Uploads or creates a file.
POSThttps://slack-gov.com/api/files.upload
multipart/form-data
application/x-www-form-urlencoded
token
Authentication token bearing required scopes. Tokens should be passed as an HTTP Authorization header or alternatively, as a POST parameter.
xxxx-xxxxxxxxx-xxxx
Comma-separated list of channel names or IDs where the file will be shared.
C1234567890,C2345678901,C3456789012
File contents via a POST variable. If omitting this parameter, you must provide a file
.
...
File contents via multipart/form-data
. If omitting this parameter, you must submit content
.
...
A file type identifier.
php
The message text introducing the file in specified channels
.
Best!
Provide another message's ts
value to upload this file as a reply. Never use a reply's ts
value; use its parent instead.
1234567890.123456
files.upload
is deprecated and will stop functioning on March 11, 2025. Use files.getUploadURLExternal
and files.completeUploadExternal
to upload files instead. Newly created apps will be unable to use files.upload
beginning May 8, 2024. See Uploading files for more details on the process and this changelog for more on the deprecation.
This method allows you to create or upload an existing file.
You must provide either a file
or content
parameter.
The content of the file can either be posted using an enctype
of multipart/form-data
(with the file parameter named file
), in the usual way that files are uploaded via the browser, or the content of the file can be sent as a POST var called content
. The latter should be used for creating a "file" from a long message/paste and forces "editable" mode.
In both cases, the type of data in the file will be intuited from the filename and the magic bytes in the file, for supported formats.
Sending a valid filetype
parameter will override this behavior. Possible filetype
values can be found in the file
object definition.
Files uploaded via multipart/form-data
will be stored either in hosted or editable mode, based on certain heuristics (determined
type, file size).
The file can also be shared directly into channels on upload, by specifying an optional argument channels
. If there's more than one channel name or ID in the channels
string, they should be comma-separated. The owner of the token used to upload the file must also be a member of any channel you wish to post to this way.
There is a 1 megabyte file size limit for files uploaded as snippets.
Upload files and images into message threads by providing the thread parent's ts
value with the thread_ts
parameter.
The initial_comment
field is used in messages to introduce the file in conversation.
If you only specify a filename
, we remove the file extension and populate the file's title
with the remaining value. So, if you want the file's extension to be shown in Slack, you must include it in the title
argument when uploading it.
By default all newly-uploaded files are private and only visible to the owner.
They become public once they are shared into a public channel (which can
happen at upload time via the channels
argument).
If successful, the response will include a file object.
Upload "dramacat.gif" from the current directory and share it in two channels, using multipart/form-data
:
curl -F file=@dramacat.gif -F "initial_comment=Shakes the cat" -F channels=C024BE91L,D032AC32T -H "Authorization: Bearer xoxb-xxxxxxxxx-xxxx" https://slack.com/api/files.upload
Create an editable text file containing the text "launch plan":
curl -F "content=launch plan" -H "Authorization: Bearer xoxb-xxxxxxxxx-xxxx" https://slack.com/api/files.upload
Upload another image to an existing message thread:
curl -F file=@drworm.gif -F "initial_comment=I play the drums." -F channels=C024BE91L -F thread_ts=1532293503.000001 -H "Authorization: Bearer xoxp-xxxxxxxxx-xxxx" https://slack.com/api/files.upload
Success response after uploading a file to a channel with an initial message
{
"ok": true,
"file": {
"id": "F0TD00400",
"created": 1532293501,
"timestamp": 1532293501,
"name": "dramacat.gif",
"title": "dramacat",
"mimetype": "image/jpeg",
"filetype": "gif",
"pretty_type": "JPEG",
"user": "U0L4B9NSU",
"editable": false,
"size": 43518,
"mode": "hosted",
"is_external": false,
"external_type": "",
"is_public": false,
"public_url_shared": false,
"display_as_bot": false,
"username": "",
"url_private": "https://.../dramacat.gif",
"url_private_download": "https://.../dramacat.gif",
"thumb_64": "https://.../dramacat_64.gif",
"thumb_80": "https://.../dramacat_80.gif",
"thumb_360": "https://.../dramacat_360.gif",
"thumb_360_w": 360,
"thumb_360_h": 250,
"thumb_480": "https://.../dramacat_480.gif",
"thumb_480_w": 480,
"thumb_480_h": 334,
"thumb_160": "https://.../dramacat_160.gif",
"image_exif_rotation": 1,
"original_w": 526,
"original_h": 366,
"permalink": "https://.../dramacat.gif",
"permalink_public": "https://.../More-Path-Components",
