Slack Lens

Browser-based Slack channel viewer for research, with SSO support.

Installation

cd slack-lens

# Install as a uv tool (adds slack-lens to your PATH)
uv tool install -e .

# Install required browser
slack-lens setup

Alternatively, for development:

uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate
uv pip install -e .
slack-lens setup

Quick Start

1. Authenticate

slack-lens -w your-workspace auth

This opens a browser window where you can log in via SSO. The session and workspace are saved for future use — you won't need to specify -w again.

2. List Channels

slack-lens channels

3. View/Save a Channel

# Save all messages from #general (including images)
slack-lens archive general

# Save with filters
slack-lens archive engineering --since 2026-01-01 --no-threads --skip-files

# Save as compact text instead of JSON
slack-lens archive general --format txt

4. Search Saved Content

Search operates offline against previously archived data — it does not contact Slack. You must run archive first to download messages before searching.

slack-lens search "migration bug" --channel engineering --since 2026-04-01

5. Clean Cached Data

# Remove everything (auth + saved data)
slack-lens clean

# Remove only auth/session data
slack-lens clean auth

# Remove only saved channel data
slack-lens clean archives

Global Options

These flags apply to all subcommands and must be placed before the subcommand name:

• -w, --workspace - Slack workspace name (e.g., my-company for my-company.slack.com). Defaults to the last authenticated workspace.
• -v, --verbose - Enable verbose (debug) logging. Shows DOM diagnostics, scroll positions, and other internal details.
• --version - Show version number

slack-lens -w my-company -v archive general --since 2026-01-01

Commands

auth

Authenticate with Slack workspace via browser.

slack-lens -w <workspace-name> auth

Options:

• --force - Force re-authentication even if session exists

After first authentication, the workspace becomes the default for all commands.

channels

List available channels in the workspace.

slack-lens channels

archive

Save a specific channel's messages locally.

slack-lens archive <channel-name> [options]

Options:

• --since YYYY-MM-DD - Messages from this date forward
• --until YYYY-MM-DD - Messages up to this date
• --no-threads - Skip thread replies (threads are included by default)
• --skip-files - Skip file/image downloads
• --file-pattern REGEX - Only download files matching pattern
• --format {json,txt,both} - Output format (default: json). txt produces a compact human-readable log; both saves both formats side by side

Images and files are downloaded to archives/<channel-name>/files/.

search

Search previously archived content offline (does not contact Slack).

slack-lens search <query> [options]

Options:

• --channel NAME - Limit search to specific channel
• --user NAME - Filter by message author
• --since YYYY-MM-DD - Only search messages after date
• --until YYYY-MM-DD - Only search messages before date
• --with-files - Only show messages with attachments
• --threads-only - Only show messages with replies

clean

Remove cached authentication and/or saved data.

slack-lens clean [target]

Targets:

• auth - Remove only authentication/session data
• archives - Remove only saved channel data
• all - Remove both (this is the default when no target is given)

Configuration

Configuration can be set via environment variables (prefix: SLACK_LENS_) or a .env file.

Available settings:

• AUTH_FILE - Path to authentication file (default: ~/.slack-lens/slack_auth.json)
• ARCHIVES_DIR - Directory for saved data (default: ./archives)
• HEADLESS - Run browser headless (default: true, except for auth)
• PAGE_SCROLL_DELAY - Delay between scrolls in seconds (default: 1.5)

Data Format

Channel data is stored as JSON files in the archives/ directory, one file per channel. Images and files are downloaded to archives/<channel>/files/.

{
  "channel_id": "C123456",
  "channel_name": "general",
  "archived_at": "2026-05-06T10:00:00Z",
  "workspace": "my-company",
  "messages": [
    {
      "id": "msg-123",
      "timestamp": "2026-05-06T09:30:00Z",
      "user": "U456",
      "user_name": "John Doe",
      "text": "Message content",
      "thread_ts": null,
      "replies": [],
      "files": [
        {
          "name": "screenshot.png",
          "url": "https://files.slack.com/...",
          "size": 45000,
          "mimetype": "image",
          "local_path": "archives/general/files/screenshot.png"
        }
      ],
      "reactions": [],
      "edited": false
    }
  ]
}

Disclaimer — Personal Research Use Only

This tool is intended solely for personal research and educational purposes. It is not designed or intended for:

• Bulk data extraction or mass-downloading of Slack content
• Circumventing Slack's access controls, rate limits, or security measures
• Backing up workspaces or channels in violation of your organization's policies
• Competing with or replicating Slack's commercial features (e.g., Slack Enterprise Export)
• Any activity that violates Slack's Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy

If you need official data export capabilities, use Slack's built-in Export tools or their Discovery API.

License

Apache License 2.0