How to use the Slack Agent Flow agent skill

What is an agent skill, and what does this one do?

An agent skill is a folder of instructions and optional scripts that an AI agent can load to gain a specific capability. This skill is designed for NanoClaw installs that already use Slack.

When you ask an existing Slack-connected agent to create an agent called Research, the new agent is not only a destination for messages inside the host. The host provisions a Slack app for it, registers it as a slack-<name> instance, starts its Slack adapter without restarting the host, opens a direct message between the new bot and the operator, and opens a three-way group conversation with the operator and both agents.

• A dedicated Slack bot identity for each new agent
• An operator DM between the new bot and you
• A shared room with you and both agents, created by default for a single new agent
• Tools to create a room with several agents at once (create_room) and to add an agent to an existing room (add_to_room)

Install the Slack Agent Flow skill

Download the skill ZIP from this page and unzip it. Then choose one of two locations. For personal use across projects, unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, unzip it into that project's .claude/skills/ folder.

If you use the Claude apps instead, open Settings, then Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the skill there.

• Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/
• Project install: .claude/skills/ inside your project
• Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload

Check the requirements before you trigger it

The skill only does useful work inside an existing NanoClaw install. Check these items first, in this order. The skill's own guide lists them as prerequisites.

• NanoClaw with the add-slack and slack-a2a-rooms skills applied
• A provisioning credential in .env: NANOCLAW_INSTALL_TOKEN (managed broker) or SLACK_MANAGER_TOKEN (direct workspace-level app creation)
• At least one Slack owner or admin recorded in user_roles, so the operator can be resolved
• Node, pnpm and tsx, needed to run the finish script

Understand what happens without a Slack credential

If no provisioning credential is in .env, agent creation still works. The Slack step reports no-credentials and points you to the separate finish script, scripts/slack-agent-flow-finish.ts, which completes the Slack part later.

The skill's guide also says that if the Slack payloads are missing or the NanoClaw trunk is too old, you should re-apply the add-slack and slack-a2a-rooms skills or run /update-skills and /update-nanoclaw rather than editing files by hand.

Trigger the skill with natural requests

You do not need a special command. Ask the existing Slack agent in plain language. Name the agent you want and say what it is for, since the purpose line appears publicly in Slack.

For a team, say so. The skill's guidance is that several agents for one project should share one room, not each open their own.

• "Create an agent called Research to summarise papers each morning."
• "Create an agent called Pixel for design reviews."
• "Build me a team of three agents for this launch and put them in one room."
• "Add Pixel to the launch room."

What to expect while an agent is created

Creation is not instant. The skill's instructions say a unique avatar is generated and a dedicated Slack app is provisioned, which takes about a minute. The agent should acknowledge your request in the same reply, then you will see an intro DM from the new agent and a shared three-way room.

To skip the room for a single agent, the agent can create it with room: 'none'. Team creation works this way: create each agent without a room, then call create_room once with all of them.

• Expect roughly a minute before the new bot appears
• Single agent: default room is three-way (you, the agent, the new agent)
• Team: several agents with room: 'none', then one create_room

Safety: scripts and network access

This skill runs scripts and uses the network. Provisioning a Slack app calls Slack, and the finish script runs with Node, pnpm and tsx. Read the scripts before running the skill in a sensitive workspace.

The main caution is the credential. SLACK_MANAGER_TOKEN is a workspace-level token, and the skill's own notes say it can create apps with broad reach. Do not use this skill in a workspace where giving an agent that token is not acceptable. The managed NANOCLAW_INSTALL_TOKEN route is the alternative the skill describes.

• Runs scripts: yes (including scripts/slack-agent-flow-finish.ts)
• Uses network: yes
• Keep credentials in .env and do not share them
• Review REMOVE.md before you install if you may want to uninstall later

Tips for a smooth setup

Apply the prerequisites in the listed order before triggering creation. Confirm your Slack owner or admin identity is in user_roles, because the operator is resolved from that chain. Give each new agent a short, clear purpose, since it is shown in the room.

• Verify the add-slack and slack-a2a-rooms installs first
• Use room: 'none' for each member of a team, then one create_room
• Use add_to_room to grow a room by one agent later
• Note that Slack group conversations do not grow in place; the room moves to a new conversation and members are rewired automatically