Python Slack SDK
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Webhook Client

You can use slack_sdk.webhook.WebhookClient for Incoming Webhooks and message responses using response_url in payloads.

The Python document for this module is available at https://slack.dev/python-slack-sdk/api-docs/slack_sdk/

Incoming Webhooks

To use Incoming Webhooks, just calling WebhookClient(url)#send(payload) method works for you. The call posts a message in a channel associated with the webhook URL.

from slack_sdk.webhook import WebhookClient
url = "https://hooks.slack.com/services/T00000000/B00000000/XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
webhook = WebhookClient(url)

response = webhook.send(text="Hello!")
assert response.status_code == 200
assert response.body == "ok"

It’s also possible to use blocks, richer message using Block Kit.

from slack_sdk.webhook import WebhookClient
url = "https://hooks.slack.com/services/T00000000/B00000000/XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
webhook = WebhookClient(url)
response = webhook.send(
    text="fallback",
    blocks=[
        {
            "type": "section",
            "text": {
                "type": "mrkdwn",
                "text": "You have a new request:\n*<fakeLink.toEmployeeProfile.com|Fred Enriquez - New device request>*"
            }
        }
    ]
)

response_url

User actions in channels generates a response_url and includes the URL in its payload. You can use WebhookClient to send a message via the response_url.

import os
from slack_sdk.signature import SignatureVerifier
signature_verifier = SignatureVerifier(
    signing_secret=os.environ["SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET"]
)

from slack_sdk.webhook import WebhookClient

from flask import Flask, request, make_response
app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route("/slack/events", methods=["POST"])
def slack_app():
    # Verify incoming requests from Slack
    # https://api.slack.com/authentication/verifying-requests-from-slack
    if not signature_verifier.is_valid(
        body=request.get_data(),
        timestamp=request.headers.get("X-Slack-Request-Timestamp"),
        signature=request.headers.get("X-Slack-Signature")):
        return make_response("invalid request", 403)

    # Handle a slash command invocation
    if "command" in request.form \
        and request.form["command"] == "/reply-this":
        response_url = request.form["response_url"]
        text = request.form["text"]
        webhook = WebhookClient(response_url)
        # Send a reply in the channel
        response = webhook.send(text=f"You said '{text}'")
        # Acknowledge this request
        return make_response("", 200)

    return make_response("", 404)

AsyncWebhookClient

The webhook client is available in asynchronous programming using the standard asyncio library, too. You use AsyncWebhookClient instead for it.

AsyncWebhookClient internally relies on AIOHTTP library but it is an optional dependency. So, to use this class, run pip install aiohttp beforehand.

import asyncio
# requires: pip install aiohttp
from slack_sdk.webhook.async_client import AsyncWebhookClient
url = "https://hooks.slack.com/services/T00000000/B00000000/XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"

async def send_message_via_webhook(url: str):
    webhook = AsyncWebhookClient(url)
    response = await webhook.send(text="Hello!")
    assert response.status_code == 200
    assert response.body == "ok"

# This is the simplest way to run the async method
# but you can go with any ways to run it
asyncio.run(send_message_via_webhook(url))

RetryHandler

With the default settings, only ConnectionErrorRetryHandler with its default configuration (=only one retry in the manner of exponential backoff and jitter) is enabled. The retry handler retries if an API client encounters a connectivity-related failure (e.g., Connection reset by peer).

To use other retry handlers, you can pass a list of RetryHandler to the client constructor. For instance, you can add the built-in RateLimitErrorRetryHandler this way:

from slack_sdk.webhook import WebhookClient
url = "https://hooks.slack.com/services/T00000000/B00000000/XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
webhook = WebhookClient(url=url)

# This handler does retries when HTTP status 429 is returned
from slack_sdk.http_retry.builtin_handlers import RateLimitErrorRetryHandler
rate_limit_handler = RateLimitErrorRetryHandler(max_retry_count=1)

# Enable rate limited error retries as well
client.retry_handlers.append(rate_limit_handler)

Creating your own ones is also quite simple. Defining a new class that inherits slack_sdk.http_retry.RetryHandler (AsyncRetryHandler for asyncio apps) and implements required methods (internals of can_retry / prepare_for_next_retry). Check the built-in ones’ source code for learning how to properly implement.

import socket
from typing import Optional
from slack_sdk.http_retry import (RetryHandler, RetryState, HttpRequest, HttpResponse)
from slack_sdk.http_retry.builtin_interval_calculators import BackoffRetryIntervalCalculator
from slack_sdk.http_retry.jitter import RandomJitter

class MyRetryHandler(RetryHandler):
    def _can_retry(
        self,
        *,
        state: RetryState,
        request: HttpRequest,
        response: Optional[HttpResponse] = None,
        error: Optional[Exception] = None
    ) -> bool:
        # [Errno 104] Connection reset by peer
        return error is not None and isinstance(error, socket.error) and error.errno == 104

webhook = WebhookClient(
    url=url,
    retry_handlers=[MyRetryHandler(
        max_retry_count=1,
        interval_calculator=BackoffRetryIntervalCalculator(
            backoff_factor=0.5,
            jitter=RandomJitter(),
        ),
    )],
)

For asyncio apps, Async prefixed corresponding modules are available. All the methods in those methods are async/await compatible. Check the source code and tests for more details.