sym.sdk.integrations.slack

Helpers for interacting with a Slack workspace.

Functions

channel(name[, allow_self, timeout])

A reference to a Slack channel.

fallback(*destinations[, ...])

Returns a RequestDestinationFallback that contains the specified RequestDestination objects, with continue_on_delivery_failure=True.

get_user_info(user)

Get information about a Slack user.

group(users[, allow_self, timeout])

A reference to a Slack group DM.

is_user_in_group(user, *, group_id)

Check if the provided User is a member of the Slack user group specified.

list_users([active_only])

Returns a list of all users in the workspace.

mention(identifier)

Returns a string that mentions a Slack user given their identifier.

send_message(destination, message)

Sends a simple message to a destination in Slack.

send_thread_message(message)

Sends a simple message as a threaded reply to the current request message in Slack.

user(identifier[, allow_self, timeout])

A reference to a Slack user.

users_in_channel(channel)

Retrieves the users in a given Slack channel as a list of User objects.
sym.sdk.integrations.slack.channel(name: str, allow_self: bool = False, timeout: Optional[int] = None) → Union[sym.sdk.request_destination.SlackChannelID, sym.sdk.request_destination.SlackChannelName]

A reference to a Slack channel.

Parameters

  • name – The unique channel name or channel ID. (e.g. ‘#sym-requests’ or ‘C12345’).

  • allow_self – A boolean indicating whether the requester may approve this Request.

  • timeout – An integer representing the number of seconds for the request to remain active for this user. After timeout elapses, the request message will expire and can no longer be interacted with.

sym.sdk.integrations.slack.fallback(*destinations: sym.sdk.request_destination.RequestDestination, continue_on_delivery_failure: Optional[bool] = True, continue_on_timeout: Optional[bool] = False) → sym.sdk.request_destination.RequestDestinationFallback

Returns a RequestDestinationFallback that contains the specified RequestDestination objects, with continue_on_delivery_failure=True.

If used as the return value of a get_approvers reducer, when a Sym Request is made, each RequestDestination will be attempted in sequence until one succeeds.

For example:

def get_approvers(event):
    return slack.fallback(slack.channel("#missing"), slack.user("@david"))
Parameters

  • destinations – At least 2 RequestDestination objects.

  • continue_on_delivery_failure – A boolean representing whether to deliver to the next destination if a failure occurs while delivering to the current destination.

  • continue_on_timeout – A boolean representing whether to deliver to the next destination if the Request at the current destination times out.

sym.sdk.integrations.slack.get_user_info(user: sym.sdk.user.User) → dict

Get information about a Slack user.

Refer to Slack’s users.info API documentation for the details on the response format: https://api.slack.com/methods/users.info

Parameters

user – A Sym User instance to get info about.

sym.sdk.integrations.slack.group(users: Sequence[Union[str, sym.sdk.user.User]], allow_self: bool = False, timeout: Optional[int] = None) → sym.sdk.request_destination.SlackUserGroup

A reference to a Slack group DM.

Parameters

  • users – A list of Slack Users to include in the group. Users can be specified with a Slack user ID, email, a string version of an @mention. (e.g. “U12345”, “jane@symops.io”, “@Jane Austen”, or a Sym User instance).

  • timeout – An integer representing the number of seconds for the request to remain active for this user. After timeout elapses, the request message will expire and can no longer be interacted with.

sym.sdk.integrations.slack.is_user_in_group(user: sym.sdk.user.User, *, group_id: str) → bool

Check if the provided User is a member of the Slack user group specified.

Login to Slack via web and retrieve the Slack user group ID in the left menu bar: More -> People & user groups -> User groups and select your user group. You can see the Slack user group ID in the URL: https://app.slack.com/client/{workspaceID}/browse-user-groups/user_groups/{usergroupID}.

If you have installed the Sym app before Aug 22nd 2023, then you may need to reinstall the Sym app to use this feature. Refer to the main docs for more details.

Parameters

  • user – The User to check group membership of.

  • group_id – The ID of the Slack user group in which to search for the user.

sym.sdk.integrations.slack.list_users(active_only: bool = True) → list

Returns a list of all users in the workspace.

