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admin.conversations.setConversationPrefs method

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Facts​

DescriptionSet the posting permissions for a public or private channel.
Method Access
POST https://slack.com/api/admin.conversations.setConversationPrefs
Scopes
Content types
application/x-www-form-urlencoded
application/json
Rate LimitsTier 3: 50+ per minute

Arguments​

Required arguments

tokenstringRequired

Authentication token bearing required scopes. Tokens should be passed as an HTTP Authorization header or alternatively, as a POST parameter.

Example: xxxx-xxxxxxxxx-xxxx
channel_idstringRequired

The channel to set the prefs for

Example: C1234
prefsstringRequired

The prefs for this channel in a stringified JSON format.

Example: {'who_can_post':'type:admin,user:U1234'}

Usage info​

This Admin API method sets the posting permissions for a channel.

This method allows you to adjust several conversation settings. To set any of these permissions, you'll use the prefs argument with some stringified JSON. Stringified JSON means JSON with white space removed and fields marked by single quotations. Since this argument won't contain more complex characters, you don't need to do further encoding.

Calling this method requires that you — the user associated with your app's token — have permission to change conversation preferences.

You can see or change the users who have permission in your Org’s Channel Management settings dashboard.

Posting permissions​

To adjust who's allowed to post in a channel, use the who_can_post field inside your prefs argument:

"prefs": "{'who_can_post':'type:admin,user:U1234'}"

Inside your stringified JSON for who_can_post, you can specify who the permission applies to in a couple different ways:

  • By type: you can set posting permissions to include all admin users, or just any user in general. The user type is only honored when admin or org_admin is also provided.

  • By list of specific users who have the permission: user:U1234 for a single user or user:U1234,user:U5678 for multiple users. If you're specifying specific people, you can select up to 100 per channel. If you exceed that maximum, you may receive the could_not_set_channel_pref error.

org_admin can only be used if the channel is an Org-Wide Channel, otherwise you may receive the invalid_value error.

The can_thread field works exactly the same inside the prefs object, except that it determines who can respond in threads. You can pass both who_can_post and can_thread to the prefs argument in this method at the same time.

Example:

"prefs": "{'who_can_post':'type:admin,user:U1234','can_thread':'type:user'}"

In addition, while you cannot return to the original "empty" state of each of these fields when the channel is first created, you can always reset the channel to allow everyone to post by using the value ra:

"prefs": "{'who_can_post':'type:ra','can_thread':'type:ra'}"

Slack Connect​

In Slack Connect channels, the same fields and values are used by the channel owner (home workspace) to control who can post in a given channel, but they have slightly different meanings:

  • type:ra means that all home and away workspace members and guests can post.
  • type:regular means that only home workspace members can post, but away workspace members and home/away workspace guests cannot.
  • type:admin means that only home admins can post, but home/away workspace members or guests cannot.
  • type:org_admin means that only home org admins can post, but home/away workspace members or guests cannot.

When listing individual users who can post in the channel, you are free to include user IDs of both home and away users.

Huddles​

The can_huddle field determines if a huddle can be started in the channel.

For example:

"prefs": "{'can_huddle':'false'}"

Channel mentions​

Channel mention restriction prefs enable_at_channel and enable_at_here can be used to place channel, here, and everyone mention restrictions in a channel.

The enable_at_channel field determines if channel mentions can be used in a channel. The enable_at_here field determines if here mentions can be used in a channel. If these channel prefs have never been set before for a channel, then the relevant mention can be used in a channel. We require that both of these prefs remain synced so if you would like to set one of these prefs, you must also update the other pref, and they must be the same value. We do this because the everyone mention restriction in general channels is also controlled by these prefs.

For example:

"prefs": "{'enable_at_channel':'false', 'enable_at_here':'false'}"

This admin scope is obtained through version two of the OAuth V2 flow, but there are a few additional requirements. The app requesting this scope must be installed by an admin or Owner of an Enterprise organization. Also, the app must be installed on the entire org, not on an individual workspace. See below for more details.

If the app is installed by an Org Admin or Owner, ensure the Channel Management settings provide the appropriate permissions. The Org Admin or Owner installing the app must have the Channel Management role, and must also be granted access to Public channels and Private channels within this role. If these criteria aren't met, the Org Admin or Owner will receive a not_allowed error when attempting to install an app.

Admin API endpoints reach across an entire Enterprise organization, not individual workspaces.

For a token to be imbued with Admin scopes, it must be obtained from installing an app on the entire Enterprise org, not just a workspace within the organization.