"comments_count": 0,
"is_starred": false,
"shares": {
"private": {
"D0L4B9P0Q": [
{
"reply_users": [],
"reply_users_count": 0,
"reply_count": 0,
"ts": "1532293503.000001"
}
]
}
},
"channels": [],
"groups": [],
"ims": [
"D0L4B9P0Q"
],
"has_rich_preview": false
}
}
Uploading a file with the content
parameter creates an editable text/plain
file by default
{
"ok": true,
"file": {
"id": "F0TD0GUTS",
"created": 1532294750,
"timestamp": 1532294750,
"name": "-.txt",
"title": "Untitled",
"mimetype": "text/plain",
"filetype": "text",
"pretty_type": "Plain Text",
"user": "U0L4B9NSU",
"editable": true,
"size": 11,
"mode": "snippet",
"is_external": false,
"external_type": "",
"is_public": true,
"public_url_shared": false,
"display_as_bot": false,
"username": "",
"url_private": "https://.../.txt",
"url_private_download": "https://...download/-.txt",
"permalink": "https://.../.txt",
"permalink_public": "https://.../.txt",
"edit_link": "https://.../.txt/edit",
"preview": "launch plan",
"preview_highlight": "<div class=\"CodeMirror cm-s-default CodeMirrorServer\" oncopy=\"if(event.clipboardData){event.clipboardData.setData('text/plain',window.getSelection().toString().replace(/\\u200b/g,''));event.preventDefault();event.stopPropagation();}\">\n<div class=\"CodeMirror-code\">\n<div><pre>launch plan</pre></div>\n</div>\n</div>\n",
"lines": 1,
"lines_more": 0,
"preview_is_truncated": false,
"comments_count": 0,
"is_starred": false,
"shares": {
"public": {
"C061EG9SL": [
{
"reply_users": [],
"reply_users_count": 0,
"reply_count": 0,
"ts": "1532294750.000001",
"channel_name": "general",
"team_id": "T061EG9R6"
}
]
}
},
"channels": [
"C061EG9SL"
],
"groups": [],
"ims": [],
"has_rich_preview": false
}
}
Typical error response
{
"ok": false,
"error": "invalid_auth"
}
This table lists the expected errors that this method could return. However, other errors can be returned in the case where the service is down or other unexpected factors affect processing. Callers should always check the value of the ok
params in the response.
Error | Description |
---|---|
blocked_file_type | Admin has disabled uploading this type of file |
channel_not_found | At least one of the values passed for |
invalid_channel | One or more channels supplied are invalid |
malware_detected | This file may contain a virus or other malware and can't be uploaded to Slack |
not_in_channel | Authenticated user is not in the channel. |
post_contents_too_large | File content is larger than 130kb. |
posting_to_general_channel_denied | An admin has restricted posting to the #general channel. |
slack_connect_blocked_file_type | File uploads with certain types are blocked in all Slack Connect communications |
slack_connect_clip_sharing_blocked | Admin has disabled Clip sharing in Slack Connect channels |
slack_connect_file_upload_sharing_blocked | Admin has disabled File uploads in all Slack Connect communications |
invalid_thread_ts | Value passed to thread_ts was invalid |
method_deprecated | The method has been deprecated. |
access_denied | Access to a resource specified in the request is denied. |
account_inactive | Authentication token is for a deleted user or workspace when using a |
deprecated_endpoint | The endpoint has been deprecated. |
ekm_access_denied | Administrators have suspended the ability to post a message. |
enterprise_is_restricted | The method cannot be called from an Enterprise. |
invalid_auth | Some aspect of authentication cannot be validated. Either the provided token is invalid or the request originates from an IP address disallowed from making the request. |
missing_scope | The token used is not granted the specific scope permissions required to complete this request. |
not_allowed_token_type | The token type used in this request is not allowed. |
not_authed | No authentication token provided. |
no_permission | The workspace token used in this request does not have the permissions necessary to complete the request. Make sure your app is a member of the conversation it's attempting to post a message to. |
org_login_required | The workspace is undergoing an enterprise migration and will not be available until migration is complete. |
token_expired | Authentication token has expired |
token_revoked | Authentication token is for a deleted user or workspace or the app has been removed when using a |
two_factor_setup_required | Two factor setup is required. |
team_access_not_granted | The token used is not granted the specific workspace access required to complete this request. |
accesslimited | Access to this method is limited on the current network |
fatal_error | The server could not complete your operation(s) without encountering a catastrophic error. It's possible some aspect of the operation succeeded before the error was raised. |
internal_error | The server could not complete your operation(s) without encountering an error, likely due to a transient issue on our end. It's possible some aspect of the operation succeeded before the error was raised. |
