Claude in Slack: Claude Tag, the Slack connector and setup

Short answer

Claude works with Slack in two directions:

• Claude in Slack: Claude Tag. Anyone in a channel can @mention Claude and hand it work, from answering a question to opening a pull request. It's for Claude Team and Enterprise only, in beta, set up once by a Claude Owner and a Slack admin, and billed by usage.
• Slack in Claude: the Slack connector. Claude searches and reads your Slack, and posts as you, from claude.ai. It's Slack's own connector. Anthropic's docs list Team and Enterprise, and a January 2026 update added Pro and Max. It needs Anthropic's app installed in a paid Slack workspace.

On Claude Free, without a paid Slack plan, or to use one Slack connection in Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT and Cursor, connect Slack through Upsy as a custom connector.

The ways to use Claude with Slack

Claude Tag: Claude as a teammate in Slack

Anthropic announced Claude Tag on June 23, 2026, in beta for Team and Enterprise (Anthropic). It replaced the earlier Claude app for Slack, where each person linked their own Claude account. It's the same Slack app and the same @Claude, now with one Claude identity for the whole team.

• Each thread is a working session. Tag @Claude with a task, and it works in its own cloud sandbox, posting a checklist as it goes. Anyone in the thread can add details or redirect it.
• It reads the room: its thread, the channel's history and pins, and a search of public channels. In a private channel, it works only after being invited.
• It hands back real work: replies, files, a hosted page on claude.ai, or a draft pull request.
• It remembers per channel, runs on a schedule, and can answer without a tag, since Respond automatically is on by default.

It's for Claude Team and Enterprise, with no per-seat charge: channel work bills by usage to a balance an Owner funds, under a monthly spend limit. DMs with Claude run on your own seat. To set it up, a Claude Owner starts at claude.ai/admin-settings/claude-tag and installs the Claude app in Slack. A Slack workspace admin sends @Claude connect in a channel for a pairing code, and the Owner pastes it, picks a spend limit and channels, and clicks Launch Claude Tag.

The earlier Claude app no longer answers in channels of a workspace paired with Claude Tag, since October 5, 2026. In workspaces not paired yet, Pro, Max and Ultra users still get answers from it.

Claude Tag covers every setup step, what it costs, its connectors, including your own, and its error messages.

The Slack connector: your Slack inside Claude

Claude's Slack connector is made by Slack and runs on Slack's MCP server, https://mcp.slack.com/mcp (directory page). It searches public and private channels you can see, reads channels and threads, sends messages as you and works with canvases. Slack's server only works with approved apps, so this directory connector is the way to reach it from Claude.

What you need

• A Claude plan that includes it. Anthropic's Slack connector docs say Team and Enterprise. An update dated January 26, 2026 on Anthropic's announcement says Pro and Max have it too. Nothing says Free does.
• Anthropic's Claude app installed in Slack first. A Slack admin installs it from the Slack Marketplace and approves it. Anthropic says it's for paid Slack plans.
• On Team and Enterprise, an Owner turns the connector on under Organization settings › Connectors.

Connect it

1. In Claude, go to Customize › Connectors.
2. Find Slack, click Connect and approve access in Slack. The button changes to Disconnect when it worked.
3. In a chat, click +, choose Connectors and turn on Slack.

Try: "Search Slack for what we decided about the pricing page last week, with links to the messages."

Claude Code picks up your claude.ai connectors. For Slack's plugin and other options there, see how to connect Slack to Claude Code. In Cowork, a scheduled task can use the connector, such as a Monday summary of your team's channels.

Claude Code in Slack

Before Claude Tag, @Claude in a channel could start a Claude Code session on the web for a coding task (Claude Code docs). It still works for Pro, Max and Ultra users in workspaces that aren't paired with Claude Tag. It needs cloud sessions and GitHub connected at claude.ai/code, and it works in channels, not DMs. When it's done, it posts buttons to view the session or create a pull request. On Team and Enterprise, Claude Tag now does this work.

Where the built-in ways stop

• Plans. Claude Tag is only for Team and Enterprise. The connector is documented for Team and Enterprise, plus Pro and Max. Nothing covers Free.
• Paid Slack and approvals. Anthropic's app needs a paid Slack plan, a Slack admin's approval, and on Team and Enterprise a Claude Owner.
• Search, but only in Claude. The connector works in claude.ai and Claude Code. ChatGPT, Cursor and other assistants each need their own Slack setup.
• Limits live in Claude's settings. Under Customize › Connectors, each Slack tool can be Always allow, Needs approval or Blocked, but only inside Claude.

