# Slack

{% hint style="info" %}
Cortex connects to many third-party vendors whose system interfaces frequently change. As a result, integration behavior or configuration steps may shift without notice. If you encounter unexpected issues, check with your system administrator or refer to the vendor's documentation for the most current information. Additionally, integration sync times vary and are subject to scheduling overrides and timing variance.
{% endhint %}

This article explains how to configure the integration for Slack. For instructions on using the AI Assistant, see [Using the integration for Slack](https://docs.cortex.io/ingesting-data-into-cortex/integrations/slack/using-the-integration-for-slack-ai-assistant).

## Why use the integration for Slack

Slack is where your team already communicates. Connecting it to Cortex brings your service ownership, standards, and alerts into the same place, so you spend less time switching tools and more time getting work done.

With the Slack integration, you can:

* **Ask questions, get answers**. The [Cortex AI Assistant](https://docs.cortex.io/get-started/cortex-ai-assistant) lets you query your Cortex environment in natural language, so you can find what you need without clicking through the UI. Ask the AI Assistant questions such as ***Which entities do I own?*** or ***Show me all critical services failing the Production Readiness Scorecard***.
* **Reach the right team faster**. Slack channels appear in the 'Owners' block on entity details pages, so you always know where to go when coordinating on a project or responding to an incident.
* **Stay on top of what matters.** Get notifications directly in Slack for Scorecard changes, upcoming Initiatives, weekly entity performance summaries, and more.
* **Enforce communication standards.** Build [Scorecards](https://docs.cortex.io/standardize/scorecards) that require projects to have a designated Slack channel, keeping ownership clear across your catalog.

## Configuring Slack

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For on-premises Cortex instances, follow the manual configuration process. See [self-managed Slack](https://docs.cortex.io/self-managed/features/integrations/slack).
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### Prerequisites

* Users with the `Configure Integrations` permissions can configure Slack.
* You must be an admin in your Slack account.
* The Slack account must not be linked to another Cortex tenant.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Slack channels are cached and refreshed every four (4) hours, so newly added or updated channels may not appear immediately in the UI or on an entity's details page.
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### Step 1: Configuring Slack in Cortex

1. From the main sidebar, select **Integrations**.
2. Locate Slack, then click **Install**.
3. In the right panel, click **Add to Slack**.\
   The **Allow access** window opens.
4. From the **Workspace** drop-down menu, select your workspace.
5. Review the app permissions, then click **Allow**.\
   After signing in to Slack and granting permission for Cortex to access the Slack workspace, you are redirected to the Slack settings page in Cortex.
6. In the upper-right corner of the page, click **Test configuration** to test the connection.

### Step 2: Configuring Slack app settings

Follow the steps below to configure additional Slack settings.

1. From the main sidebar, select **Integrations**.
2. Locate Slack, then select **Settings**.
3. From the **Integration settings** tab, do any of the following:
   * Toggle on **Require Cortex account to use Cortex's Slack app** - Enable this setting if you want Cortex's Slack app to only work for users who have Cortex accounts.
   * Click **Notification settings** to configure notifications to be sent via Slack for your organization. See [Managing Slack notifications](#managing-slack-notifications) below for more information.
   * Click **Identity mappings** to map email addresses from your Slack workspace to email addresses of team members in Cortex, making sure the integration works as expected for users.\
     \
     **Tip**: Confirm that users' Slack accounts are connected from the [Onboarding management](https://app.getcortexapp.com/admin/onboard-management) tool or from the [identity mappings section in settings](https://app.getcortexapp.com/admin/settings/slack-mappings).

## Viewing Slack information in Cortex

Slack channels appear at the top of an entity's details page in a **Slack channels** block. They also appear in the **Owners** block in the entity's metadata sidebar.

Click a channel name to go directly to that channel in Slack.

<div data-full-width="false" data-with-frame="true"><figure><img src="https://826863033-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FJW7pYRxS4dHS3Hv6wxve%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-76249cb87c7298b7a4b05bdf6e088d6fdb0217c4%2Fslack-on-entity.jpg?alt=media" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

{% hint style="info" %}
Use Slack channel data to write CQL queries and build Scorecard rules. See [Creating Scorecard rules and writing CQL queries with the Slack integration](https://docs.cortex.io/ingesting-data-into-cortex/integrations/using-the-integration-for-slack-ai-assistant#create-scorecard-rules).
{% endhint %}

## Managing Slack notifications

Slack notifications are controlled at two levels:

* **Workspace settings** - In Cortex, Admins (or users with the `Configure workspace notification settings` permission) can enable or disable Slack as a delivery channel for each notification type. This determines which notifications are available to send via Slack across the workspace.
* **Personal settings** - Individual users can then choose which of the available Slack notifications they want to receive in their own personal notification settings.

{% hint style="info" %}
If a notification type is disabled at the workspace level, users won't be able to opt into it in their personal settings.
{% endhint %}

**How notifications are routed**

Notifications are delivered by the integration and are routed based on their type:

* **User-based notifications** are sent as direct messages to the relevant user.
* **Team-based notifications** are sent to the Slack channel associated with a team.
* **Entity-based notifications** are sent to the Slack channel associated with an entity.

Notifications can be delivered to private Slack channels, but the Cortex AI Assistant must be a member of the channel for messages to come through.

Additionally, the AI Assistant sends user-based and team-based weekly reports. The user-based weekly report summarizes how their entities are tracking against Scorecards and Initiatives. The team-based report delivers the same summary for entities owned by that team.

See [Notifications](https://docs.cortex.io/configure/settings/notifications) for more information.


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.cortex.io/ingesting-data-into-cortex/integrations/slack.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.