Slack Integration
Connect Slack to capture decisions from your team's conversations.
Features
- Real-time capture -
@alignto capture decisions instantly - Context extraction - Automatically includes surrounding conversation
- Thread support - Capture decisions from threaded discussions
- Discover - Scan historical messages for past decisions
Setup (Cloud)
- Go to Settings → Integrations in Align
- Click Connect Slack
- Click Allow to authorize Align in your workspace
- Select which channels Align can access
tip
Start with a few channels and expand as your team gets comfortable.
Capturing Decisions
Basic Capture
Mention @align with the decision:
@align We decided to use PostgreSQL for the user service
With Context
Include rationale for richer snapshots:
@align We're going with PostgreSQL instead of MongoDB.
Reasons:
- Need strong consistency for financial data
- Team has more Postgres experience
- Better tooling for our stack
In Threads
Reply in a thread with @align to capture the full thread context:
Thread: "Should we use Redis or Memcached?"
Reply: @align Going with Redis for the pub/sub capabilities
Commands
| Trigger | Description |
|---|---|
@align <decision> | Capture a new decision |
@align help | Show available commands |
| React with 📌 or 🔖 | Capture the message you reacted to. Works in any channel Align is in, with no per-channel setup. Workspace admins can change which emoji do this |
Ambient suggestions - where Align notices a decision-shaped thread and offers an ephemeral "capture this?" prompt - are off by default and enabled per channel by an admin. Nothing is stored unless someone confirms. See Capture.
Best Practices
- Be specific - Include the "why" not just the "what"
- Capture early - Don't wait until decisions are forgotten
- Use threads - Keeps decision context together
- Tag participants - Mention people involved in the decision
Permissions
Align requires these Slack scopes:
| Scope | Purpose |
|---|---|
channels:history | Read messages in public channels |
groups:history | Read messages in private channels (if granted) |
chat:write | Send acknowledgment messages |
users:read | Map Slack users to Align users |
Troubleshooting
Align doesn't respond
- Ensure the Align app is installed in your workspace
- Check that Align has access to the channel
- Verify the bot is not muted
Missing context
- Align captures the last ~50 messages for context
- Very long threads may be truncated
- Private channels require explicit access
Self-Hosted Setup
Self-hosted Align uses Align's centrally-managed Slack app by default - see Connector Authentication, which also covers what to do if your security policy requires your own app.