Connect Slack to Claude with Upsy

Upsy connects through its own Slack app with a user token, so Claude reads what you can read and posts as you. What it adds:

• Any Claude plan. Upsy is a custom connector, and Free allows one.
• Up to five Slack workspaces in one connector.
• Limits Upsy enforces itself: Read-only, hand-picked tools, or full access, per assistant. They hold in Claude Code too.
• A history of every Slack tool Claude runs, and email alerts.
• One setup for all your assistants: the same Slack in Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Cursor and Codex, next to Gmail, Calendar and Drive.

Where it falls short: Upsy's app isn't in the Slack Marketplace yet, so Slack doesn't let it search, and it reads a channel or thread about once a minute, 15 messages at a time (Slack's limits). If you need full search and your plans allow it, use Slack's connector.

What you need

• Claude on any plan. On Team or Enterprise, an Owner adds Upsy once under Organization settings › Connectors (Add › Custom › Web), then you click Connect.
• A free Upsy account.
• A Slack workspace where you can install apps. If your workspace requires approval for apps, an admin approves Upsy too.

Steps

1. Sign up at upsy.ai with Set up Upsy.

2. In Upsy, open Apps, click Connect an app and pick Slack. On Slack's permission page, pick the workspace and allow Upsy to act as you. For another workspace, connect Slack again.

3. Open Assistants, click Add assistant and pick Claude under Which assistant?. Copy your Upsy address:

   https://upsy.ai/connect
   

4. In Claude, go to Customize › Connectors. Click Add, hover over Custom and choose Web. Some accounts show an Add custom connector button instead.

5. Name it Upsy, paste the address and click Continue twice, keeping the sign-in settings Claude detects. Then click Add.

6. Click Connect next to Upsy and sign in on the Upsy page that opens. Slack is ticked; switch it to Read-only if Claude should only read. Click Allow.

7. In a chat, click +, hover over Connectors and check that Upsy is on.

Each screen is in how to add a custom connector to Claude. Already using Upsy in Claude? Connect Slack on the Apps page and start a new chat.

Check that it works

Using Upsy, show the last 10 messages in #general.

Claude should list them with authors and times. It may ask before running slack_read_channel the first time, and the call shows in Upsy's History under Claude.

What Claude can do with Slack through Upsy

Prompts to try

• "Read the last day of #support and list the questions nobody answered yet."
• "Summarize this thread for someone who missed it, then draft my reply. Show me before you post."
• "Find Ada in Slack and DM her that the contract is signed."
• "Read #launch since Monday and turn it into a checklist of open tasks with owners."

Troubleshooting

Claude Tag errors

For messages like "Claude isn't on in this channel yet" or "You've reached a Claude Tag spend limit", see Claude Tag troubleshooting.

Slack shows "Request to install"

Your workspace requires approval for apps. A Slack admin approves the app, whether it's Anthropic's or Upsy's.

Claude can't search Slack through Upsy

Expected until Upsy is in the Slack Marketplace. Name the channel, such as "in #backend", so Claude reads it instead.

"Slack is limiting how often Upsy can read messages"

Slack's limit for unlisted apps. Wait the seconds the message gives, and point Claude at one channel or thread at a time.

Security and privacy

• Claude Tag has one identity for the team, with access set per channel by admins. What it does stays visible in the thread.
• The Slack connector acts as you, and searches only channels you can see.
• Upsy holds a Slack user token, so Claude sees only what you can see, and Claude never receives the token. With Read-only, slack_send_message can't be called. Every call is in Upsy's History, and Upsy emails you if one assistant sends 20 or more messages in 10 minutes. Disconnecting Slack in Upsy revokes the token with Slack.

FAQ

Can Claude read my Slack?

Yes, if you connect it. The Slack connector lets Claude search and read channels you can see. Through Upsy, Claude reads the channels and threads it names. Claude Tag reads the channels it's in and searches the workspace.

What is Claude Tag?

Anthropic's Slack app for teams, launched in June 2026. Anyone in a channel can tag @Claude and hand it a task, and it works in the thread where everyone can see and steer it.

Is Claude in Slack free?

No. Claude Tag needs a Claude Team or Enterprise plan and bills by usage. Anthropic's app needs a paid Slack plan. Upsy is free, and works with Claude's Free plan.

Does Claude Tag work on Pro or Max?

No, only Team and Enterprise. On Pro, Max and Ultra, the earlier app still answers in workspaces that aren't paired with Claude Tag, and the Slack connector brings Slack into Claude.

Can Claude post Slack messages as me?

The Slack connector and Upsy both post as you. Claude Tag posts as Claude.

Can I connect two Slack workspaces to Claude?

With Upsy, yes, up to five, each with its own access.

Does Claude work in Microsoft Teams?

Not yet. Anthropic lists a Microsoft Teams version of Claude Tag as coming soon.