Slack setup

This guide walks through installing Escalate's Slack app, granting the bot scopes, and confirming the first deal channel auto-creates. Plan ~5 minutes for the install + ~10 minutes to confirm the trigger.

What you'll need

• Admin role: Slack workspace Workspace Owner OR Workspace Admin. Channel-manager alone is not sufficient — Escalate needs to create new channels on demand.
• Workspace ID: found at Workspace name → Settings & administration → Workspace settings. Looks like T0123ABCDEF. You can also find it in any Slack URL that contains your workspace: the T... segment after /team/.
• Bot scopes Escalate requests (self-installable; no admin approval prompt):
  • channels:manage — auto-create deal channels.
  • channels:read + im:history — watch sub-thread silence.
  • chat:write — post alerts and the monthly digest.
  • users:read.email — resolve role-mapped owners (e.g., who's the security lead on this deal).

If you're skeptical about any of these, the public DPA covers the read-only nature of every scope.

Step-by-step

1. From the Escalate sign-up flow, click Add to Slack. Slack opens the standard OAuth consent screen showing every scope above. Review and click Allow.

2. Slack redirects you back to Escalate. You'll see a "Slack connected" confirmation page. Close that tab.

3. Back in Slack, search for the Escalate app in the sidebar. Pin it for fast access; Escalate uses DMs to deliver alerts and the /escalate slash command.

4. Run /escalate config crm and connect either Salesforce or HubSpot (separate guide for Salesforce or HubSpot). Once the CRM is connected, Escalate begins watching deals on the next matching CRM-stage transition.

5. To confirm the install is healthy: run /escalate stats. You'll see counters for deals covered, in-force trigger rules, and alerts fired in the last 7 days. Day-0 numbers are zero — that's expected; counters tick up as deals hit your configured trigger.

Troubleshooting

Errors visible on the OAuth-callback page (and /escalate config crm flow) map to the recovery paths below. The exact error messages match what Slack and the Escalate OAuth helper return.

"OAuth is not configured on this Escalate deployment."

Cause: Escalate's server-side env values are unset (rare in production; happens during a fresh staging deploy). Fix: Ping the founder via email or Calendly. The fix is server-side; nothing you can do from the workspace.

"This connection request has expired or already been used."

Cause: OAuth state tokens are single-use and expire after 15 minutes. You may have left the OAuth tab open too long, or refreshed the callback URL. Fix: Run /escalate config crm again to get a fresh link.

"Your Slack workspace is not registered with Escalate."

Cause: You connected the CRM before installing the Slack app, or the Slack install was rolled back. Fix: Re-install Escalate from your sign-up confirmation email (or the pricing page checkout flow), then connect the CRM via /escalate config crm.

"Only workspace admins can connect a CRM."

Cause: You're not a Workspace Owner or Workspace Admin. Fix: Ask a workspace admin to run /escalate config crm. The CRM connection is workspace-wide; once any admin connects it, all role- mapped users benefit.

"Install link is for a different vendor."

Cause: You followed a Salesforce install link but landed on the HubSpot callback URL (or vice versa). Usually a stale browser tab. Fix: Run /escalate config crm again and start fresh.

Alerts never arrive after a deal qualifies

Cause checklist:

• Did the deal hit your configured trigger stage? Check /escalate config trigger.
• Is your founder DM relationship still open? Run /escalate help and verify Escalate can DM you (Slack blocks DMs to never-messaged- before users on some workspaces).
• Is the alert in the founder DM rather than the deal channel? By design, every alert lands as a private DM — never in the deal channel itself.

If the answers are all yes and you still see nothing, ping the founder with the deal name; the audit log has the full trail.

How to find your Slack workspace ID

The Escalate slash commands work without you ever typing the workspace ID. The only time it surfaces is when you're asking for help via email:

• In Slack: click your workspace name (top-left) → Settings & administration → Workspace settings. The workspace ID is the string starting with T near the top of the settings panel.
• From a Slack URL: any URL containing /team/T... — the T... segment IS the workspace ID.
• From the Escalate console: the workspace ID is shown in the URL of the Coverage Report (e.g., /coverage?ws=T0123ABCDEF).