To configure and install an app supporting Admin API endpoints on your Enterprise organization:

  1. Create a new Slack app. Your app will need to be able to handle a standard OAuth 2 flow.
  2. In the app's settings, select OAuth & Permissions from the left navigation. Scroll down to the section titled Scopes and add the admin.* scope you want. Click the Save Changes button.
  3. In the app's settings, select Manage Distribution from the left navigation. Under the section titled Share Your App with Other Workspaces, make sure all four sections have the green check. Then click the green Activate Public Distribution button.
  4. Under the Share Your App with Your Workspace section, copy the Sharable URL and paste it into a browser to initiate the OAuth handshake that will install the app on your organization. You must be logged in as an admin or Owner of your Enterprise organization to install the app.
  5. Check the dropdown in the upper right of the installation screen to make sure you are installing the app on the organization, not an individual workspace within the organization. See the image below for a visual.
  6. Once your app completes the OAuth flow, you will be granted an OAuth token that can be used for calling Admin API methods for your organization.

When installing an app to use an Admin API endpoint, be sure to install it on your Enterprise organization, not a workspace within the organization.

Response​

Typical success response

{
  "ok": true
}

Errors​

This table lists the expected errors that this method could return. However, other errors can be returned in the case where the service is down or other unexpected factors affect processing. Callers should always check the value of the ok parameter in the response.

Error
Description
access_denied

Access to a resource specified in the request is denied.

accesslimited

Access to this method is limited on the current network

account_inactive

Authentication token is for a deleted user or workspace when using a bot token.

channel_mention_sync_required

If setting channel mention restriction prefs, both mention prefs must be passed and they must be the same value.

channel_not_found

Value passed for channel was invalid.

channel_type_not_supported

Value given for channel_id was a #general channel.

could_not_set_channel_pref

Setting the preference or permission failed.

default_org_wide_channel

Returned when you try to modify a default org wide channel.

deprecated_endpoint

The endpoint has been deprecated.

ekm_access_denied

Administrators have suspended the ability to post a message.

enterprise_is_restricted

The method cannot be called from an Enterprise.

fatal_error

The server could not complete your operation(s) without encountering a catastrophic error. It's possible some aspect of the operation succeeded before the error was raised.

feature_not_enabled

The Admin APIs feature is not enabled for this team.

internal_error

The server could not complete your operation(s) without encountering an error, likely due to a transient issue on our end. It's possible some aspect of the operation succeeded before the error was raised.

invalid_arg_name

The method was passed an argument whose name falls outside the bounds of accepted or expected values. This includes very long names and names with non-alphanumeric characters other than _. If you get this error, it is typically an indication that you have made a very malformed API call.

invalid_arguments

The method was called with invalid arguments.

invalid_array_arg

The method was passed an array as an argument. Please only input valid strings.

invalid_auth

Some aspect of authentication cannot be validated. Either the provided token is invalid or the request originates from an IP address disallowed from making the request.

invalid_charset

The method was called via a POST request, but the charset specified in the Content-Type header was invalid. Valid charset names are: utf-8 iso-8859-1.

invalid_form_data

The method was called via a POST request with Content-Type application/x-www-form-urlencoded or multipart/form-data, but the form data was either missing or syntactically invalid.

invalid_post_type

The method was called via a POST request, but the specified Content-Type was invalid. Valid types are: application/json application/x-www-form-urlencoded multipart/form-data text/plain.

invalid_value

Value passed for the preferences are invalid

method_deprecated

The method has been deprecated.

missing_post_type

The method was called via a POST request and included a data payload, but the request did not include a Content-Type header.

missing_scope

The calling token is not granted the necessary scopes to complete this operation.

missing_scope

The token used is not granted the specific scope permissions required to complete this request.

no_permission

The workspace token used in this request does not have the permissions necessary to complete the request. Make sure your app is a member of the conversation it's attempting to post a message to.

not_allowed_token_type

The token type used in this request is not allowed.

not_an_admin

The token provided is not associated with an org admin.

not_authed

No authentication token provided.

org_login_required

The workspace is undergoing an enterprise migration and will not be available until migration is complete.

ratelimited

The request has been ratelimited. Refer to the Retry-After header for when to retry the request.

request_timeout

The method was called via a POST request, but the POST data was either missing or truncated.

restricted_action

A workspace preference prevents the authenticated user from archiving.

service_unavailable

The service is temporarily unavailable

team_access_not_granted

The token used is not granted the specific workspace access required to complete this request.

team_added_to_org

The workspace associated with your request is currently undergoing migration to an Enterprise Organization. Web API and other platform operations will be intermittently unavailable until the transition is complete.

token_expired

Authentication token has expired

token_revoked

Authentication token is for a deleted user or workspace or the app has been removed when using a user token.

two_factor_setup_required

Two factor setup is required.