A block_actions payload is received when a user interacts with a Block Kit interactive component.
Read our guide to handling payloads from user interactions to learn how your app should process and respond to these payloads.
Different interactive components will cause an interaction payload to be sent at different moments:
| Component | Payload sent |
|---|---|
button |
When the button is clicked. |
checkboxes |
When a checkbox is ticked or unticked. |
datepicker |
When a date is chosen and the date picker closes. |
multi_*_select |
Each time an item is chosen from the multi-select menu. |
overflow |
When an item from the overflow menu is clicked. |
plain_text_input |
Determined by the dispatch_action_config field in the element. |
radio |
When the selected radio in a group of radio buttons is changed. |
*_select |
When an item is chosen from the select menu. |
rich_text_input |
Determined by the dispatch_action_config field in the element. |
Deselecting the currently selected option of a Block Kit static option will return a null value. For more information about select menu elements, refer to select menu of static options.
To send this block_actions payload for interactive components used within input blocks, you can set dispatch_action to true in those input blocks. They are included in view_submission payloads as well.
This is a list of some properties that can be encountered in this type of interaction payload:
Properties received in a block_actions event may differ based on the source of the interactive elements. A check in the column means that property is included in a block_actions event sent to a function, a non-function, or both. Functions refer to next generation Slack apps.
| Property | Functions | Non-Functions | Description | Required? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
type |
β | β | Helps identify which type of interactive component sent the payload; An interactive element in a block will have a type of block_actions, whereas an interactive element in a message attachment will have a type of interactive_message. |
Yes |
trigger_id |
β | β | A short-lived ID that can be used to open modals. | Yes |
user |
β | β | The user who interacted to trigger this request. | Yes |
team |
β | β | The workspace the app is installed on. Null if the app is org-installed. | Yes |
container |
β | β | The container where this block action took place. | Yes |
api_app_id |
β | β | A string representing the app ID. | Yes |
actions.block_id |
β | β | Identifies the block within a surface that contained the interactive component that was used. See the reference guide for the block you're using for more info on the block_id field. |
Yes |
actions.action_id |
β | β | Identifies the interactive component itself. Some blocks can contain multiple interactive components, so the block_id alone may not be specific enough to identify the source component. See the reference guide for the interactive element you're using for more info on the action_id field. |
Yes |
actions.value |
β | β | Set by your app when you composed the blocks, this is the value that was specified in the interactive component when an interaction happened. For example, a select menu will have multiple possible values depending on what the user picks from the menu, and value will identify the chosen option. See the reference guide for the interactive element you're using for more info on the value field. |
Yes |
token |
β | Represents a deprecated verification token feature. You should validate the request payload, however, and the best way to do so is to use the signing secret provided to your app. | Yes | |
hash |
β | β | A unique value that is optionally accepted in views.update and views.publish API calls. When provided to those APIs, the hash is validated such that only the most recent view can be updated. This should be used to ensure the correct view is being updated when updates are happening asynchronously. |
Yes |
function_data |
β | Metadata about the function execution that generated the block where this block action took place. | Yes | |
interactivity |
β | An interactivity object generated as a result of the block action. | Yes | |
bot_access_token |
β | A workflow (just-in-time) token generated for this block action. | Yes | |
enterprise |
β | β | The enterprise the installed app is part of, if the app is either workspace-installed on an org, or org-installed. | No |
channel |
β | β | The channel where this block action took place. | No |
message |
β | β | The message where this block action took place, if the block was contained in a message. | No |
view |
β | β | The view where this block action took place, if the block was contained in a view. | No |
actions |
β | β | Contains data from the specific interactive component that was used. App surfaces can contain blocks with multiple interactive components, and each of those components can have multiple values selected by users. | No |
state |
β | β | A property including all stateful elements, not just input blocks. | No |
response_url |
β | (Deprecated for next generation Slack apps) A short-lived webhook that can be used to send messages in response to interactions. | No |
If a user doesn't interact with a form field β for example, they don't select a value from a drop-down field on a modal β the value of that field is returned as None.
A payload from an interactive component used in a message:
{
"type": "block_actions",
"team": {
"id": "T9TK3CUKW",
"domain": "example"
},
"user": {
"id": "UA8RXUSPL",
"username": "jtorrance",
"team_id": "T9TK3CUKW"
},
"api_app_id": "AABA1ABCD",
"token": "9s8d9as89d8as9d8as989",
"container": {
"type": "message_attachment",
"message_ts": "1548261231.000200",
"attachment_id": 1,
"channel_id": "CBR2V3XEX",
"is_ephemeral": false,
"is_app_unfurl": false
},
"trigger_id": "12321423423.333649436676.d8c1bb837935619ccad0f624c448ffb3",
"channel": {
"id": "CBR2V3XEX",
"name": "review-updates"
},
"message": {
"bot_id": "BAH5CA16Z",
"type": "message",
"text": "This content can't be displayed.",
"user": "UAJ2RU415",
"ts": "1548261231.000200",
...
},
"response_url": "https://hooks.slack.com/actions/AABA1ABCD/1232321423432/D09sSasdasdAS9091209",
"actions": [
{
"action_id": "WaXA",
"block_id": "=qXel",
"text": {
"type": "plain_text",
"text": "View",
"emoji": true
},
"value": "click_me_123",
"type": "button",
"action_ts": "1548426417.840180"
}
]
}
A payload from an interactive component used in a Home tab:
{
"type":"block_actions",
"team":{
"id": "T9TK3CUKW",
"domain": "example"
},
"user":{
"id": "UA8RXUSPL",
"username": "jtorrance",
"name": "jtorrance",
"team_id": "T9TK3CUKW"
},
"api_app_id":"AABA1ABCD",
"token":"9s8d9as89d8as9d8as989",
"container":{
"type":"view",
"view_id":"V0PKB1ZFV"
},
"trigger_id":"24571818370.22717085937.b9c7ca14b87be6b44ff5864edba8306f",
"view":{
"id":"V0PKB1ZFV",
"team_id":"T9TK3CUKW",
"type":"home",
"blocks":[
{
"type":"section",
"block_id":"8ZG",
"text":{
"type":"mrkdwn",
"text":"A stack of blocks for the simple sample Block Kit Home tab.",
"verbatim":false
}
},
{
"type":"actions",
"block_id":"7fhg",
"elements":[
{
"type":"button",
"action_id":"XRX",
"text":{
"type":"plain_text",
"text":"Action A",
"emoji":true
}
},
{
"type":"button",
"action_id":"GFBew",
"text":{
"type":"plain_text",
"text":"Action B",
"emoji":true
}
}
]
},
{
"type":"section",
"block_id":"6evU",
"text":{
"type":"mrkdwn",
"text":"And now it's slightly more complex.",
"verbatim":false
}
}
],
"private_metadata":"",
"callback_id":"",
"state":{
"values":{}
},
"hash":"1571318366.2468e46f",
"clear_on_close":false,
"notify_on_close":false,
"close":null,
"submit":null,
"previous_view_id":null,
"root_view_id":"V0PKB1ZFV",
"app_id":"AABA1ABCD",
"external_id":"",
"app_installed_team_id":"T9TK3CUKW",
"bot_id":"B0B00B00"
},
"actions":[
{
"type":"button",
"block_id":"7fhg",
"action_id":"XRX",
"text":{
"type":"plain_text",
"text":"Action A",
"emoji":true
},
"action_ts":"1571318425.267782"
}
]
}