Slack Thread Deletion

Delete Slack threads safely by removing all replies before deleting the parent message, with confirmation and audit logging.

Critical Safety Rules

1. Always confirm before deletion - Never delete without explicit user approval
2. Show what will be deleted - List all messages in the thread first
3. Log every deletion - Append to audit log for accountability
4. Delete in correct order - Replies first, parent last
5. Handle rate limits - Respect Slack tier limits (50 calls/minute for Tier 1)

Workflow

Step 1: List Thread Messages

Use scripts/list-thread-replies.sh to retrieve and display all messages in the thread:

scripts/list-thread-replies.sh <channel-id> <thread-ts>

This shows:

• Parent message (timestamp, user, text preview)
• All reply messages (timestamp, user, text preview)
• Total count

Step 2: Confirm Deletion

Present the list to the user and ask for explicit confirmation:

Found X messages in thread:
- Parent: @user at HH:MM:SS: "text preview..."
- Reply 1: @user at HH:MM:SS: "text preview..."
- Reply 2: @user at HH:MM:SS: "text preview..."

Delete all X messages? This cannot be undone. (yes/no)

Only proceed if user confirms with "yes" or clear affirmative.

Step 3: Delete Thread

Use scripts/delete-thread.sh to delete the thread:

scripts/delete-thread.sh <channel-id> <thread-ts>

The script:

• Deletes all replies first (in chronological order)
• Deletes parent message last
• Respects rate limits (1.2s delay between deletions)
• Logs each deletion to ~/.slack-deletion-audit.log
• Reports success/failure for each message

Rate Limiting

Slack API rate limits vary by tier:

• Tier 1: ~1 request per second sustained
• Tier 2: Higher limits for larger workspaces

The delete script uses 1.2 second delays to stay well within Tier 1 limits.

Audit Log

All deletions are logged to ~/.slack-deletion-audit.log:

2026-01-15T20:45:00Z | DELETED | C12345 | 1234567890.123456 | @username | "message text preview"

Format: timestamp | action | channel | message_ts | user | text_preview

Error Handling

The scripts handle common errors:

• Invalid channel or thread timestamp
• Messages already deleted
• Permission denied
• Rate limit exceeded (unlikely with delays)
• Network failures

Errors are reported clearly and logged to the audit file.

Finding Thread Timestamps

Thread timestamp (thread_ts) is the timestamp of the parent message. Get it from:

1. Slack UI: Right-click message → Copy link → extract timestamp from URL
2. Message tool: Use message tool to search/list messages
3. API: Use conversations.history or conversations.replies

Channel ID format: C followed by alphanumeric characters (e.g., C12345ABCDE).