Connect Slack so Dosu can learn from your channel messages and threads and answer questions that your team already asks. This page covers what connecting Slack gives you, the required plan, how to connect Slack, and what Dosu does with the data.
What connecting Slack gives you#
A connected Slack workspace is a Source in Dosu. Dosu indexes the messages and threads in the channels you connect, and that conversation history becomes part of the Library's knowledge.
Two things follow from that:
- Preserve team knowledge. Decisions, workarounds, and answers that live in Slack threads get pulled into a Library, so the context survives as long as the organization's retention policy allows. (By default, Slack content is preserved indefinitely; enterprise organizations can configure a retention window — see below.)
- Answer where people already ask. With a Slack Agent in a channel, your team mentions
@Dosuand gets an answer grounded in your connected Sources (Slack history, GitHub, and anything else in the Library), without leaving the conversation.
A Slack Source is also referenced when Dosu answers elsewhere, so a question asked in GitHub or in Chat can draw on what was discussed in Slack.
Availability and prerequisites#
- Generally available. Slack is selectable in the app today.
- Requires the Teams plan. Connecting Slack is gated behind the Teams plan. For what is included and how to upgrade, see the pricing page or Settings, Organization, Billing.
- You need a Slack workspace and permission to install apps in it, plus admin or owner access in Dosu to create or change a Library.
How to connect#
Slack is added as a Source inside a Library.
- Open or create a Library at Libraries. Sources, Documents, Topics, and settings live inside it.
- In the Library, add a Source and choose Slack. If the Dosu app is not yet installed in your workspace, you are sent to Slack's authorization page. Select the workspace to install Dosu on and authorize access.
- Back in Dosu, select the Slack channel you want to connect.
- For each Slack Source attached to a Library, set the two toggles:
- Read lets Dosu reference the channel when answering and writing.
- Monitor watches the channel for changes worth documenting.
To answer questions in Slack, you also create a Slack Agent. The fastest way is to mention @Dosu in any channel once the app is installed, then pick which Library the Agent should use. You can also create and tune one from Agents. See Agents for reply modes and review behavior.
What Dosu does with it#
When you connect a Slack channel, Dosu backfills its history (up to 1000 thread roots) so existing conversations join the Library's knowledge, then keeps indexing new messages and threads as they arrive. That knowledge is used to answer questions in Slack, in GitHub, in Chat, and through the Dosu MCP Server.
You stay in control of what Dosu posts. Depending on the Agent's reply mode, drafts can go through Review before they post.
The ⏳ (hourglass) reaction#
When you mention @Dosu in a channel, Dosu adds a ⏳ (hourglass) reaction to your message to confirm it has seen it and is working on a response. The ⏳ is an acknowledgment, not the answer itself, and Dosu removes it once the run finishes. Treat it as a live "working on it" signal rather than a permanent mark.
What you will typically see:
- ⏳ showing. Dosu is processing your message right now.
- ⏳ cleared, reply posted. Dosu finished and answered. This is the normal case.
- ⏳ cleared, no reply. Dosu looked but decided not to post, for example the Agent is in Auto Draft mode, the reply was held for Review, or it judged it could not add value. This is expected, not an error.
- ⏳ stuck with no reply. The run most likely failed before it could finish. Re-mention
@Dosu, and if it keeps happening, reach out to Dosu.
On GitHub, Dosu uses a 👀 (eyes) reaction for the same acknowledgment.
Slack data retention policy (enterprise)#
Enterprise organizations can configure a per-org Slack data retention policy that controls how long Slack content remains accessible in Dosu. This feature is designed for customers who must comply with workspace retention policies and cannot have Slack content surfaced beyond their retention window.
Setting the policy — Owners and admins configure the retention period in Settings → Organization → General under "Slack data retention." Set the policy to a number of days, or leave it unset (NULL) to preserve Slack content indefinitely.
How it works — The retention policy is non-destructive and enforced at read-time. Message rows are kept in the database, but expired content is redacted wherever it would be surfaced to users. When retention is enabled, Slack messages and threads older than the configured window will not appear in search results, thread views, or other content displays. Agents and other surfaces see a notice indicating the content has been archived due to retention.
Default behavior — By default (retention not set), Dosu preserves Slack history indefinitely. The retention policy is opt-in.
Notes and limits#
- The backfill covers up to 1000 thread roots per channel, so very old history beyond that is not pulled in.
- Direct messages with Dosu work too. The first time you DM Dosu, it sets up a private Agent for that conversation, replies automatically, and ties the chat to your linked Dosu account. Switch the Library a DM uses with the
/dosu selectcommand. - Connect each channel you want Dosu to learn from. Channels are not added automatically.