Slack — message/delete

Deletion is permanent. Slack does not provide an undo for deleted messages. Once a message is deleted, it cannot be recovered — including any replies, reactions, and file attachments associated with it. Always confirm the correct messageTs before using this operation in automated production workflows.

When to Use

Temporary status notifications: Delete "Processing your request..." or "Build queued..." messages after the workflow completes. Replacing transient status messages with a final result keeps the channel uncluttered.
Expiring time-sensitive alerts: Automatically remove maintenance window announcements, flash sale alerts, or emergency notifications after their validity window expires.
Error recovery: A workflow detects that a malformed or incorrect notification was sent (wrong data, wrong channel). Delete the bad message and send a corrected version.
Test and CI cleanup: Automated test workflows post test messages to verify Slack integration, then delete them after the assertion passes — keeping test channels clean.
Sensitive data removal: A workflow temporarily posts a transient access token or one-time code to a DM for a user, then immediately deletes it after a short TTL to minimize exposure window.

Configuration

Connection

Field	Required	Description
`botToken`	Required	Bot Token in `xoxb-...` format. Must have `chat:write` scope and must be the same token that sent the original message. Store in BizFirst Credentials Manager.

Operation

Field	Required	Description
`channel`	Required	Channel ID containing the message to delete. Must match the channel the message was originally posted to.
`messageTs`	Required	Timestamp of the message to delete (e.g. `1716700412.087200`). This is the `messageTs` returned by the original `message/send` node. This is the message's unique identifier within its channel.

Sample Configuration

{
  "resource": "message",
  "operation": "delete",
  "botToken": "{{ $credentials.slackBotToken }}",
  "channel": "{{ $vars.statusChannel }}",
  "messageTs": "{{ $vars.processingMessageTs }}"
}

Validation Errors

Error Code	Cause
`message_not_found`	No message exists with the given `messageTs` in the specified channel. The message may have already been deleted, or the timestamp is incorrect.
`cant_delete_message`	The bot token is not the original sender and does not have admin delete permissions. Only the original sender or a workspace admin can delete a message.
`channel_not_found`	The specified channel does not exist or is not accessible to the bot token.
`VAL_MISSING_CHANNEL`	The `channel` field is empty or not provided.
`VAL_MISSING_TS`	The `messageTs` field is empty or not provided.

Output

Success Port

Fires after Slack confirms the message has been permanently deleted.

Field	Type	Description
`deleted`	boolean	`true` on successful deletion.
`channel`	string	Channel ID from which the message was deleted.
`messageTs`	string	Timestamp of the deleted message (for audit logging purposes).
`status`	string	`"ok"` on success.
`errorCode`	string	Empty on success.
`payload`	object	Full raw Slack API response.

Error Port

Fires when the message cannot be found, the bot is not the original sender, or the API call fails.

Field	Type	Description
`status`	string	`"error"`
`errorCode`	string	Slack error code, e.g. `message_not_found`, `cant_delete_message`.
`payload`	object	Full raw Slack error response.

Sample Output

{
  "deleted": true,
  "channel": "C04STATUSCH1",
  "messageTs": "1716700412.087200",
  "status": "ok",
  "errorCode": "",
  "payload": {
    "ok": true,
    "channel": "C04STATUSCH1",
    "ts": "1716700412.087200"
  }
}

Expression Reference

Field	Expression	Notes
Deletion confirmed	`{{ $output.deleteMsg.deleted }}`	`true` when successfully deleted. Use in downstream audit log writes.
Deleted from channel	`{{ $output.deleteMsg.channel }}`	Channel ID the message was removed from — record this in audit logs.
Deleted message TS	`{{ $output.deleteMsg.messageTs }}`	Timestamp of the deleted message — use in audit log records to reference the original message.
Operation status	`{{ $output.deleteMsg.status }}`	`"ok"` on success. Check before proceeding to cleanup steps.
Error code	`{{ $output.deleteMsg.errorCode }}`	Non-empty on failure — log for monitoring and alerting.

Node Policies & GuardRails

Policy Area	Recommendation
Irreversibility warning	Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. In automated workflows, add a guard condition (e.g. `IfCondition`) before the delete node to verify the message timestamp and channel are correct and expected.
Store messageTs early	Capture `messageTs` from the `message/send` success port immediately using a `VariableAssignment` node. Do not rely on reconstructing it later.
Same token requirement	The bot token used for delete must be the same token that sent the original message. Cross-token deletion requires workspace admin-level token scope.
Handle already-deleted gracefully	In retry scenarios, a `message_not_found` error likely means the message was already deleted. Consider this a success case in idempotent cleanup workflows — use an `IfCondition` on the error port to branch appropriately.
Audit log before delete	For compliance-sensitive workflows, write the message content, channel, and timestamp to an audit database before deleting. Once deleted, Slack does not retain the message content.
Sensitive data TTL	When deleting messages containing sensitive data (OTPs, transient credentials), chain the `message/delete` node immediately after the `message/send` success port with a `Delay` node in between for the intended visibility window (e.g. 30 seconds).
Credential storage	Store the Bot Token in BizFirst Credentials Manager. Never hard-code `xoxb-` tokens inline.

Examples

Delete Temporary "Processing" Message

// Step 1 — Post the temporary status message (message/send node)
{
  "resource": "message",
  "operation": "send",
  "botToken": "{{ $credentials.slackBotToken }}",
  "channel": "C04REQUESTCH",
  "text": ":hourglass: Processing your report request... This may take a minute."
}

// Step 2 — After processing completes, delete it (message/delete node)
{
  "resource": "message",
  "operation": "delete",
  "botToken": "{{ $credentials.slackBotToken }}",
  "channel": "C04REQUESTCH",
  "messageTs": "{{ $output.sendProcessing.messageTs }}"
}

// Step 3 — Post the final result (message/send node)
{
  "resource": "message",
  "operation": "send",
  "botToken": "{{ $credentials.slackBotToken }}",
  "channel": "C04REQUESTCH",
  "text": ":white_check_mark: Your report is ready: <{{ $output.generateReport.downloadUrl }}|Download Report>"
}

A three-step pattern: post a "Processing..." message, run the actual report generation, delete the processing message, then post the final result. The channel only shows the outcome, not the in-progress state.

Expiring Announcement Cleanup

{
  "resource": "message",
  "operation": "delete",
  "botToken": "{{ $credentials.slackBotToken }}",
  "channel": "C04GENERAL01",
  "messageTs": "{{ $input.announcementTs }}"
}

A scheduled workflow (e.g. triggered 24 hours after posting) deletes a time-limited announcement. The announcementTs is stored in a database record when the announcement is first posted and retrieved here via an earlier database lookup node.

CI Test Message Cleanup

{
  "resource": "message",
  "operation": "delete",
  "botToken": "{{ $credentials.slackTestBotToken }}",
  "channel": "C04TESTCHAN1",
  "messageTs": "{{ $output.postTestMessage.messageTs }}"
}

After an integration test posts a message to #bot-test-channel and asserts the expected content was received, this cleanup node removes the test message. The test channel remains clean for subsequent test runs without accumulating test artifacts.