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files.remote.add method

Facts​

DescriptionAdds a file from a remote service
Method Access
POST https://slack.com/api/files.remote.add
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
external_idstringRequired

Creator defined GUID for the file.

Example: 123456
external_urlstringRequired

URL of the remote file.

Example: http://example.com/my_cloud_service_file/abc123
titlestringRequired

Title of the file being shared.

Example: Danger, High Voltage!

Optional arguments

filetypestringOptional

type of file

Example: doc
indexable_file_contentsOptional

A text file (txt, pdf, doc, etc.) containing textual search terms that are used to improve discovery of the remote file.

Example: ...
preview_imageOptional

Preview of the document via multipart/form-data.

Example: ...

Usage info​

This method adds a remote file to Slack. Adding a file does not share it to a channel. To make your remote file visible, use the files.remote.share API method. This method performs an upsert: if you add a file that has been added previously, the existing file will be updated.

Remote files exist across the entire workspace (or organization, for Enterprise orgs). Because of that, remote files must be added by bots with the bot scope, not by an individual user. Dimension requirements for previews are a minimum of 800w x 400h.

preview_image is displayed when your remote file is shared. It's a binary image file.

external_id is the unique ID of the remote file, according to the external host of the file.

indexable_file_contents is a text file that represents the file for search. When a user searches in Slack, their query will be compared against the contents of this text file for matching. Think of this text file like the alt parameter on an HTML <img> tag: a textual representation of a non-textual object. The text file can contain a description of the remote file, or it can contain search keywords or anything else text-based.

One tricky bit: in the response, the file object may indicate that "has_rich_preview" is false, even if you include the preview_image parameter. That's because it takes a few seconds for Slack to parse the preview_image you pass. If you call files.remote.add with the same external_id later, you'll see "has_preview_image": true.

Response​

{
    "ok": true,
    "file": {
        "id": "F08EAQ813FW",
        "created": 1740062388,
        "timestamp": 1740062388,
        "name": "Test",
        "title": "Test",
        "mimetype": "application/vnd.slack-remote",
        "filetype": "remote",
        "pretty_type": "Remote",
        "user": "U123A4BCDE5",
        "user_team": "T123A4BC5DE",
        "editable": false,
        "size": 0,
        "mode": "external",
        "is_external": true,
        "external_type": "app",
        "is_public": false,
        "public_url_shared": false,
        "display_as_bot": false,
        "username": "",
        "url_private": "https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e8LtkvCSe_NH0UU0RyLgssmUQLT8G_3RMCGzyPWcx58/edit?tab=t.0",
        "media_display_type": "unknown",
        "permalink": "https://thetestenv.slack.com/files/U123A4BCDE5/F08EAQ813FW/test",
        "comments_count": 0,
        "is_starred": false,
        "shares": {},
        "channels": [],
        "groups": [],
        "ims": [],
        "has_more_shares": false,
        "external_id": "1234",
        "external_url": "https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e8LtkvCSe_NH0UU0RyLgssmUQLT8G_3RMCGzyPWcx58/edit?tab=t.0",
        "has_rich_preview": false,
        "file_access": "visible"
    }
}

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.

bad_image

The uploaded image could not be processed - try passing a JPG or PNG

bad_title

The title provided is too long.

bot_user_required

bot user token is required

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_external_id

The external_id provided is too long.

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.

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 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.

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.

too_large

The uploaded image had excessive dimensions

two_factor_setup_required

Two factor setup is required.