Refer to Slack’s users.info API documentation for the details on the response format: https://api.slack.com/methods/users.list

Parameters

active_only – A boolean indicating whether to exclude deactivated and deleted users.

sym.sdk.integrations.slack.mention(identifier: Union[str, sym.sdk.user.User]) → str

Returns a string that mentions a Slack user given their identifier.

Users can be specified with a Slack user ID, email, a string version of an @mention. (e.g. “U12345”, “jane@symops.io”, “@Jane Austen”, or a Sym User instance).

sym.sdk.integrations.slack.send_message(destination: Union[sym.sdk.user.User, sym.sdk.request_destination.RequestDestination], message: str) → None

Sends a simple message to a destination in Slack. Accepts either a User or a RequestDestination, which may represent a user, group, or channel in Slack.

For example:

# To send to #general:
slack.send_message(slack.channel("#general"), "Hello, world!")

# To DM a specific user:
slack.send_message(slack.user("me@symops.io"), "It works!")

# To DM the user who triggered an event:
slack.send_message(event.user, "You did a thing!")
Parameters

  • destination – Where the message should go.

  • message – The text contents of the message to send.

sym.sdk.integrations.slack.send_thread_message(message: str) → None

Sends a simple message as a threaded reply to the current request message in Slack.

Parameters

message – The text contents of the message to send.

Raises

SlackError – If the current request was not sent to Slack via get_request_notifications or get_approvers, so there is no message to reply to.

sym.sdk.integrations.slack.user(identifier: Union[str, sym.sdk.user.User], allow_self: bool = False, timeout: Optional[int] = None) → sym.sdk.request_destination.SlackUser

A reference to a Slack user.

Parameters

  • identifier – The unique Slack user ID, email, or @mention for a Slack user, or a Sym User instance. (e.g. “U12345”, “jane@symops.io”, “@Jane Austen”).

  • allow_self – A boolean indicating whether the requester may approve this Request.

  • timeout – An integer representing the number of seconds for the request to remain active for this user. After timeout elapses, the request message will expire and can no longer be interacted with.

sym.sdk.integrations.slack.users_in_channel(channel: Union[sym.sdk.request_destination.SlackChannelID, sym.sdk.request_destination.SlackChannelName, str]) → List[sym.sdk.user.User]

Retrieves the users in a given Slack channel as a list of User objects.

“Channel” here includes all Slack conversation types, including public and private channels as well as groups.

The channel argument can either be given as the output of the channel() function, or as a string containing a Slack channel name or ID. If a channel name is given in a string, it must be prefixed with #.

The output is a list of User objects, suitable for use in other areas of the Sym SDK. For example, to easily restrict the ability to approve or deny requests (including in the Sym webapp) to members of a Slack channel, one can use:

@reducer
def get_permissions(event):
    return RequestPermission(
        webapp_view=PermissionLevel.MEMBER,
        approve_deny=user_ids(slack.users_in_channel("#managers")),
        allow_self_approval=False
    )

However, please see the “Cautions” below for some important caveats when using this function.

(For more information on the get_permissions() reducer, please see the docs.)

Cautions:

  • Using this function introduces a hard dependency on Slack in your Sym Flow, which may have unintended effects; for example, during a Slack outage when the Slack API is unavailable. If you must use this function in such a way, wrap the call in a try/except block and include backup logic in the except block. In the above example, you may wish to set approve_deny=PermissionLevel.ADMIN in the except block, for instance, so that admins can still action requests in the webapp even if Slack is down.

  • This function may cause your Flow to experience a reducer timeout for large Slack channels, or if your Slack workspace has a very large number of total users or total channels. Test your usage to ensure that it works as expected. Using a channel ID instead of a channel name may improve performance.

  • To use this function with a private channel, the Sym app for Slack must be a member of that channel; otherwise, this function will raise a channel not found exception.

  • If this function is used with a Slack Connect channel or in a channel containing Slack guest users, any users from outside your organization will be included in the output.

Parameters

channel – A SlackChannelID, SlackChannelName, or string representing the channel ID or name.

Returns

A list of User objects representing the users in the channel, or an empty list if the channel is empty.

Raises

SlackError – If the channel is not found or another error occurs while interacting with the Slack API.