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conversations.replies method

Facts​

DescriptionRetrieve a thread of messages posted to a conversation
Method Access
GET https://slack.com/api/conversations.replies
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
channelstringRequired

Conversation ID to fetch thread from.

tsstringRequired

Unique identifier of either a thread’s parent message or a message in the thread. ts must be the timestamp of an existing message with 0 or more replies. If there are no replies then just the single message referenced by ts will return - it is just an ordinary, unthreaded message.

Optional arguments

cursorstringOptional

Paginate through collections of data by setting the cursor parameter to a next_cursor attribute returned by a previous request's response_metadata. Default value fetches the first "page" of the collection. See pagination for more detail.

Example: dXNlcjpVMDYxTkZUVDI=
include_all_metadatabooleanOptional

Return all metadata associated with this message.

0
Example: true
inclusivebooleanOptional

Include messages with oldest or latest timestamps in results. Ignored unless either timestamp is specified.

0
Example: true
lateststringOptional

Only messages before this Unix timestamp will be included in results.

Default: now
limitnumberOptional

The maximum number of items to return. Fewer than the requested number of items may be returned, even if the end of the users list hasn't been reached.

Default: 1000
Example: 20
oldeststringOptional

Only messages after this Unix timestamp will be included in results.

Default: 0

Usage info​

This Conversations API method returns a cursor-paginated thread of messages posted to a conversation. The scopes and token types required to use this method vary by conversation type.

Bot user tokens may use this method for direct message and multi-party direct message conversations, but lack sufficient permissions to use this method on public and private channels.

To use conversations.replies with public or private channel threads, use a user token with channels:history or groups:history scopes.

This method has different rates for non-Marketplace commercially distributed apps.

As of May 29, 2025, for new applications and installation commercially distributed outside of the Marketplace, this method is rate limited to 1 request per minute. The maximum and default values for the limit parameter have both been reduced to 15 objects.

For Marketplace and internal customer-built applications, this method has Tier 3 rate limits.

Existing installations of applications published and distributed outside the Slack Marketplace will not be subject to the new posted limits.

The channel and ts arguments are always required. ts must be the timestamp of an existing message. If no replies, just the single message referenced by ts will return.

The reply_users field returned by this method sometimes contains bot IDs rather than user IDs. This is essentially a fallback that can occur depending on how the message was posted. It is recommended to check for this either on the prefix or by implementing a retry mechanism if user lookup fails.

The thread_not_found error shown in the example error response can also apply to the channel_leave and channel_join message subtypes, as these message subtypes cannot be threaded.

Response​

Typical success response

{
  "messages": [
    {
      "type": "message",
      "user": "U061F7AUR",
      "text": "island",
      "thread_ts": "1482960137.003543",
      "reply_count": 3,
      "subscribed": true,
      "last_read": "1484678597.521003",
      "unread_count": 0,
      "ts": "1482960137.003543"
    },
    {
      "type": "message",
      "user": "U061F7AUR",
      "text": "one island",
      "thread_ts": "1482960137.003543",
      "parent_user_id": "U061F7AUR",
      "ts": "1483037603.017503"
    },
    {
      "type": "message",
      "user": "U061F7AUR",
      "text": "two island",
      "thread_ts": "1482960137.003543",
      "parent_user_id": "U061F7AUR",
      "ts": "1483051909.018632"
    },
    {
      "type": "message",
      "user": "U061F7AUR",
      "text": "three for the land",
      "thread_ts": "1482960137.003543",
      "parent_user_id": "U061F7AUR",
      "ts": "1483125339.020269"
    }
  ],
  "has_more": true,
  "ok": true,
  "response_metadata": {
    "next_cursor": "bmV4dF90czoxNDg0Njc4MjkwNTE3MDkx"
  }
}

Typical error response

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

Pagination​

This method uses cursor-based pagination to make it easier to incrementally collect information. To begin pagination, specify a limit value under 1000. We recommend no more than 200 results at a time.

Responses will include a top-level response_metadata attribute containing a next_cursor value. By using this value as a cursor parameter in a subsequent request, along with limit, you may navigate through the collection page by virtual page.

See pagination for more information.

Pagination by time​

This form of pagination can be used in conjunction with cursors.

The messages array contains up to 1000 messages between the oldest and latest timestamps. The earliest messages in the time range are returned first.

If there were more than 1000 messages between oldest and latest, then has_more will be true in the response. In an additional call, set the ts value of the final message as latest to get the next page of messages.

If a message has the same timestamp as oldest or latest it will not be included in the list. This functionality allows you to use the timestamps of specific messages as boundaries for the results. You can, however, have both timestamps be included in the time range by setting inclusive to true. The inclusive parameter is ignored when oldest or latest is not specified.

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_not_found

Value for channel was missing or invalid.

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_cursor

Value passed for cursor was not valid or is no longer valid.

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_metadata_filter_keys

Value passed for metadata_keys_to_include was invalid. Must be valid json array of strings.

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_ts_latest

Value passed for latest was invalid

invalid_ts_oldest

Value passed for oldest was invalid

list_record_comment_fetch_failed

Failed to fetch list record comments.

method_deprecated

The method has been deprecated.

method_not_supported_for_channel_type

This type of conversation cannot be used with this method.

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_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.

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.

thread_not_found

Value for ts was missing or invalid.

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.