API object type

conversation

A conversation object contains information about a channel-like thing in Slack. It might be a public channel, a private channel, a direct message, a multi-person direct message, or a huddle. You'll find all of these objects throughout the Conversations API.

Example responses

An example response for the conversations.info method is as follows:

{
    "ok": true,
    "channel": {
        "id": "C123456",
        "name": "general",
        "is_channel": true,
        "is_group": false,
        "is_im": false,
        "is_mpim": false,
        "is_private": false,
        "created": 1449252889,
        "is_archived": false,
        "is_general": true,
        "unlinked": 0,
        "name_normalized": "general",
        "is_shared": false,
        "is_frozen": false,
        "is_org_shared": false,
        "is_pending_ext_shared": false,
        "pending_shared": [],
        "context_team_id": "T12345ABCDE",
        "updated": 1689965803820,
        "parent_conversation": null,
        "creator": "W123456",
        "is_ext_shared": false,
        "shared_team_ids": ["T12345ABCDE"],
        "pending_connected_team_ids": [],
        "is_member": true,
        "topic": {
            "value": "For public discussion of generalities",
            "creator": "W123456",
            "last_set": 1449709364
        },
        "purpose": {
            "value": "This part of the workspace is for fun. Make fun here.",
            "creator": "W123456",
            "last_set": 1449709364
        },
        "previous_names": [ "specifics", "abstractions", "etc" ],
    }
}

An example response for the conversations.history method is as follows:

{
   "ok": true,
    "messages": [
        {
            "type": "message",
            "text": "",
            "user": "USLACKBOT",
            "channel": "C12345ABCDE",
        "room": {
            "id": "R12345ABCDE",
            "name": "",
            "media_server": "",
            "created_by": "U12345ABCDE",
            "date_start": 1689964161,
            "date_end": 0,
            "participants": [],
            "participant_history": ["U12345ABCDE"],
            "participants_camera_on": [],
            "participants_camera_off": [],
            "participants_screenshare_on": [],
            "participants_screenshare_off": [],
            "canvas_thread_ts": "1689964161.419229",
            "thread_root_ts": "1689964161.419229",
            "channels": ["C12345ABCDE"],
            "is_dm_call": false,
            "was_rejected": false,
            "was_missed": false,
            "was_accepted": false,
            "has_ended": false,
            "background_id": "GRADIENT_03",
            "canvas_background": "GRADIENT_03",
            "is_prewarmed": false,
            "is_scheduled": false,
            "attached_file_ids": [],
            "media_backend_type": "free_willy",
            "display_id": "",
            "external_unique_id": "12345abc-123a-123b-123c-12345abcde7",
            "app_id": "A00",
            "call_family": "huddle",
            "pending_invitees": {},
            "last_invite_status_by_user": {}
        },
        "no_notifications": true,
        "permalink": "https://example.com",
        "subtype": "huddle_thread",
        "ts": "1689964161.419229",
        "blocks": [
                {
                    "type": "rich_text",
                    "block_id": "aBcDe",
                    "elements": [
                        {
                            "type": "rich_text_section",
                            "elements": [
                                {
                                    "type": "text",
                                    "text": "A huddle started"
                                }
                            ]
                        }
                    ]
                }
        ],
        "team": "T12345ABCDE"
        },
        // ...
}

Conversation-related booleans

Property Description
is_archived Indicates a conversation is archived, frozen in time.
is_channel Indicates whether a conversation is a channel. Private channels created before March 2021 (with IDs that begin with G) will return false, and is_group will be true instead. Use is_private to determine whether a channel is private or public.
is_ext_shared Indicates whether a conversation is part of a Shared Channel with a remote organization. Your app should make sure the data it shares in such a channel is appropriate for both workspaces. is_shared will also be true.
is_general Means the channel is the workspace's "general" discussion channel (even if it may not be named #general). That might be important to your app because almost every user is a member.
is_group Means the channel is a private channel created before March 2021. is_private will also be true.
is_im Means the conversation is a direct message between two distinguished individuals or a user and a bot. is_private will also be true.
is_member Indicates whether the user, bot user or Slack app associated with the token making the API call is itself a member of the conversation.
is_mpim Represents an unnamed private conversation between multiple users. is_private will also be true.
is_org_shared Indicates whether this shared channel is shared between Enterprise Grid workspaces within the same organization. It's a little different from (externally) Shared Channels, yet is_shared will be true.
is_pending_ext_shared Means the conversation is ready to become an is_ext_shared channel, but needs some kind of approval or sign off first. Best to treat it as if it were a shared channel, even if it traverses only one workspace.
is_private Means the conversation is privileged between two or more members. Ensure that you meet their privacy expectations.
is_read_only Means the conversation can't be written to by the user performing the API call.
is_shared Means the conversation is in some way shared between multiple workspaces. Look for is_ext_shared and is_org_shared to learn which kind it is, and if that matters, act accordingly.
is_thread_only Means the conversation can't be written to by the user performing the API call, except to reply to messages in the channel.
num_members The number of members in the conversation. num_members may not make an appearance in the response for conversation types like DMs, where the number of members is constant.

Other conversation-related attributes

Property Type Description
name String Indicates the name of the channel-like thing, without a leading hash sign. Don't get too attached to that name; it may change β€” instead, when working with channel-like things, focus on their IDs, their type, and the team/workspace they belong to.
creator String The ID of the member that created this conversation.
created Int Timestamp of when the conversation was created.
conversation_host_id String Appears on shared channel objects and indicates the "host" of the shared channel. The value may contain a workspace's ID (beginning with T) or an Enterprise Grid organization's ID (beginning with E).
topic String Provides information about the channel topic.
purpose String Provides information about the channel purpose.
updated Int The timestamp, in milliseconds, when the channel settings were updated β€” for example, the "topic" or "description" of the channel changed.

Some API methods; for example, conversations.join, can include extra state information for channels when the calling user is a member:

Property Type Description
last_read Int The timestamp for the last message the calling user has read in this channel.
unread_count Int A full count of visible messages that the calling user has yet to read.
unread_count_display Int A count of messages that the calling user has yet to read that matter to them (excludes things like join/leave messages).
latest String The latest message in the channel.

These channel objects are not the same object type as those for private channels created before March 2021, which are considered group objects.