How to Connect Slack to Google Sheets

Getting Slack messages into a spreadsheet is more constrained than most integrations, and it is worth knowing why before you start. A bot must be invited to every channel it reads, regardless of its scopes, and in 2025 Slack sharply reduced the rate limits on message history for apps that are not approved Marketplace apps. This guide covers the workspace export, the free API method with both constraints handled, and when each is the right choice.

The admin option: workspace export

Workspace owners can export public channel history from Settings & administration → Workspace settings → Import/Export Data. The standard export is available on every plan and covers public channels; exporting private channels or DMs requires a paid plan and an application to Slack, since it exposes private content.

The output is a zip of JSON files, one per channel per day, not a CSV. Getting that into Sheets means processing it first. For a bulk archive this is still the fastest route and it sidesteps rate limits entirely.

Slack to Google Sheets for free (Apps Script + Web API)

Create an app at api.slack.com/apps, add the bot token scopes channels:history, channels:read and users:read (add groups:history for private channels), install it to your workspace, and copy the bot token beginning xoxb-.

Then invite the bot to each channel you want to read by typing /invite @yourbotname in that channel. Scopes grant the ability to read channels in principle; membership grants it in practice. Without the invite every call returns not_in_channel.

1function importSlackChannel() {2  const TOKEN = "xoxb-XXXXXXXXXXXX";3  const CHANNEL = "C01ABC2DEFG";   // channel ID, from the channel's About tab4  const headers = { Authorization: "Bearer " + TOKEN };5 6  // Resolve user IDs to names once, rather than per message.7  const names = {};8  let userCursor = null;9  do {10    let u = "https://slack.com/api/users.list?limit=200";11    if (userCursor) u += "&cursor=" + userCursor;12    const r = JSON.parse(UrlFetchApp.fetch(u, { headers }).getContentText());13    if (!r.ok) throw new Error(r.error);14    r.members.forEach((m) => {15      names[m.id] = m.profile.display_name || m.real_name || m.name;16    });17    userCursor = (r.response_metadata || {}).next_cursor || null;18  } while (userCursor);19 20  const rows = [];21  let cursor = null;22 23  do {24    let url = "https://slack.com/api/conversations.history"25      + "?channel=" + CHANNEL + "&limit=200";26    if (cursor) url += "&cursor=" + cursor;27 28    const res = JSON.parse(UrlFetchApp.fetch(url, { headers }).getContentText());29 30    // Slack returns HTTP 200 with ok:false for logical errors, so checking31    // the status code alone will happily process an error response.32    if (!res.ok) {33      if (res.error === "ratelimited") { Utilities.sleep(60000); continue; }34      throw new Error(res.error);   // not_in_channel, missing_scope, …35    }36 37    res.messages.forEach((m) => {38      rows.push([39        new Date(parseFloat(m.ts) * 1000),      // ts is epoch seconds40        names[m.user] || m.user || m.bot_id || "",41        expandRefs(m.text || "", names),42        m.thread_ts || "",43        (m.reply_count || 0),44      ]);45    });46 47    cursor = (res.response_metadata || {}).next_cursor || null;48    if (cursor) Utilities.sleep(1200);49  } while (cursor);50 51  const header = ["Timestamp", "User", "Message", "Thread", "Replies"];52  const ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();53  const sheet = ss.getSheetByName("Slack") || ss.insertSheet("Slack");54  sheet.clearContents();55  sheet.getRange(1, 1, 1, header.length).setValues([header]);56  if (rows.length) {57    sheet.getRange(2, 1, rows.length, header.length).setValues(rows);58  }59}60 61// Message text embeds raw IDs: "<@U01ABC2DEF> see <#C01XYZ|general>".62function expandRefs(text, names) {63  return text64    .replace(/<@([A-Z0-9]+)>/g, (m, id) => "@" + (names[id] || id))65    .replace(/<#[A-Z0-9]+\|([^>]+)>/g, (m, name) => "#" + name);66}

The most important habit in that code: Slack returns HTTP 200 even when a call fails, signalling problems through an ok: false body with an error string. Code that only checks the status code will treat not_in_channel as a successful empty response and quietly write nothing.

Limits: the 2025 rate limits on conversations.history for non-Marketplace apps, around one request a minute returning up to 15 messages, make full history pulls of busy channels impractical. Apps Script's six-minute ceiling compounds this. For bulk history, use the workspace export; for ongoing capture, pull incrementally with the oldest parameter so each run fetches only what is new.

The Brooked method

Brooked handles cursor pagination, resolves user IDs to names, expands inline channel and user references, and imports incrementally so each scheduled run only fetches messages newer than the last, which keeps you well inside the rate limits rather than re-reading history every time.

Step 1: Install Brooked

Install Brooked from the Google Workspace Marketplace. Free tier includes 100 imports per month, no credit card required.

Step 2: Connect Slack and invite the bot

Choose Slack in Brooked and authorise the workspace. Then invite the app to each channel you want to read with /invite @brooked. This step is not optional and is the cause of nearly every "the channel list is empty" report.

Step 3: Schedule the refresh

Set the import to re-run hourly or daily. Incremental imports append only new messages, so a long-running channel log builds up over time without repeatedly hammering the history endpoint.

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Method comparison

Common use cases

• Support metrics: measure volume and time-to-first-reply in a shared help channel
• Incident timelines: pull an incident channel into a sheet to build a chronology for the post-mortem
• Standup logs: archive daily updates into a searchable, filterable table
• Compliance retention: keep an auditable record of a channel beyond your Slack retention window
• Sentiment and topic tracking: categorise recurring themes across customer-facing channels

Troubleshooting common issues

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Frequently asked questions