invalid_arg_name | The method was passed an argument whose name falls outside the bounds of accepted or expected values. This includes very long names and names with non-alphanumeric characters other than |
invalid_arguments | The method was either called with invalid arguments or some detail about the arguments passed is invalid, which is more likely when using complex arguments like blocks or attachments. |
invalid_array_arg | The method was passed an array as an argument. Please only input valid strings. |
invalid_charset | The method was called via a |
invalid_form_data | The method was called via a |
invalid_post_type | The method was called via a |
missing_post_type | The method was called via a |
ratelimited | The request has been ratelimited. Refer to the |
request_timeout | The method was called via a |
service_unavailable | The service is temporarily unavailable |
team_added_to_org | The workspace associated with your request is currently undergoing migration to an Enterprise Organization. Web API and other platform operations will be intermittently unavailable until the transition is complete. |
This table lists the expected warnings that this method will return. However, other warnings can be returned in the case where the service is experiencing unexpected trouble.
Warning | Description |
---|---|
method_deprecated |
|
missing_charset | The method was called via a |
superfluous_charset | The method was called via a |
import com.slack.api.bolt.App; import com.slack.api.bolt.AppConfig; import com.slack.api.bolt.jetty.SlackAppServer; import com.slack.api.methods.SlackApiException; import java.io.File; import java.io.IOException; import java.util.Arrays; public class FilesUpload { public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception { var config = new AppConfig(); config.setSingleTeamBotToken(System.getenv("SLACK_BOT_TOKEN")); config.setSigningSecret(System.getenv("SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET")); var app = new App(config); // `new App()` does the same app.command("/testUpload", (req, ctx) -> { var logger = ctx.logger; try { var payload = req.getPayload(); // The name of the file you're going to upload var filepath = "./myFileName.gif"; // Call the files.upload method using the built-in WebClient var result = ctx.client().filesUpload(r -> r // The token you used to initialize your app is stored in the `context` object .token(ctx.getBotToken()) .channels(Arrays.asList(payload.getChannelId())) .initialComment("Here's my file :smile:") // Include your filename in a ReadStream here .file(new File(filepath)) ); // Print result logger.info("result: {}", result); } catch (IOException | SlackApiException e) { logger.error("error: {}", e.getMessage(), e); } // Acknowledge incoming command event return ctx.ack(); }); var server = new SlackAppServer(app); server.start(); } }
Code to initialize Bolt app// Require the Node Slack SDK package (github.com/slackapi/node-slack-sdk) const { WebClient, LogLevel } = require("@slack/web-api"); // WebClient instantiates a client that can call API methods // When using Bolt, you can use either `app.client` or the `client` passed to listeners. const client = new WebClient("xoxb-your-token", { // LogLevel can be imported and used to make debugging simpler logLevel: LogLevel.DEBUG });
// The name of the file you're going to upload const fileName = "./myFileName.gif"; // ID of channel that you want to upload file to const channelId = "C12345"; try { // Call the files.upload method using the WebClient const result = await client.files.upload({ // channels can be a list of one to many strings channels: channelId, initial_comment: "Here\'s my file :smile:", // Include your filename in a ReadStream here file: createReadStream(fileName) }); console.log(result); } catch (error) { console.error(error); }
Code to initialize Bolt appimport logging import os # Import WebClient from Python SDK (github.com/slackapi/python-slack-sdk) from slack_sdk import WebClient from slack_sdk.errors import SlackApiError # WebClient instantiates a client that can call API methods # When using Bolt, you can use either `app.client` or the `client` passed to listeners. client = WebClient(token=os.environ.get("SLACK_BOT_TOKEN")) logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
# The name of the file you're going to upload file_name = "./myFileName.gif" # ID of channel that you want to upload file to channel_id = "C12345" try: # Call the files.upload method using the WebClient # Uploading files requires the `files:write` scope result = client.files_upload( channels=channel_id, initial_comment="Here's my file :smile:", file=file_name, ) # Log the result logger.info(result) except SlackApiError as e: logger.error("Error uploading file: {}".format(e))