Slack Code API is now generally available on all Slack plans, so any developer's agent can open its own code channel, add the relevant people and files, post updates while it works and archive the channel when the task ends. Until now only a handful of launch partners could build that experience.
Code channels arrived with Slack Code in August, with launch partners including Anthropic, Cognition, GitHub and Vercel. Each channel is a task-sized workspace where teammates watch an agent work, add context and approve changes without leaving Slack. Slack says GitHub Copilot opens a code channel on 30% of its agent sessions, and that more than 150 customers and partners asked for access to build the same thing for their own agents. Mistral builds on it too, a Mistral software engineer said.
Slack calls the APIs easy to use, and setup starts with a manifest flag, features.code_channels.enabled, which makes an app receive app_mention events; the agent then decides whether to answer in place or call agents.conversations.create with the originating channel and message timestamp. Slack splits the API into two families with different permissions.
| Method family | Covers | Scope required |
|---|---|---|
| agents.conversations.* | Create and archive a channel, set context bar items and slash commands, manage view tabs and canvases | code_channels:manage |
| agents.sessions.* | Rename a session, set its status | chat:write |
View tabs are where an agent shows its work. They support diffs, HTML, Block Kit and canvases, which Slack says lets developers skip building their own review screens. The management methods are open only to the channel's assigned agent bot or a channel member. A call from a bot that is not the channel's agent fails with not_authorized, and a call against an ordinary channel fails with not_agent_channel.
For enterprises, the Slack Code API brings governance with the channel. An agent inherits the permissions and admin controls of the channel it works in, Slack says, and message compliance is built in, so IT has nothing new to configure. A person can approve each high-stakes change, and everything stays searchable after the work is done. Slack names Claude, Devin, GitHub Copilot and Vercel among the Marketplace agents that already work with Slack Code.
Two additions are labeled as coming soon. An enhanced Agents & Tools tab will list every agent conversation and code channel with status and membership, and public code channels will be browsable. The Pull Request upgrade will let GitHub users request reviews from inside Slack, sync comments in both directions, and prompt for a merge from the code channel once the PR is approved and tests pass.
