reaction/get

Retrieve all emoji reactions on a specific Slack message, including the emoji name, total count, and the list of user IDs who reacted with each emoji.

When to Use

Check whether a message has been acknowledged (e.g., has a :eyes: reaction) before taking further action in a workflow.
Count approval votes on a proposal message to determine if a quorum has been reached.
Identify which users voted in a reaction-based poll to build a participation report.
Verify that a required reaction-based workflow trigger is in place before proceeding to the next stage.
Retrieve the full reaction state of a message for inclusion in a status report or dashboard.

Configuration

Connection

Field	Required	Description
`botToken`	Required	Slack Bot Token starting with `xoxb-`. Must have the `reactions:read` OAuth scope.

Operation Fields

Field	Required	Description
`channel`	Required	Slack channel ID containing the message (e.g. `C08ABCDEFGH`).
`messageTs`	Required	The timestamp of the target message (e.g. `1748221200.000100`). Acts as the unique message identifier within the channel.

Sample Configuration

{
  "operation": "reaction/get",
  "connection": {
    "botToken": "{{ $credentials.slackBot.token }}"
  },
  "channel": "C08PROPOSALS",
  "messageTs": "{{ $input.proposalMessageTs }}"
}

Validation Errors

Error Code	Cause	Resolution
`message_not_found`	No message exists at the given timestamp in the specified channel.	Verify both the channel ID and the message timestamp. Timestamps are scoped to the channel they originated in.
`channel_not_found`	The channel ID is invalid or the bot is not a member of that channel.	Confirm the channel exists and the bot has been invited.
`missing_scope`	Bot token lacks the `reactions:read` scope.	Add `reactions:read` under OAuth & Permissions in your Slack App and reinstall.
`invalid_auth`	Bot token is invalid or revoked.	Update the credential with a freshly generated token.

Output

Success Port

Field	Type	Description
`reactions`	array	Array of reaction objects. Each object contains: `emojiName` (string without colons), `count` (total users who reacted), `userIds` (array of user IDs who added this reaction).
`status`	string	`"success"` on successful retrieval. Returns success with an empty `reactions` array if no reactions exist.
`errorCode`	string	Empty on success. Slack API error code on failure.
`payload`	object	Raw Slack API response for full message context access.

Error Port

Activated when the message or channel cannot be found, or the token lacks read permissions. An empty reactions array is not an error — it means no reactions exist on the message.

Sample Output

{
  "reactions": [
    {
      "emojiName": "thumbsup",
      "count": 5,
      "userIds": ["U01ALICE", "U01BOB", "U01CAROL", "U01DAVE", "U01EVE"]
    },
    {
      "emojiName": "eyes",
      "count": 1,
      "userIds": ["UBOT12345"]
    },
    {
      "emojiName": "white_check_mark",
      "count": 2,
      "userIds": ["U01ALICE", "U01BOB"]
    }
  ],
  "status": "success",
  "errorCode": "",
  "payload": {
    "ok": true,
    "type": "message",
    "channel": "C08PROPOSALS",
    "message": {
      "reactions": [
        { "name": "thumbsup", "count": 5, "users": ["U01ALICE", "U01BOB", "U01CAROL", "U01DAVE", "U01EVE"] },
        { "name": "eyes", "count": 1, "users": ["UBOT12345"] },
        { "name": "white_check_mark", "count": 2, "users": ["U01ALICE", "U01BOB"] }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Expression Reference

Expression	Result
`{{ $output.getReaction.reactions }}`	Full reactions array for iteration in a loop node.
`{{ $output.getReaction.reactions[0].emojiName }}`	Name of the first emoji reaction on the message.
`{{ $output.getReaction.reactions[0].count }}`	Vote count for the first reaction — use to check quorum.
`{{ $output.getReaction.reactions[0].userIds }}`	Array of user IDs who added the first reaction — use for participant lookup.
`{{ $output.getReaction.status }}`	Status string — `"success"` even when reactions array is empty.

Node Policies & GuardRails

Policy Area	Recommendation
Empty Reactions	An empty `reactions` array is a valid successful response. Always handle the zero-reaction case in conditional branches — do not assume reactions exist.
Quorum Logic	When using reactions for approval workflows, check both the `emojiName` and `count` fields. Do not rely on count alone — verify the specific emoji matches the expected approval signal.
Bot Reactions	Bot-added reactions (from this node or other bots) appear in the `userIds` array. Filter them out if you need human-only vote counts by cross-referencing with `user/get` and checking `isBot`.
Rate Limits	Slack's `reactions.get` is Tier 3. Avoid polling this endpoint in tight loops — use event-driven triggers instead.
Timestamp Scoping	Message timestamps are unique within a channel but not globally. Always pass both `channel` and `messageTs` together.

Examples

Check if Proposal Has Enough Approval Votes

Retrieve reactions on a proposal message and branch based on whether at least 3 thumbsup reactions exist.

{
  "operation": "reaction/get",
  "channel": "C08PROPOSALS",
  "messageTs": "{{ $input.proposalTs }}"
}
// Branch condition: reactions.find(r => r.emojiName === 'thumbsup')?.count >= 3

Check Acknowledgement Before Escalation

Before escalating an alert, confirm no one has already acknowledged it with :eyes:.

{
  "operation": "reaction/get",
  "channel": "C08ALERTS01",
  "messageTs": "{{ $trigger.alert.messageTs }}"
}
// Branch: if reactions contains 'eyes', skip escalation

Build Reaction Poll Results Report

Retrieve all reactions on a poll message and iterate over them to build a structured results report.

{
  "operation": "reaction/get",
  "channel": "C08TEAMCHAT",
  "messageTs": "{{ $input.pollMessageTs }}"
}
// Loop over $output.getReaction.reactions to build vote tally