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Replicas integrates with Slack as a bot you can mention in channels or message directly. Either way, it spawns a workspace to complete the work and replies in the thread.

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Setup

  1. Go to Organization → Integrations
  2. Find Slack, click Install, and authorize for your workspace
  3. Invite @Replicas to the channels where you want to use it (or open a DM with the bot)
Once connected, Slack shows a Configure button that opens a popup to reconnect, disconnect, or adjust the agent defaults used for Slack-triggered work. If you connected Slack before DM or task-fork shortcuts shipped, re-authorize from the same Integrations page so the new im:*, mpim:*, and commands scopes are granted. Until then DMs or the Fork task shortcut may not be available. Ensure you have at least one repository configured before mentioning Replicas.

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Personal Account Connection

Connect your Slack account from Personal → Connections to link your Slack user ID to your Replicas account. Replicas then uses your personal defaults and credentials even when your Slack email differs from your Replicas email. Email matching remains a fallback for members who have not connected an account. An administrator must add Slack’s openid, email, and profile User Token Scopes to the Replicas Slack app once before members can authorize personal connections.

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How It Works

When you mention @Replicas in a channel:
  1. Replicas adds an 👀 reaction to acknowledge your message
  2. If multiple environments are configured, Replicas resolves one for you and only posts a dropdown when it cannot, see Environment Selection
  3. A workspace is created for the task in that environment
  4. The agent sends a brief acknowledgment, then works on your request
  5. When done, the agent replies in the thread with results (and a PR link if code changes were made), with a View PR button on the reply that first shares the pull request
If the agent cannot complete a turn, Replicas replies in the originating thread with the error. Concise replies are rolling out behind the slack_concise_replies feature flag for selected organizations. When enabled, agents write like a teammate posting a quick update: one to three plain sentences on what they did and what it means, followed by the PR link. Headers, bullet lists, command logs, and file-by-file recaps are left out unless you ask for them.

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Direct Messages

You can also DM the bot 1:1 or in a group DM. Every message you send to Replicas in a DM is treated as a task, so you do not need to type @Replicas. The same flow applies as in channels: Replicas reacts, picks an environment, creates a workspace, and replies in a thread on your message. Replies inside that thread route to the same workspace, see Thread Conversations. Environment selection works identically, see Environment Selection.

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Environment Selection

Workspaces are created inside an environment, and the env’s binding determines which repository or repository set gets cloned. If your organization has multiple environments, Replicas works through the following in order and asks you to pick only when none of them can decide:
  1. Mothership triage, in channels it monitors. It reads the channel and the thread, so it picks the environment whenever it is confident.
  2. An inline [env:name] tag in your message, matched against environment names (e.g., @Replicas [env:backend] add a login page).
  3. Your personal default, then your organization’s default.
  4. Automatic routing, which infers the environment from the message context (repo names, file paths, channel name) when confident.
  5. A dropdown in the thread, so you can select one yourself.
You can set a personal default under Personal → Preferences when your Slack account is connected or its email matches a Replicas user. Org admins can also set a default environment under Organization → Settings → Preferences. A matching user’s personal default takes precedence over the organization default. Slack-triggered workspaces use the sender’s agent defaults when their Slack account is connected or its email matches a Replicas user. Admins can also open Slack Configure under Integrations to set Slack-specific defaults before falling back to the organization defaults.

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Thread Conversations

Each Slack thread is linked to one workspace. Follow-up mentions in the same thread route to the same workspace, so the agent remembers previous context. On follow-ups, only new messages are sent to the agent rather than the full thread history, keeping the context focused. You can attach or switch a thread’s workspace with the CLI Slack thread commands. If the workspace is deleted and you mention @Replicas again in that thread, a new workspace is automatically created.

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Fork a Thread

Open a message’s More actions menu inside an active Replicas task thread and select Fork task to start a separate task without interrupting the original agent. The form starts with the selected message as its instructions and the current channel as its destination. You can edit either before submitting. Alternatively, mention @Replicas in the thread and include !fork anywhere in the message. Text around the marker becomes the new task’s instructions:
To fork into another channel, put its mention immediately after the marker:
The fork inherits the source workspace’s environment and receives the full thread conversation and images as context. It starts as a top-level message in the selected channel, where both you and Replicas must be members.

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Pull Request Notifications

When a PR or MR created from a Slack workspace is merged or closed on GitHub or GitLab, Replicas posts a notification to the originating thread. The notification includes the number, title, link, and the person who merged or closed it. A colored bar on the left of the message reflects the outcome at a glance: purple for merged requests and red for closed ones. If the Slack sender enables Open pull requests in Graphite, agents use Graphite links for GitHub PRs in follow-up responses, and merged or closed notifications use the workspace owner’s preference. GitLab merge request links are unchanged.

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Workspace Status Reactions

When a linked workspace is archived, Replicas replaces its 👀 reaction with 🗃️ on every linked Slack message so inactive tasks are easy to spot. Messages with an existing ✅ keep that reaction instead. Restoring the workspace removes the archive-box reaction.

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Context

The context provided to the agent includes:
  • Your message (with bot mention stripped)
  • Thread history — for the first message, the full thread context is included; for follow-up messages, only new messages since the agent last responded are sent
  • Images attached to messages in the thread
  • Channel name
  • User names of participants

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Post a Summary from the Composer

In a workspace’s chat composer (or the app prompt composer when creating a workspace), click the chevron on the Send button and choose Send & post to Slack, then pick a channel. The message sends as usual and the agent posts a single completion summary (including any pull request links) to that channel once it finishes the task. Slack must be connected for the option to appear, and it only lists channels the bot can access. Sending with the arrow button (or Enter) skips the Slack post.

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Intended Usage

Slack works best for quick requests and iterative conversations:
  • Start tasks with a brief description
  • Follow up in the same thread to refine or add requirements
  • The agent responds directly in Slack, making it easy to share progress with your team
Start your message with /plan to request a planning-only response with a plan link. See Plan Mode. For workflow examples, see Slack to coding agent.