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Connect Qualia to Slack to receive updates from agents running in autonomous mode and to chat with Qualia directly from Slack. When agents run in autonomous mode, they post progress and results to Slack instead of asking for confirmation, and you can reply, answer questions, and start new conversations without leaving Slack. Slack works the same in the desktop app and in Qualia Cloud: connect once from settings, then invite the bot to the channels where you want it.

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Connecting to Slack

  1. Go to Settings > Integrations > Slack
  2. Click Connect to Slack
  3. Authorize Qualia in the Slack OAuth flow
Once connected, the status shows Connected. Invite @Qualia to any channel you want it to participate in; proactive updates are posted to per-chat threads. In Qualia Cloud, the connection is associated with the workspace where you start the OAuth flow. New DMs and @-mentions create chats in that workspace. Reconnecting Slack from another Qualia workspace moves this new-conversation target; existing chat threads continue routing to their original workspaces. A Slack account can be connected to one Qualia account at a time, because inbound Slack messages have to resolve to a single Qualia user. Authorizing the same Slack account from a second Qualia account moves the connection to it and disconnects the first. The first account’s Settings > Integrations > Slack then says the connection moved, and reconnecting from there moves it back. Chats the first account already had in Slack stay with it rather than moving, so they can no longer be answered. Replying in one of those threads gets a note saying the account moved, instead of silence.

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Reading and posting from chat

Once Slack is connected, the agent can also use it as a source and a destination during a conversation, with four built-in tools:
  • List channels — the channels, private channels, and DMs your account can see.
  • Read a channel — recent messages, newest first, one page at a time.
  • Read a thread — a parent message and its replies.
  • Post a message — to a channel or into a thread.
In Qualia Cloud, reads from a chat you started in Qualia use your Slack authorization, so the agent sees what you see, including private channels you belong to. Turns started from a Slack thread read as the Qualia app instead — anyone in the workspace can reply in that thread, so the agent only sees channels Qualia was invited to. Posts always go out as the Qualia app, never as you, and the agent is instructed to confirm the wording and destination with you before sending anything you did not dictate. Manage tool permissions in Customize agent > MCP Servers. Searching Slack is not available yet; the agent reads by channel and thread. On desktop, the tools are available when Qualia runs Slack messages on your machine (see Where Qualia runs below), and they read as the Qualia app.

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Chat threads

Each Slack-backed chat has its own thread. Toggle Notify in Slack in the chat tab menu or an agent’s context menu to control whether that chat posts updates. Chats started from Slack have it enabled automatically; app-created chats create a direct-message thread when they first post. In a shared cloud workspace, only the owner can change this setting. Slack updates are available only for chats created by the owner.

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What gets posted

Agents post:
  • Progress updates: What they’re working on
  • Findings: Preliminary results and insights
  • Completion notices: When tasks finish
  • Questions: If they need guidance, with answer buttons you can click in Slack

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Chatting from Slack

  • Start a conversation: @-mention the bot in a channel it has joined, or DM it. Qualia creates a chat and replies in a thread.
  • Reply in a thread: Anyone in the workspace can reply in an agent’s thread; the agent incorporates the feedback and adjusts its work.
  • Address another agent: Mention a uniquely named workspace agent in the thread to route that turn to it. Its answer returns to the requesting Slack thread.
  • Answer questions: When an agent asks for guidance, click the buttons or use the select menus in the Slack message.

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Where Qualia runs: cloud or your machine

Under Where Qualia runs in Slack settings, choose where messages from Slack execute:
  • Qualia Cloud (default): runs in the cloud and is always available — Qualia responds whether or not your computer is on.
  • This machine: runs on your own computer, against your local files and hardware. Use this when a Slack request needs data or compute that only lives on your machine.
When set to This machine, Qualia in Slack is only as available as that computer:
  • It responds only while Qualia is running on your machine. If your machine is off or Qualia isn’t running, Slack replies with a note asking you to start it, and the message isn’t queued — send it again once you’re back.
  • If your machine goes to sleep mid-response, that run stops and may leave a partial reply in the thread. Re-ask once it’s awake.
Switch back to Qualia Cloud any time you want always-on availability.

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Disconnecting

Click Disconnect Slack to revoke access:
  • Agents will no longer send updates to Slack
  • Agents in autonomous mode will continue working but won’t report progress
  • Removing the app from the workspace in Slack also disconnects it
  • You can reconnect at any time

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Troubleshooting

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Bot not posting

  • Verify the bot is invited to the channel
  • Check that the Slack connection shows Connected in Settings
  • Check the chat’s Notify in Slack toggle

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Bot not responding to @-mentions

  • @-mentions only start a conversation for the user who connected Slack
  • Thread replies work for anyone in the workspace

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Bot says your machine is offline

  • This appears when Where Qualia runs is set to This machine but Qualia isn’t currently running on it
  • Start Qualia on that computer and send the message again, or switch Where Qualia runs to Qualia Cloud for always-on availability