channel/leave

Removes the bot from a Slack channel. After leaving, the bot can no longer post to or read history from the channel unless it re-joins or is re-invited. This is a bot-self-action — use channel/kick to remove other users. Requires channels:manage scope.

When to Use

Project completion offboarding: When a project is marked complete and the project channel is being wound down, the bot leaves to keep its active channel list clean.
Temporary event channel cleanup: After a scheduled event (conference, hackathon, sprint) ends, leave the temporary event coordination channels that are no longer active.
Bot footprint reduction: Periodically audit and leave channels where the bot has been dormant and has no active workflows — reduces noise in channel member lists.

Configuration

Connection

Field	Type	Required	Description
`botToken`	string	Required	Bot Token starting with `xoxb-`. Requires `channels:manage` scope.

Operation Fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
`channelId`	string	Required	The channel ID to leave. Can be public (`C...`) or private (`G...`).

Irreversible Access Loss: After leaving a private channel, the bot cannot re-join on its own. A workspace admin or existing channel member must re-invite it. Confirm the bot is no longer needed before leaving a private channel.

Sample Configuration

{
  "operation": "channel/leave",
  "connection": {
    "botToken": "{{credentials.slackBotToken}}"
  },
  "fields": {
    "channelId": "{{$json.channelId}}"
  }
}

Validation Errors

Error Code	Cause	Resolution
`channel_not_found`	The channel ID is invalid or the bot is not a member of it.	Verify the channel ID. If the bot is not in the channel, the leave operation is a no-op.
`missing_scope`	Bot token lacks `channels:manage` scope.	Re-authorize the Slack app with the `channels:manage` scope.

Output

Success Port

Field	Type	Description
`channelId`	string	The channel the bot left.
`status`	string	`success` or `error`.
`errorCode`	string	Slack error code when `status` is `error`.
`payload`	object	Full raw Slack API response.

Error Port

On failure with Continue on Error enabled, routes to the error port with status: "error" and populated errorCode.

Sample Output

{
  "channelId": "C08AB3XYZ12",
  "status": "success",
  "errorCode": "",
  "payload": {
    "ok": true
  }
}

Expression Reference

Expression	Result
`{{$node["channel-leave"].json.channelId}}`	The channel ID that was left — use for audit log entries.
`{{$node["channel-leave"].json.status === "success"}}`	Boolean confirmation — gate downstream cleanup steps.

Node Policies & GuardRails

Policy Area	Recommendation
Scope requirements	Requires `channels:manage` scope.
Rate limiting	Tier 2 (20+ req/min). For bulk leave operations, add delays between calls.
No hard-coded IDs	Always source `channelId` dynamically from upstream data. Never hard-code channel IDs.
Private channel warning	Leaving a private channel is difficult to reverse. Always confirm via an approval step or IF node before leaving private channels in production.
Archive instead of leave	For channels the bot owns or manages, consider `channel/archive` rather than simply leaving — archived channels preserve history and prevent reuse of the name.
Audit trail	Log each leave action with `channelId`, channel name, and timestamp to your audit system.

Examples

Example 1 — Post-Project Cleanup

When a project is marked complete in the project tracker, the bot posts a final status update and then leaves the channel.

// Node 1: message/send — final status update
{
  "channelId": "{{$json.channelId}}",
  "text": "Project {{$json.projectName}} is now complete. This channel will be archived. Thanks, team!"
}

// Node 2: channel/leave
{ "channelId": "{{$json.channelId}}" }

// Node 3: channel/archive
{ "channelId": "{{$json.channelId}}" }

Example 2 — Post-Event Channel Cleanup

Scheduled workflow that leaves all event channels older than 30 days based on createdTimestamp.

// Node 1: channel/getMany — get all channels
// Code node: filter channels matching "event-" prefix older than 30 days
const thirtyDaysAgo = Date.now() / 1000 - (30 * 86400);
const oldEventChannels = $node["channel-getmany"].json.channels
  .filter(c => c.channelName.startsWith('event-') && c.createdTimestamp < thirtyDaysAgo);
// Loop: channel/leave for each

Example 3 — Bot Footprint Audit

Monthly scheduled audit that leaves any public channels where the bot has had no activity in 60 days.

// For each channel the bot is in:
// 1. channel/getHistory (last 60 days, limit 1)
// 2. IF: messageCount === 0 AND no bot messages
//    True → channel/leave
//    False → skip (bot is active here)