Slacka: lightweight CLI client for Slack (in Gawk)

SCREENSHOTS

Usage

  Maintenance: slacka                  init | auth | cfg | users
  New IM:      slacka                  newim <teamID> <userID>
  List chans:  slacka [ <channel> ]    chans
  Check new:   slacka                  new
  Read:        slacka   <channel>   [ <thread_id> ] 
  Write:       slacka   <channel>   [ <thread_id> ] "your message"
  React:       slacka   <channel>     <thread_id>   :<emoji>:
  Search:      slacka   <channel>                   "/search term/"
    My chans: ...

Setup:

1. First, run slacka init to create the config directory and dummy config file (~/.config/slacka/config.json)
2. Run slacka auth to get team ID and auth token (see OAuth Tokens, below)
3. Edit config.json with slacka cfg, adding the team and token
4. Run slacka users to read user names for the team. This caches the users’ real names for their user IDs (for all teams) in users.json. If you later see that some (new) users in a team are appearing as <UXXXXX> re-run slacka users to regenerate the cache.
5. Run slacka chans and edit config.json with slacka cfg, to add some channels. Note: DMs are treated just as other channels (DXXX and GXXX).
6. Run slacka new to create latest.json

Use:

• Plain slacka will give you help/usage and a list of available channels.
• To see the ten most recent threads in a channel/DM, and the initial post: slacka <channel>
• To read all replies in a thread: slacka <channel> <thread_id>, where <thread_id> is the numeric code in the status line for each thread (actually a time stamp).
• To post a new message to the channel (and to the DM): slacka <channel> "your message"
• To post a message to a thread: slacka <channel> <thread_id> "your message" (e.g.: slacka news 1610131196.000800 "I agree!")
• To check for new posts in the channel/DM, or new replies to the most recent post: slacka new.
• To search in a channel: slacka <channel> "/query terms/"
• To react: slacka <channel> <thread_id> :<emoji>:, where <emoji> is the standard emoji short_name

Frequent updates to config.json are needed in general use, adding DMs, channels, new teams, etc.

Installation

Dependencies

• gawk
• gawk-json (Build from source: gawkextlib, gawk-json, rapidJson) or: Arch AUR: gawk-json)
• curl

OAuth Tokens

You’ll need an App OAuth token from Slack. As far as I understand, the only way to get a token is via a registered App (https://api.slack.com/apps/). Once installed in a workspace, this App will appear in the Workspace ‘Apps’ list seen by team members and can be deinstalled by other users, or admins. (Note: in the following, ‘App’ refers to a Slack API App, that could do anything, and may be called anything, not to this specific slacka Gawk app.)

The easy way to get a token is to use the built-in slacka auth function. This uses the distributed (multi-workspace) App registered by the slacka author. Note that this App is not in the Slack App Directory, and not “approved” by Slack, and so some Workspaces may require the workspace admins to allow use of Slacka (depending on admin settings). If all is working well, you will redirected to a webapp that will give you a token.

The other way to get tokens is to register your own App. If for some reason the author’s Slacka app is deleted, then the built-in auth function will no longer work and you would need your own Slack App to get tokens. Your App may either be installed in a single Workspace, requiring several Apps if you have several Slack workspace, or you may “Distribute” a single App, with a few extra settings.

As of 2021-02-17, this is the procedure for creating your own App in a single workspace:

• Make sure you are logged into one of your Slack workspaces
• Visit https://api.slack.com/ and click on ‘Your Apps’ (top right)
• ‘Create New App’ and give it a name (anything) and pick a Workspace/Team. Note: you will need a new app for each Workspace/Team.
• ‘Add features and functionality’ -> ‘Permissions’ -> ‘Scopes’ -> ‘User Token Scopes’ -> ‘Add an OAuth Scope’ and add:
  • {channels & groups}:history (groups are prival channels)
  • {channels & groups}:read
  • users:read (see user names)
  • chat:write (for posting)
  • search:read (search)
  • reactions:write (reactions)
  • {im & mpim}:{read & history & write} (for DMs)
• ‘Install to Workspace’. Note that the Admins for your Workspace may have restricted users ability to add Apps, in which case you’ll need to ask ‘Request’ installation to Workspace. Also, free Slack plans only allow a maximum of 10 Apps.
• The OAuth page will then ask you if you want to Allow your app to access/perform various things
• You’ll be returned to the OAuth & Permissions page. Copy the OAuth token (which should begin with xoxp-...

The extra steps to Distribute your App (so you can use it in multiple workspaces) are:

• Add dummy redirect URL (e.g., https://example.com/path)
• Confirm hardcode review
• Distribute

Config file

Use slacka init or create manually:

• Create a directory ~/.config/slacka/
• Using the included config.json as a guide, create a minimal config file at ~/.config/slacka/config.json. You’ll need at least one team (id and token) and one channel (id and label). To get the ids, look at the URL of the Slack web-app: https://app.slack.com/client/TXXXXX/CXXXXXX; TXXXXX is the team id and CXXXXXX is the channel id.
• Once you have this file in place, slacka cfg will open this file for editing (with emacs).
• Scan available channels with slacka chans, and add them to the config file. The label is your shortcut for that channel. Labels must be unique across all teams.

slacka-notify

The included slacka-notify can be run in a cron job to run slacka new on a regular basis. It will trigger a desktop notification, via notify-send. Read file header for more info.

Privacy policy

This app runs as an independent program on your computer and gives no access to other users. The auth method uses a registered App’s client_secret to authorize the app for your workspaces via a webapp and provide you with an OAuth token; the webapp does not store this OAuth token. Other methods for obtaining an OAuth token exist (see above).