Slack bot with Next.js and Redis

This guide walks through building a Slack bot with Next.js, covering project setup, Slack app configuration, event handling, interactive features, and deployment.

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+
pnpm (or npm/yarn)
A Slack workspace where you can install apps
A Redis instance for state management

Create a Next.js app

Scaffold a new Next.js project and install Chat SDK dependencies:

Terminal

npx create-next-app@latest my-slack-bot --typescript --app
cd my-slack-bot
pnpm add chat @chat-adapter/slack @chat-adapter/state-redis

Create a Slack app

Go to api.slack.com/apps
Click Create New App then From an app manifest
Select your workspace and paste the following manifest:

slack-manifest.yml

display_information:
  name: My Bot
  description: A bot built with Chat SDK

features:
  bot_user:
    display_name: My Bot
    always_online: true

oauth_config:
  scopes:
    bot:
      - app_mentions:read
      - channels:history
      - channels:read
      - chat:write
      - groups:history
      - groups:read
      - im:history
      - im:read
      - mpim:history
      - mpim:read
      - reactions:read
      - reactions:write
      - users:read

settings:
  event_subscriptions:
    request_url: https://your-domain.com/api/webhooks/slack
    bot_events:
      - app_mention
      - message.channels
      - message.groups
      - message.im
      - message.mpim
  interactivity:
    is_enabled: true
    request_url: https://your-domain.com/api/webhooks/slack
  org_deploy_enabled: false
  socket_mode_enabled: false
  token_rotation_enabled: false

Replace https://your-domain.com/api/webhooks/slack with your deployed webhook URL
Click Create

Get credentials

After creating the app:

Go to OAuth & Permissions, click Install to Workspace, and copy the Bot User OAuth Token (xoxb-...) — you'll need this as SLACK_BOT_TOKEN
Go to Basic Information → App Credentials and copy the Signing Secret — you'll need this as SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET

If you're distributing the app across multiple workspaces via OAuth instead of installing it to one workspace, configure clientId and clientSecret on the Slack adapter and pass the same redirect URI used during the authorize step into handleOAuthCallback(request, { redirectUri }) in your callback route.

Configure environment variables

Create a .env.local file in your project root:

.env.local

SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-your-bot-token
SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET=your-signing-secret
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

Create the bot

Create lib/bot.ts with a Chat instance configured with the Slack adapter:

lib/bot.ts

import { Chat } from "chat";
import { createSlackAdapter } from "@chat-adapter/slack";
import { createRedisState } from "@chat-adapter/state-redis";

export const bot = new Chat({
  userName: "mybot",
  adapters: {
    slack: createSlackAdapter(),
  },
  state: createRedisState(),
});

// Respond when someone @mentions the bot
bot.onNewMention(async (thread) => {
  await thread.subscribe();
  await thread.post("Hello! I'm listening to this thread now.");
});

// Respond to follow-up messages in subscribed threads
bot.onSubscribedMessage(async (thread, message) => {
  await thread.post(`You said: ${message.text}`);
});

The adapter auto-detects SLACK_BOT_TOKEN and SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET from your environment, and createRedisState() reads REDIS_URL automatically.

onNewMention fires when a user @mentions your bot. Calling thread.subscribe() tells the SDK to track that thread, so subsequent messages trigger onSubscribedMessage.

Create the webhook route

Create a dynamic API route that handles incoming webhooks:

app/api/webhooks/[platform]/route.ts

import { after } from "next/server";
import { bot } from "@/lib/bot";

type Platform = keyof typeof bot.webhooks;

export async function POST(
  request: Request,
  context: RouteContext<"/api/webhooks/[platform]">
) {
  const { platform } = await context.params;

  const handler = bot.webhooks[platform as Platform];
  if (!handler) {
    return new Response(`Unknown platform: ${platform}`, { status: 404 });
  }

  return handler(request, {
    waitUntil: (task) => after(() => task),
  });
}

This creates a POST /api/webhooks/slack endpoint. The waitUntil option ensures message processing completes after the HTTP response is sent — required on serverless platforms where the function would otherwise terminate before your handlers finish.

Test locally

Start your development server (pnpm dev)
Expose it with a tunnel (e.g. ngrok http 3000)
Update the Slack Event Subscriptions Request URL to your tunnel URL
Invite your bot to a Slack channel (/invite @mybot)
@mention the bot — it should respond with "Hello! I'm listening to this thread now."
Reply in the thread — it should echo your message back

Add interactive features

Chat SDK supports rich interactive messages using a JSX-like syntax. Update your bot to send cards with buttons:

lib/bot.ts

import { Chat, Card, CardText as Text, Actions, Button, Divider } from "chat";
import { createSlackAdapter } from "@chat-adapter/slack";
import { createRedisState } from "@chat-adapter/state-redis";

export const bot = new Chat({
  userName: "mybot",
  adapters: {
    slack: createSlackAdapter(),
  },
  state: createRedisState(),
});

bot.onNewMention(async (thread) => {
  await thread.subscribe();
  await thread.post(
    <Card title="Welcome!">
      <Text>I'm now listening to this thread. Try clicking a button:</Text>
      <Divider />
      <Actions>
        <Button id="hello" style="primary">Say Hello</Button>
        <Button id="info">Show Info</Button>
      </Actions>
    </Card>
  );
});

bot.onAction("hello", async (event) => {
  await event.thread.post(`Hello, ${event.user.fullName}!`);
});

bot.onAction("info", async (event) => {
  await event.thread.post(`You're on ${event.thread.adapter.name}.`);
});

The file extension must be .tsx (not .ts) when using JSX components like Card and Button. Make sure your tsconfig.json has "jsx": "react-jsx" and "jsxImportSource": "chat".

Deploy to Vercel

Deploy your bot to Vercel:

Terminal

vercel deploy

After deployment, set your environment variables in the Vercel dashboard (SLACK_BOT_TOKEN, SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET, REDIS_URL). If your manifest used a placeholder URL, update the Event Subscriptions and Interactivity Request URLs in your Slack app settings to your production URL.

Next steps

Cards — Build rich interactive messages with buttons, fields, and selects
Modals — Open forms and dialogs from button clicks
Streaming — Stream AI-generated responses to chat
Actions — Handle button clicks, select menus, and other interactions
Slack adapter — Multi-workspace OAuth, token encryption, and full configuration reference
State Adapters — PostgreSQL, ioredis, and other state adapter options

Slack bot with Next.js and Redis

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