Help · Connect to Slack

Connect OhhChats to your Slack

The fastest way is one click: hit Add to Slack, pick the channel you want your website chats to land in, and approve. That's it — no copying tokens or codes. Takes under a minute.

Prefer to set it up by hand? You can still connect manually with a bot token and channel ID — see Manual setup further down.

What you'll need

  • Permission to add an app to your Slack workspace.
  • Slack open in your browser or desktop app.
  • An OhhChats account with a live chat created.

You may need workspace admin rights to install the app, depending on your Slack settings.

1. Add to Slack (recommended)

This is the one-click way to connect. OhhChats handles the setup for you — you just approve it.

  1. Open your live chat and click Connect Slack

    In OhhChats, open the live chat you want to connect and click Connect Slack.

    OhhChats live chat with the Connect Slack button
    Click Connect Slack

  2. Click “Add to Slack”

    Click the Add to Slack button. You'll be taken to Slack to approve the connection.

    The Add to Slack button in OhhChats
    The Add to Slack button

  3. Choose your channel and approve

    Slack will ask which workspace and channel OhhChats can post to — pick the channel where you want your website chats to land (for example #chat-support). Then click Allow.

    If the channel doesn't exist yet, create it in Slack first (a public channel is simplest), then come back and connect.

    Slack's workspace and channel picker with the Allow button
    Pick your channel, then Allow

  4. You're connected

    Slack sends you straight back to your OhhChats dashboard with the connection confirmed. No tokens to copy, nothing to paste.

    You'll see the channel you picked shown as a link right there in the Connect Slack step — with a # for a public channel or a 🔒 for a private one. Click it any time to jump straight to that channel in Slack. That link is your sign the connection worked. Skip ahead to send a test message.

    OhhChats showing the Slack connection confirmed, with the channel shown as a link
    Connected — your channel shows as a link
Replies go both waysYour team replies right inside the Slack channel and the visitor sees it in the chat widget — no separate inbox to manage.

2. Manual setup

Only need this if you'd rather not use one-click — for example, if your workspace blocks app installs and an admin sets things up for you. You'll create your own Slack app, then copy two values into OhhChats: a bot token and a channel ID.

Find your bot token

A bot token is the secret that lets OhhChats post and read messages in your Slack on your behalf.

  1. Open Slack's app dashboard

    Go to api.slack.com/apps and sign in with the same Slack workspace you want OhhChats to use.

    Slack API website: the Your Apps dashboard with the Create New App button
    Slack “Your Apps” dashboard

  2. Create the app

    Click Create New App → From scratch. Give it a name — we'll use Chat Support — and choose your workspace.

    Slack: the Create an app dialog choosing From scratch and selecting a workspace
    Create-app dialog

  3. Add the two permissions

    In the left menu open OAuth & Permissions, scroll to Scopes → Bot Token Scopes, and add exactly these two scopes. (“Scopes” are the specific things the app is allowed to do.)

    • chat:write — lets the bot post messages into your channel.
    • channels:history — Required so the team's replies make it back to the visitor — don't skip it.
    Slack OAuth and Permissions page: adding Bot Token Scopes
    Bot Token Scopes

  4. Install the app to your workspace

    Still on OAuth & Permissions, click Install to Workspace and approve the access screen.

    You can ignore the token rotation and redirect URL settings on this page — they don't apply to manual setup. Leave them switched off.

  5. Copy your bot token

    Once you click Allow on the install screen, the OAuth & Permissions page shows your Bot User OAuth Token — it starts with xoxb-. Copy it. Treat it like a password and don't share it.

    Use the Bot User OAuth Token (xoxb-) — not the App-Level xapp- or user xoxp- token.

    Slack OAuth and Permissions page: the Bot User OAuth Token with a Copy button
    Copy the bot token

Find your channel ID

The channel ID tells OhhChats which Slack channel your website chats should land in. It's a short code that looks like C0123ABCD.

  1. Open the channel

    In Slack, click the channel you want chats to go to — for example #chat-support. If you don't have one yet, create it first (a public channel is simplest).

    Slack: the #chat-support channel open in the workspace
    Your chosen channel, open

  2. Open the details and copy the Channel ID

    Click the channel name at the very top to open the details panel. Then in the About tab, scroll to the bottom and click Copy next to Channel ID.

    Slack: the channel details About tab with the Channel ID and its Copy button at the bottom
    Channel details → Channel ID

Alternative: copy the channel link

No details panel? In the left sidebar, right-click the channel and choose Copy link. The link ends in …/archives/C0123ABCD — the part starting with C is your channel ID.

Slack: right-click a channel in the sidebar and choose Copy link; the channel ID is the C segment of the URL
Right-click → Copy link
Important — invite the botThe bot must be a member of the channel or it can't post or read replies. Open #chat-support and send /invite @Chat Support (that's the app you created earlier).

Add them to OhhChats

  1. Paste your Bot Token and Channel ID

    In OhhChats, open your live chat and click Connect Slack, then Enter a bot token manually. Paste the xoxb- token into the Bot Token field and the C… code into the Channel ID field, then save.

    OhhChats: the Connect Slack screen with the Bot Token and Channel ID fields
    Bot Token + Channel ID
    OhhChats showing the Slack connection saved successfully
    Saved — connection confirmed

3. Send a test message

Open the chat widget on your website and send a message — it should appear in your chosen Slack channel within a second. Reply from the Slack channel and the visitor should see it appear in the widget.

Troubleshooting

The “Add to Slack” button didn't connect

Make sure you finished the approval in Slack (clicked Allow on the permission screen). When it works, you'll come back to your dashboard and see your channel shown as a link in the Connect Slack step — if you don't see that link, the connection didn't finish. Head back to Connect Slack and try Add to Slack again. If your workspace blocks app installs, ask an admin to approve it, or use manual setup instead.

I don't have admin on Slack

You may need workspace admin rights to install the app, depending on your Slack settings. Ask a workspace admin to run the Add to Slack step, or to do the manual setup for you.

My token doesn't work (manual setup)

Use the Bot User OAuth Token that starts with xoxb- — not the App-Level (xapp-) or user (xoxp-) token — and make sure the app is installed to the same workspace as your channel.

OhhChats can't see my channel / can't post (manual setup)

The bot must be a member of the channel. Open #chat-support and run /invite @Chat Support.

Messages aren't arriving

Confirm the connection is saved, then send a fresh test message. For manual setup, double-check the channel ID starts with C and the app is installed and invited to the channel.

Need to remove a live chat instead? See How to delete a live chat widget.

Still stuck? Email hello@ohhchat.com and we'll help you connect.