If you’re new to Unstructured, read this note first.

Before you can create a source connector, you must first sign in to your Unstructured account:

  • If you do not already have an Unstructured account, go to https://unstructured.io/contact and fill out the online form to indicate your interest.
  • If you already have an Unstructured account, sign in by using the URL of the sign in page that Unstructured provided to you when your Unstructured account was created. If you do not have this URL, contact Unstructured Sales at sales@unstructured.io.

After you sign in, the Unstructured user interface (UI) appears, which you use to create your source connector.

After you create the source connector, add it along with a destination connector to a workflow. Then run the worklow as a job. To learn how, try out the hands-on UI quickstart or watch the 4-minute video tutorial.

You can also create source connectors with the Unstructured API. Learn how.

If you need help, reach out to the community on Slack, or contact us directly.

You are now ready to start creating a source connector! Keep reading to learn how.

Ingest your files into Unstructured from Slack.

The requirements are as follows.

  • A Slack app. Create a Slack app by following Step 1: Creating an app.

  • The app must have the the following OAuth scopes:

    • To read messages from public channels, add the scopes channels:join and channels:history.
    • To read messages from private channels, add the scope groups:history.

    Add these scopes to the app by following Step 2: Requesting scopes.

  • The app must be installed and authorized for the target Slack workspace. Install and authorize the app by following Step 3: Installing and authorizing the app.

  • The app’s access token. Get this token by following Step 3: Installing and authorizing the app.

  • Add the app to the target channels in the Slack workspace. To do this from the channel, open the channel’s details page, click the Integrations tab, click Add apps, and follow the on-screen directions to install the app.

  • The channel ID for each target channel. To get this ID, open the channel’s details page, and look for the Channel ID field on the About tab.

  • The starting and ending date and time range for the channels to be processed. Supported formats include:

    • YYYY-MM-DD
    • YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS
    • YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ
    • YYYY-MM-DD+HH:MM:SS
    • YYYY-MM-DD-HH:MM:SS

Slack has established API rate limits that could restrict the number and frequency of messages that can be read. To explore possible workarounds for these cases, see your Slack representative.

To create the source connector:

  1. On the sidebar, click Connectors.
  2. Click Sources.
  3. Click New or Create Connector.
  4. Give the connector some unique Name.
  5. In the Provider area, click Slack.
  6. Click Continue.
  7. Follow the on-screen instructions to fill in the fields as described later on this page.
  8. Click Save and Test.

Fill in the following fields:

  • Name (required): A unique name for this connector.
  • Channels (required): A comma-separated list of the target Slack channel IDs from which to read messages.
  • Start Date: The date and time, in ISO 8601 format (such as YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ), from which to begin reading messages. Messages created before this timestamp are ignored. By default, all messages are read unless an end date is specified.
  • End Date: The date and time, in ISO 8601 format (such as YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ), at which to stop reading messages. Messages created after this timestamp are ignored. By default, all messages are read unless a start date is specified.
  • Bot Token (required): The access token for the Slack app that has permission to read messages from the target Slack channels.