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From Zero to Bolt: Your quick start to building Slack apps

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Ever wondered how people build Slack apps so quickly? The kind that post updates, listen to events, and respond to commands. The kind that makes Slack more useful every day. You’re in the right place.

Meet Bolt. It’s Slack’s framework for building apps efficiently and integrating naturally with Slack. Whether you’re an experienced developer or just curious about how apps work behind the scenes, Bolt provides a clear, approachable foundation to get started. Today, we’ll cover the basics so you can go from “Where do I begin?” to “My app is running!” in just a few minutes.

What’s Bolt, really?

Bolt is a framework that makes working with the Slack API straightforward — no digging through complex payloads or wiring up event listeners from scratch. You just write simple JavaScript (or Python/Java) functions like:

app.message('hello', async ({ say }) => {
  await say("Hey there! 👋");
});

Clean, readable, and refreshingly direct.

With Bolt, you can:

  • Listen to Slack events
  • Respond to messages
  • Handle slash commands
  • Work with shortcuts and actions
  • Manage request verification (so your app stays secure without a headache)

And honestly, quite a bit more.

If you’ve ever wanted a smoother way to bring your ideas into Slack, Bolt gives you a solid foundation without getting in your way. It takes care of the setup, routing, and common patterns so you can focus on your use case instead of wiring everything together.

Getting started (the super quick version)

Before you write a single line of code, you’ll want to have a few things ready:

  • A Slack workspace where you can install apps
  • A Slack app created in the Slack API settings page
  • Node.js installed 
  • And if you’re like me… a cup of coffee or tea ☕️ (optional, but it helps)

When you’re set, head over to the Quickstart guide: 👉 https://docs.slack.dev/quickstart

You’ll use it to:

  • Spin up a new Slack app
  • Enable Socket Mode
  • Grab your tokens
  • Install the Bolt dependencies
  • Run your app for the very first time 🎉

Once your setup is done, this is the out-of-the-box boilerplate Bolt provides — enough to get a Slack app running locally in seconds.

import { App } from "@slack/bolt";

const app = new App({
  token: process.env.SLACK_BOT_TOKEN,
  signingSecret: process.env.SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET,
  socketMode: true,
  appToken: process.env.SLACK_APP_TOKEN,
});
(async () => {
  await app.start();
  console.log("⚡️ Bolt app is running!");
})();

And just like that, you’ve got a live Slack app running locally.

Why build with Bolt?

Once your app is up and running, you might be wondering, “Why should I stick with Bolt instead of wiring everything up myself?” Here’s the scoop:

  • Fast to start — minimal setup, maximum output.
  • Event handling made simple — listening and responding in Slack is just a few lines of code.
  • Batteries included — security checks, payload validation, and parsing are all built in.
  • Readable code — organized and consistent patterns help you and your team pick up the code anytime.
  • Great for experiments AND production — whether you’re prototyping a tiny helper app or building a full-featured internal tool.
  • Run it your way — Bolt for JavaScript or Python lets you launch your app straight from the terminal with the CLI, so testing and iterating is a breeze.

And don’t forget, the docs are packed with examples if you want to dig deeper and try more advanced things.

What to do next?

Now that you’ve got Bolt running, it’s time to get creative. Try stuff like:

  • Respond to emojis in messages
  • Build a tiny “drink water” reminder bot for your team
  • Make an app that reacts to keywords
  • Create an internal tool that connects to other services

Basically, if you can dream it, Bolt can probably help you make it happen inside Slack.

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