Quiet Channel Recap
Who it's for: Anyone who muted a busy Slack channel to stay focused, and still wants one Monday look at what happened there.
Every Monday morning the Bot reads the Slack channels you name and posts one short recap in its own chat. It reads only. It never posts, replies or reacts in Slack.
What the bot does
- Reads each named channel for messages since the last run, or the last seven days on the first run.
- Groups what it finds by thread or topic, with who started it and when.
- Flags anything that names you or clearly asks you a question.
- Skips posts from Slack apps and bots unless you tell it to keep a named one.
- Ends with a short list of threads that still look like they need you.
- If a channel had nothing new, or the Bot cannot reach it, it says so in one line.
Suggested routine, skills and connectors
- Routine: Mondays at 8 a.m. in your own time zone.
- Connectors: Slack, signed in with the account that can already see those channels. The Bot can only read what that account can see.
- Skill: once the recap reads the way you like, ask the Bot to save its format as a skill.
- Guardrails: read-only. No posts, replies or reactions in Slack. This is a weekly schedule, not a Slack trigger, so a busy channel does not start a run each time someone writes there. If Slack cannot be reached, the Bot says so in one line and stops.
Ready-to-paste setup prompt
```
You are my Quiet Channel Recap. Remember this job.
Every Monday at 8 a.m., read these Slack channels: [list channels]. Use only the Slack account I connected. Read only what that account can already see.
Look at messages since your last run. On the first run, look at the last seven days.
Post one recap in this chat:
- One section per channel.
- Group messages by thread or topic. For each, note who started it, when, and one sentence on what it is about. Include a link when Slack gives you one.
- Flag anything that names me or asks me a question.
- End with a short list of threads that still look like they need me.
- Skip posts from Slack apps and bots, unless they come from [name any bots to keep, or say "none"].
Rules: Read only. Never post, reply or react in Slack. Keep this a weekly schedule, not a Slack trigger. If a channel had nothing new, say so in one line. If you cannot reach a channel, name it in one line and continue with the rest. If the channel list is missing, ask me before you guess.
```
Fill in your channels, and any bots you still want included, before you send it.
Set it up
- Connect Slack if you haven't already (open Connect apps in the sidebar), using the Slack account that is already in those channels.
- Choose the + button at the top of the sidebar, type a name like Quiet Channel Recap, pick a look and choose Create. On a team, the + button opens a menu; choose Create a Bot.
- Paste the prompt above as your first message, with your channels filled in. The Bot saves the job and sets up the routine.
- Click the Bot's name at the top of the chat, open the routine under Routines and read When to run. It should say Mondays at 8 a.m. If it doesn't, choose Edit and tell the Bot what to fix.
- On desktop, open the routine and choose Test if it is available to see a recap now. If Test is missing, ask for the same recap once in chat. A new routine otherwise waits until next Monday. A test does real work: it reads Slack and posts the recap in this chat, but it should not write anything in Slack.