions required to complete this request.

    not_enough_users

    Needs at least 2 users to open

    team_access_not_granted

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

    too_many_users

    Needs at most 8 users to open

    user_disabled

    A specified user has been disabled.

    user_not_found

    Value(s) passed for users was invalid.

    user_not_visible

    The calling user is restricted from seeing the requested user.

    users_list_not_supplied

    Missing users in request

    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.

    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.

    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
    no_op

    Slack did nothing when serving this request but it did not fail.

    already_open

    The conversation was already open so Slack did nothing.

    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