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conversations.create method

Facts​

DescriptionInitiates a public or private channel-based conversation
Method Access
POST https://slack.com/api/conversations.create
Scopes
Content types
application/x-www-form-urlencoded
application/json
Rate LimitsTier 2: 20+ 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
namestringRequired

Name of the public or private channel to create

Example: mychannel

Optional arguments

is_privatebooleanOptional

Create a private channel instead of a public one

Example: true
team_idOptional

encoded team id to create the channel in, required if org token is used

Usage info​

Create a public or private channel using this Conversations API method.

Use conversations.open to initiate or resume a direct message or multi-person direct message.

The team_id is only relevant when using an org-level token. This field will be ignored if the API call is sent using a workspace-level token.

Naming​

Channel names may only contain lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores, and must be 80 characters or less. When calling this method, we recommend storing both the channel's id and name value that returned in the response.

Channel names are always validated by this method.

Response​

If successful, the command returns a conversation object.

{
  "ok": true,
  "channel": {
    "id": "C0EAQDV4Z",
    "name": "endeavor",
    "is_channel": true,
    "is_group": false,
    "is_im": false,
    "created": 1504554479,
    "creator": "U0123456",
    "is_archived": false,
    "is_general": false,
    "unlinked": 0,
    "name_normalized": "endeavor",
    "is_shared": false,
    "is_ext_shared": false,
    "is_org_shared": false,
    "pending_shared": [],
    "is_pending_ext_shared": false,
    "is_member": true,
    "is_private": false,
    "is_mpim": false,
    "last_read": "0000000000.000000",
    "latest": null,
    "unread_count": 0,
    "unread_count_display": 0,
    "topic": {
      "value": "",
      "creator": "",
      "last_set": 0
    },
    "properties": {
      "canvas": {
        "file_id": "F123ABC456",
        "is_empty": true,
        "quip_thread_id": "JAB1CDefGhI"
      }
    },
    "purpose": {
      "value": "",
      "creator": "",
      "last_set": 0
    },
    "previous_names": [],
    "priority": 0
  }
}

Typical error response when name already in use

{
  "ok": false,
  "error": "name_taken"
}

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.

cannot_create_channel

This channel is unable to be created.

canvas_disabled_user_team

Canvas is disabled on user's team

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.

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_name

Value passed for name was invalid.

invalid_name_maxlength

Value passed for name exceeded max length.

invalid_name_punctuation

Value passed for name contained only punctuation.

invalid_name_required

Value passed for name was empty.

invalid_name_specials

Value passed for name contained unallowed special characters or upper case characters.

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.

method_deprecated

The method has been deprecated.

missing_argument

A required argument is missing.

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.

name_taken

A channel cannot be created with the given name.

no_channel

Value passed for name was empty.

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_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 team preference prevents the authenticated user from creating channels.

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.