Slack App Scaffold

Bolt for JavaScript + Slack CLI is the 2026 default. Optimize for fast local runs, clear handlers, and safe deploys.

Stack (Default)

• Runtime: Node.js (LTS)

• Framework: @slack/bolt

• Tooling: Slack CLI (slack )

• Config: Slack manifest via CLI-generated project

Core CLI Commands

Create new Slack app project

slack create my-slack-app

Run locally (socket mode / dev env)

cd my-slack-app slack run

Deploy to Slack-hosted runtime / target env

slack deploy

Workflow (CLI-First)

• Identify integration points in existing functionality.

• Scaffold app with slack create .

• Model capabilities in the manifest (scopes, events, commands, interactivity).

• Implement handlers in Bolt (events, commands, actions, views/modals).

• Run locally with slack run and validate in a dev workspace.

• Deploy with slack deploy .

Project Structure (Typical)

my-slack-app/ ├── app/ │ ├── app.js # Bolt app bootstrap │ ├── listeners/ # Events, commands, actions, views │ ├── services/ # Integration layer to existing functionality │ └── middleware/ # Auth, validation, shared guards ├── manifest.json # Slack app manifest (CLI-managed) ├── package.json └── README.md

Design rule: keep Slack handlers thin; push real work into services/ .

Common Use Cases

• Notifications: post messages from existing jobs or webhooks.

• Slash commands: wrap existing scripts or APIs behind /commands .

• Workflows: compose multi-step flows with Slack-native triggers.

• Modals: collect structured input, then call existing systems.

Implementation Notes

• Map each Slack surface to one listener module.

• Normalize inputs at the edge; pass clean DTOs inward.

• Acknowledge fast (ack() ), then do work.

• Centralize Slack Web API calls behind a small service.

See references/bolt-patterns.md for concrete patterns.

Verification Steps

1) Install deps

npm install

2) Run locally

slack run

3) Lint/test if present

npm test

4) Deploy

slack deploy

Manual checks in Slack workspace:

• Trigger each command or event once.

• Validate permissions/scopes match what handlers need.

• Confirm errors surface as user-visible messages, not silent failures.