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Why Use GAIA in Slack?

Switching between apps kills focus. With GAIA in Slack, you can manage todos, run workflows, check your calendar, and get answers — all without leaving the conversation you’re already in. Your team gets the same benefit. Add GAIA to a shared channel and everyone can ask questions, trigger automations, and stay on top of work together.

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Connect Your GAIA Account

Before you can use GAIA in Slack, link your Slack identity to your GAIA account. You only need to do this once.
1

Open a DM with GAIA

Find the GAIA app in your Slack sidebar under Apps. If you don’t see it, click Add apps and search for GAIA. Open a direct message with the bot.
2

Run the auth command

Type this slash command in any channel or DM where GAIA is present:
/auth
GAIA sends you an ephemeral link — only you can see it.
3

Log in and authorize

Click the link, sign in to your GAIA account in the browser, and authorize the connection. You’ll be redirected back automatically.
4

Confirm the link

Back in Slack, run /status to check that your account is connected. You should see a confirmation that the bot and API are online and your account is linked.
You can also connect Slack from the GAIA web app. Go to Settings > Integrations, find Slack, and click Connect. See the Connecting Integrations guide for details.

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Talk to GAIA

There are three ways to reach GAIA in Slack.

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Slash command

Use /gaia followed by your message in any channel or DM where the bot is installed: 
/gaia What should I focus on today?
GAIA posts a “Thinking…” message and updates it in real time as the response streams in.

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@mention in a channel

In any channel GAIA has been added to, mention the bot directly: 
@GAIA Summarize the last 5 emails from the marketing team
The response appears in the channel for everyone to see — useful for team questions.

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Direct message

Open a DM with GAIA and type freely. No slash command or @mention needed. Every message you send goes straight to GAIA, just like the web app. 
Draft a follow-up email to the client about the project timeline
Slash command responses are ephemeral — only you can see them. @mentions and DM replies are visible to everyone in the channel or conversation.

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Commands Reference

Here are the most useful commands available in Slack. For the full list, see the Commands Reference.

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Conversations

CommandWhat it does
/gaia <message>Send a message to GAIA and get a streamed response
/newStart a fresh conversation (previous ones are saved in the web app)
/stopCancel the current response and reset
/conversationsList your recent conversations with links to the web app

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Todos

CommandWhat it does
/todo listShow all active todos
/todo add "Buy groceries"Create a new todo
/todo add "Fix login bug" highCreate a todo with a priority (low, medium, high)
/todo complete <id>Mark a todo as done
/todo delete <id>Permanently remove a todo

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Workflows

CommandWhat it does
/workflow listShow all your workflows and their status
/workflow get <id>Get details about a specific workflow
/workflow execute <id>Manually trigger a workflow

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Account

CommandWhat it does
/authLink your Slack account to GAIA
/unlinkDisconnect your Slack account from GAIA
/statusCheck if the bot and API are online
/settingsView your connected integrations and selected model
/helpShow all available commands

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DMs vs Channels

GAIA behaves a little differently depending on where you talk to it. In DMs, every message you type goes straight to GAIA. No prefix needed. This is the best place for personal tasks — checking your calendar, managing todos, or asking questions you don’t want to share with the team. In channels, use /gaia or @GAIA to get the bot’s attention. This works better for team collaboration — asking GAIA to summarize a document, trigger a shared workflow, or answer a question the whole team needs to see.
Auth URLs and sensitive information are always sent as ephemeral messages (visible only to you), even in public channels. However, @mention responses are visible to everyone in the channel. Avoid sharing private data in channel mentions.

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Tips for Team Use

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Set up a dedicated channel

Create a #gaia channel and invite the bot. This gives your team one central place to work with GAIA without cluttering project channels.

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Use workflows for recurring tasks

Instead of typing the same request every Monday morning, create a workflow in the GAIA web app and trigger it from Slack with /workflow execute <id>. Share workflow IDs with your team so anyone can run them.

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Combine with integrations

GAIA gets more useful with every integration you connect. Link Google Calendar, Gmail, Linear, or GitHub, and Slack becomes a single interface for all of them. 
/gaia What meetings do I have tomorrow and are there any open PRs assigned to me?
Each team member needs to link their own GAIA account with /auth and connect their own integrations. GAIA respects individual permissions — it only accesses what each user has authorized.

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Keep conversations organized

Use /new to start a fresh conversation when you switch topics. GAIA carries context within a conversation, so starting clean avoids confusion when you go from “plan my week” to “debug this API error.”

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Troubleshooting

ProblemSolution
GAIA doesn’t respondRun /status to check if the bot is online. If not, contact your workspace admin.
”Account not linked” errorRun /auth to connect your Slack identity to your GAIA account.
Slash command not foundThe GAIA app may not be installed in your workspace. Ask your Slack admin to install it.
Response seems stuck on “Thinking…”Run /stop to cancel, then try again. If the issue persists, start a new conversation with /new.
Integration not workingVerify the integration is connected in the GAIA web app under Settings > Integrations.
For developer setup and self-hosting instructions, see the Slack bot reference.