Slack Channel Exporter

A professional Python tool to export all messages and thread replies from a Slack channel, saving results in both JSONL and CSV formats. Perfect for data analysis, archiving, or migration projects.

🚀 Features

• Complete Channel Export: Fetches all messages from a specified Slack channel
• Thread Support: Exports all thread replies for each parent message
• Dual Format Output: Automatically saves data in both JSONL and CSV formats
• Environment-Based Security: Uses .env files for secure credential management
• Rate Limit Handling: Built-in delays to respect Slack API rate limits
• Error Handling: Robust error handling for API failures and network issues

📁 Project Structure

slack-scraper/
├── data/                   # Exported files (gitignored)
│   ├── <CHANNEL_ID>.jsonl  # Main channel messages
│   ├── <CHANNEL_ID>.csv    # CSV version of messages
│   ├── <CHANNEL_ID>_threads.jsonl  # Thread replies
│   └── <CHANNEL_ID>_threads.csv    # CSV version of threads
├── scripts/
│   └── slack_channel_export.py     # Main export script
├── requirements.txt        # Python dependencies
├── .env.example           # Environment variables template
├── .gitignore            # Git ignore rules
└── README.md             # This file

🛠️ Prerequisites

Before using this tool, you need:

1. Slack App with Bot Token:

   • Create a Slack app at https://api.slack.com/apps
   • Add a bot user to your app
   • Install the app to your workspace
   • Get your bot token (starts with xoxb-)

2. Required Bot Scopes:

   • channels:history - Read channel messages
   • groups:history - Read private channel messages (if needed)
   • im:history - Read direct messages (if needed)
   • mpim:history - Read group DMs (if needed)

3. Channel ID:

   • Right-click on the channel in Slack
   • Select "Copy link" and extract the channel ID from the URL
   • Or use the Slack API to list channels

⚙️ Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Oscarski/slack-scraper.git
   cd slack-scraper

2. Install Python dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Set up environment variables:

   cp .env.example .env

4. Edit .env with your credentials:

   SLACK_TOKEN=xoxb-your-actual-bot-token-here
   CHANNEL_ID=your-channel-id-here

🚀 Usage

Quick Start

Run the export script:

python scripts/slack_channel_export.py

This will:

• Fetch all messages from your specified channel
• Export thread replies for each parent message
• Save results in both JSONL and CSV formats
• Create files in the data/ directory

Output Files

The script generates four files in the data/ directory:

File	Description	Format
<CHANNEL_ID>.jsonl	Main channel messages	JSON Lines
<CHANNEL_ID>.csv	Main channel messages	CSV
<CHANNEL_ID>_threads.jsonl	Thread replies only	JSON Lines
<CHANNEL_ID>_threads.csv	Thread replies only	CSV

Example Output

JSONL format (one JSON object per line):

{"type":"message","user":"U1234567890","text":"Hello world!","ts":"1234567890.123456","thread_ts":"1234567890.123456"}
{"type":"message","user":"U0987654321","text":"This is a reply","ts":"1234567891.123456","thread_ts":"1234567890.123456"}

CSV format (comma-separated values):

type,user,text,ts,thread_ts
message,U1234567890,"Hello world!",1234567890.123456,1234567890.123456
message,U0987654321,"This is a reply",1234567891.123456,1234567890.123456

🔧 Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Example
SLACK_TOKEN	Your Slack bot token	xoxb-1234567890-abcdef...
CHANNEL_ID	Target channel ID	C1234567890

Rate Limiting

The script includes built-in rate limiting to respect Slack's API limits:

• 1-second delay between API calls
• Automatic handling of rate limit errors
• Configurable limits in the script

🔒 Security Best Practices

• ✅ Use environment variables for sensitive data
• ✅ Never commit .env files to version control
• ✅ Use bot tokens instead of user tokens
• ✅ Limit bot permissions to only what's needed
• ❌ Don't hardcode tokens in your code
• ❌ Don't share tokens in public repositories

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"invalid_auth" error:

• Check that your SLACK_TOKEN is correct and starts with xoxb-
• Verify the bot has the required scopes
• Ensure the bot is installed in your workspace

"channel_not_found" error:

• Verify the CHANNEL_ID is correct
• Check that the bot has access to the channel
• For private channels, ensure the bot was added

Rate limiting errors:

• The script handles this automatically, but you can increase delays if needed
• Check your Slack app's rate limits in the API dashboard

Debug Mode

Add debug prints to see what's happening:

# In slack_channel_export.py, add:
print(f"Token: {SLACK_TOKEN[:10]}...")  # Shows first 10 chars
print(f"Channel: {CHANNEL_ID}")

📊 Data Analysis

The exported data can be used for:

• Message analytics and engagement metrics
• Content analysis and sentiment analysis
• User activity patterns and participation rates
• Thread analysis and conversation flows
• Data migration to other platforms

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

👨‍💻 Author

Oskar Kościanski

• GitHub: @Oscarski

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built with slack-sdk
• Uses python-dotenv for environment management
• Inspired by the need for better Slack data export tools

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⚠️ Important: Always respect Slack's Terms of Service and API usage guidelines when using this tool.