Set up Scout for Slack

Scout for Slack is an edge adapter: Slack receives requests and renders results; the local Scout broker and harness own reasoning, tools, conversations, and flights. Never add an LLM loop, Vercel Chat SDK, or Bolt as the installer/core.

Availability: Scout for Slack is a private preview. packages/slack and the bun run slack:* scripts exist only in the private OpenScout source; the public oscout/scout repository and the installed scout CLI do not include them. If the checkout has no packages/slack, stop and ask the operator for source access. Do not substitute another Slack bridge.

Required workflow

Follow these steps in order and stop at a failed gate.

1. Ask the operator through the host's real needs_input / operator-attention mechanism whether they administer the target Slack workspace. Do not infer this and do not substitute a company workspace they cannot administer. Stop if the answer is no; they need a personal/administered workspace.

2. Verify the Scout broker first with scout doctor (or the repo's equivalent).

3. From the OpenScout repo, generate the canonical Socket Mode manifest:

   bash

   bun run slack:manifest > /tmp/openscout-slack-manifest.json
   bun -e 'const m=await Bun.file("/tmp/openscout-slack-manifest.json").text(); console.log(`https://api.slack.com/apps?new_app=1&manifest_json=${encodeURIComponent(m)}`)'

   Open the printed URL only after the operator agrees. The manifest source is packages/slack/src/manifest.ts; do not hand-edit a divergent manifest.

4. Tell the operator to click Create, then Install to Workspace, in that order. Slack requires this human workspace-admin approval.

5. Collect both secrets through needs_input / operator attention, never by asking the operator to export them in an unrelated shell:

   • xapp-…: Basic Information → App-Level Tokens → create/generate a token with connections:write.
   • xoxb-…: OAuth & Permissions → Bot User OAuth Token, after install.

6. Never commit, log, echo, screenshot, or place either token in state.json. Prefer macOS Keychain or an existing OpenScout secret facility. If a local file is unavoidable, keep it outside git under ~/Library/Application Support/OpenScout/slack/, set directory mode 700 and file mode 600, and ensure the bridge receives the values as SLACK_APP_TOKEN and SLACK_BOT_TOKEN environment variables. Do not put literal tokens in a LaunchAgent plist.

7. With the broker healthy and both environment variables present, run:

   bash

   bun run slack:doctor
   bun run slack:start

   Report doctor output without secrets. Keep slack:start supervised in a durable local process if the operator wants it to survive the shell.

8. In Slack, invite Scout to applicable channels. Use /scout-settings to set project, branch, and optional harness, or set single-project fallbacks with OPENSCOUT_SLACK_DEFAULT_PROJECT, OPENSCOUT_SLACK_DEFAULT_BRANCH, and OPENSCOUT_SLACK_DEFAULT_HARNESS.

Boundaries

• The canonical app uses Socket Mode, app_mention and message.im, plus /scout-settings; no public webhook or hosted relay is required.
• Do not present Slack as --harness slack; it is a host surface.
• Do not add Slack Agents/assistant events, hosted Add to Slack, or automated config-token/OAuth flows unless the task explicitly expands scope.
• Computer use is opt-in last-mile assistance only (for example clicking Generate Token). It is not the installer, must not become daily Chrome automation, and must never scrape credentials into a transcript.
• If blocked on a click or secret, emit an explicit operator-attention request with the exact next UI location; never wait silently.

Completion report

Return changed files, commands/checks run, sanitized doctor output, and the single exact human action still required, if any.