barkleesanders-you/slack-mcp-openai-guide

Slack MCP Server → OpenAI GPT Integration Guide

Connect your Slack workspace to OpenAI's ChatGPT in 5 minutes!

Ask ChatGPT questions about your Slack:

• "List my Slack channels"
• "Show me recent messages from #general"
• "Search for messages about 'project' this week"
• "What's the latest in #engineering?"

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Slack workspace with a User OAuth token (xoxp-...)
• OpenAI ChatGPT account
• ngrok installed
• Slack MCP Server

1. Get Your Slack Token

Go to https://api.slack.com/apps

1. Select your app (or create one)
2. Go to OAuth & Permissions
3. Copy User OAuth Token (starts with xoxp-)

2. Setup MCP Server

# Clone the Slack MCP Server
git clone https://github.com/korotovsky/slack-mcp-server
cd slack-mcp-server

# Generate API key
openssl rand -base64 32

# Create .env file
cat > .env << 'ENVFILE'
SLACK_MCP_XOXP_TOKEN=xoxp-YOUR-TOKEN-HERE
SLACK_MCP_PORT=13080
SLACK_MCP_HOST=0.0.0.0
SLACK_MCP_API_KEY=YOUR-GENERATED-API-KEY-HERE
SLACK_MCP_LOG_LEVEL=info
ENVFILE

# Build and start server
make build
./build/slack-mcp-server --transport sse &

3. Expose with ngrok

ngrok http 13080

Copy the HTTPS URL (e.g., https://abc123.ngrok-free.app)

4. Connect to OpenAI

1. Go to https://platform.openai.com/chat/edit?models=gpt-5
2. Click "Connect to MCP Server"
3. Fill in:

4. Click Connect

5. Test It!

Ask ChatGPT: "List my Slack channels"

🎉 You should see your Slack channels!

Documentation

• - Detailed 5-minute setup
• - All configuration options
• - Common issues and fixes
• - Working configuration examples

What You Get

MCP Tools Available in ChatGPT

Once connected, ChatGPT can:

1. List channels - channels_list
2. Read messages - conversations_history
3. Read threads - conversations_replies
4. Search messages - conversations_search_messages

Example Queries

"Show me messages from #engineering today"
"Search for messages mentioning 'deadline' this week"
"What are people discussing in #general?"
"Summarize activity in the #marketing channel"

Architecture

┌─────────────┐         ┌──────────────┐         ┌─────────────┐
│   ChatGPT   │────────>│    ngrok     │────────>│  MCP Server │
│   (OpenAI)  │  HTTPS  │   (public)   │  local  │ (localhost) │
└─────────────┘         └──────────────┘         └─────────────┘
                                                          │
                                                          │ Slack API
                                                          ▼
                                                   ┌─────────────┐
                                                   │    Slack    │
                                                   │  Workspace  │
                                                   └─────────────┘

Security Notes

⚠️ Keep these private:

• Your Slack token (xoxp-...)
• Your MCP API key (SLACK_MCP_API_KEY)
• Your ngrok URL (publicly accessible with the API key)

Anyone with URL + API key = Full Slack access!

Files in This Repository

├── README.md                    # This file - quick start
├── QUICKSTART.md               # Detailed step-by-step guide
├── CONFIGURATION.md            # All config options explained
├── TROUBLESHOOTING.md          # Common problems and solutions
├── EXAMPLE-CONFIG.md           # Working configuration examples
└── examples/
    ├── .env.example            # Template .env file
    └── working-setup.md        # Real-world working setup

Related Projects

• Slack MCP Server - The MCP server (Go)
• Model Context Protocol - MCP specification
• OpenAI API - OpenAI platform

Contributing

Found an issue or want to improve this guide?

1. Fork this repository
2. Make your changes
3. Submit a pull request

Support

• Issues: Open an issue in this repository
• Slack MCP Server: https://github.com/korotovsky/slack-mcp-server/issues
• MCP Docs: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details

Built with: Slack MCP Server, OpenAI GPT, ngrok

Last Updated: October 2024

Status: ✅ Working and tested