rtm.start

Starts a Real Time Messaging session.

Facts

Method URL: https://slack.com/api/rtm.start

Preferred HTTP method: GET

Accepted content types: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

Rate limiting: Tier 1

Works with:

Token type	Required scope(s)
user	`client`
classic bot	`bot`

This method begins a Real Time Messaging API session and reserves your application a specific URL with which to connect via websocket.

It's user-centric and team-centric: your app connects as a specific user or bot user on a specific team. Many apps will find the Events API's subscription model more scalable when working against multiple teams.

This method also returns a smorgasbord of data about the team, its channels, and members. Some times more information than can be provided in a timely or helpful manner.

Please use rtm.connect instead, especially when connecting on behalf of an Enterprise Grid customer.

Consult the RTM API documentation for full details on using the RTM API. You'll also find our changelog entry useful.

The members array found in this and other methods will begin automatically truncating at 1,500 and eventually fewer results beginning December 1, 2017. As of March, 2018 the cap is 500. Please Use conversations.members to manage memberships instead. Read on to learn more.

New Slack apps may not use any Real Time Messaging API method. Create a classic app and use the V1 Oauth flow to use RTM.

For most applications, Socket Mode is a better way to communicate with Slack.

Arguments

tokenRequired

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

Examplexxxx-xxxxxxxxx-xxxx

batch_presence_awareOptional

Batch presence deliveries via subscription. Enabling changes the shape of presence_change events. See batch presence.

Default: false

Example1

include_localeOptional

Set this to true to receive the locale for users and channels. Defaults to false

Exampletrue

mpim_awareOptional

Returns MPIMs to the client in the API response.

Exampletrue

no_latestOptional

Exclude latest timestamps for channels, groups, mpims, and ims. Automatically sets no_unreads to 1

Default: 0

Example1

no_unreadsOptional

Skip unread counts for each channel (improves performance).

Exampletrue

presence_subOptional

Only deliver presence events when requested by subscription. See presence subscriptions.

Default: true

Exampletrue

simple_latestOptional

Return timestamp only for latest message object of each channel (improves performance).

Exampletrue

Present arguments as parameters in application/x-www-form-urlencoded querystring or POST body. This method does not currently accept application/json.

Note that setting no_latest=1 will automatically set no_unreads=1.

Response

This method returns lots of data about the current state of a team, along with a WebSocket Message Server URL:

{
    "ok": true,
    "url": "wss:\/\/wss-primary.slack.com\/websocket\/7I5yBpcvk",

    "self": {
        "id": "U023BECGF",
        "name": "bobby",
        "prefs": {
            ...
        },
        "created": 1402463766,
        "manual_presence": "active"
    },
    "team": {
        "id": "T024BE7LD",
        "name": "Example Team",
        "email_domain": "",
        "domain": "example",
        "icon": {
            ...
        },
        "msg_edit_window_mins": -1,
        "over_storage_limit": false
        "prefs": {
            ...
        },
        "plan": "std"
    },
    "users": [ ... ],

    "channels": [ ... ],
    "groups": [ ... ],
    "mpims": [ ... ],
    "ims": [ ... ],

    "bots": [ ... ],
}

The url property contains a WebSocket Message Server URL. Connecting to this URL will initiate a Real Time Messaging session. These URLs are only valid for 30 seconds, so connect quickly!

The self property contains details on the authenticated user.

The team property contains details on the authenticated user's team. If a team has not yet set a custom icon, the value of team.icon.image_default will be true.

The users property contains a list of user objects, one for every member of the team. presence is no longer included for users. The list of users may truncate on especially long teams. Use Web API methods to retrieve information about users instead.

The channels property is a list of channel objects, one for every channel visible to the authenticated user. For regular or administrator accounts this list will include every team channel. The is_member property indicates if the user is a member of this channel. If true then the channel object will also include the topic, purpose, member list and read-state related information. The latest, unread_count, and unread_count_display attributes have been removed from this method's response. See this changelog entry.

The groups property is a list of group objects, one for every group the authenticated user is in.

The mpims property is a list of mpims objects, one for every group the authenticated user is in. MPIMs are only returned to the client if mpim_aware is set when calling rtm.start. Otherwise, mpims are emulated using the groups API.

The ims property is a list of IM objects, one for every direct message channel visible to the authenticated user.

The bots property gives details of the integrations set up on this team.

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
`migration_in_progress`	Workspace is being migrated between servers. See the `team_migration_started` event documentation for details.
`rtm_connect_required`	For large teams please use `rtm.connect` instead of `rtm.start`.
`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 when using a `bot` token.
`token_revoked`	Authentication token is for a deleted user or workspace or the app has been removed when using a `user` token.
`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 has been deprecated.
`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.
`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_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.
`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.
`accesslimited`	Access to this method is limited on the current network
`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
`member_list_truncated`	A `members` array included in a channel object was truncated at 1500 results. Use `conversations.members` to retrieve all results.
`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.

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