reaction/remove

Remove an emoji reaction previously added by the bot from a specific Slack message. Used to clean up workflow status indicators once a process step completes or is resolved.

When to Use

Remove the :eyes: reaction after a message has been fully processed by the workflow.
Clear the :alarm_clock: reaction after a scheduled follow-up has been completed.
Remove the :x: reaction from a message once the underlying error has been resolved.
Clean up temporary workflow reaction markers so the channel does not accumulate stale status indicators.
Remove a :hourglass: reaction from a pending task message once the task transitions to complete.

Note: A bot can only remove reactions that it added. Attempting to remove a reaction added by a human user or a different bot will return a no_reaction error. Always track which reactions your bot added to avoid spurious errors.

Configuration

Connection

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

Operation Fields

Field	Required	Description
`channel`	Required	Slack channel ID (e.g. `C08ABCDEFGH`) where the target message was posted.
`messageTs`	Required	The timestamp of the message from which to remove the reaction (e.g. `1748221200.000100`).
`emojiName`	Required	Emoji name to remove, without colons (e.g. `eyes`, `alarm_clock`, `x`). Must exactly match the name used when the reaction was added.

Sample Configuration

{
  "operation": "reaction/remove",
  "connection": {
    "botToken": "{{ $credentials.slackBot.token }}"
  },
  "channel": "{{ $input.channel }}",
  "messageTs": "{{ $input.messageTs }}",
  "emojiName": "eyes"
}

Validation Errors

Error Code	Cause	Resolution
`no_reaction`	The bot did not previously add this emoji reaction to the message, or it was already removed.	Treat as non-fatal — log and continue. Use `reaction/get` before removing if you need strict verification.
`message_not_found`	No message exists at the given timestamp in the specified channel.	Verify the channel ID and message timestamp are correct and have not changed.
`invalid_name`	The emoji name is not recognized.	Confirm the exact emoji name used when the reaction was originally added.
`missing_scope`	Bot token lacks the `reactions:write` scope.	Add `reactions:write` to your Slack App's OAuth scopes and reinstall.
`invalid_auth`	Token is invalid or revoked.	Regenerate the bot token and update the credential store.

Output

Success Port

Field	Type	Description
`channel`	string	Channel ID where the reaction was removed.
`messageTs`	string	Timestamp of the message from which the reaction was removed.
`emojiName`	string	Emoji name that was removed (without colons).
`status`	string	`"success"` when the reaction was successfully removed.
`errorCode`	string	Empty on success. Slack API error code on failure.
`payload`	object	Raw Slack API response.

Error Port

Activated when the reaction does not exist, the message is not found, or the token lacks permissions. The no_reaction error should typically be handled as non-fatal in cleanup workflows.

Sample Output

{
  "channel": "C08INBOX001",
  "messageTs": "1748221200.000100",
  "emojiName": "eyes",
  "status": "success",
  "errorCode": "",
  "payload": {
    "ok": true
  }
}

Expression Reference

Expression	Result
`{{ $output.removeReaction.channel }}`	Channel where the reaction was removed — for logging.
`{{ $output.removeReaction.messageTs }}`	Message timestamp — pass to subsequent nodes if further actions are needed.
`{{ $output.removeReaction.emojiName }}`	Confirmed emoji name that was removed.
`{{ $output.removeReaction.status }}`	Status string for conditional branching.

Node Policies & GuardRails

Policy Area	Recommendation
Non-Fatal Errors	The `no_reaction` error should be treated as non-fatal in cleanup workflows. The desired end state (reaction absent) is already achieved — log it and continue.
Reaction Ownership	Bots can only remove reactions they added. Track bot-added reactions in workflow state if you need deterministic cleanup across multiple workflow runs.
Pairing with reaction/add	Always pair `reaction/remove` with the corresponding `reaction/add` node earlier in the workflow. Orphaned reactions mislead users about the processing state of messages.
Rate Limits	Slack's `reactions.remove` is Tier 2 (20+ requests/min). In high-volume message processing workflows, throttle removal calls appropriately.
Emoji Name Consistency	Use a constant or shared variable for emoji names rather than hardcoding the same string in both add and remove nodes. This prevents drift if the emoji name changes.

Examples

Remove Eyes After Processing Completes

At the end of a message processing workflow, remove the :eyes: acknowledgement reaction to signal the message has been fully handled.

{
  "operation": "reaction/remove",
  "channel": "{{ $input.channel }}",
  "messageTs": "{{ $input.messageTs }}",
  "emojiName": "eyes"
}

Clear Error Reaction After Resolution

Once an automated error has been resolved, remove the :x: reaction that was added during the error state so the channel shows a clean status.

{
  "operation": "reaction/remove",
  "channel": "C08INCIDENTS",
  "messageTs": "{{ $input.incidentMessageTs }}",
  "emojiName": "x"
}

Swap Reactions to Reflect State Transition

Remove :hourglass: and add :white_check_mark: when a task transitions from in-progress to complete.

// Step 1 — Remove in-progress indicator
{
  "operation": "reaction/remove",
  "channel": "{{ $input.channel }}",
  "messageTs": "{{ $input.ts }}",
  "emojiName": "hourglass"
}
// Step 2 — Add completion indicator
{
  "operation": "reaction/add",
  "channel": "{{ $input.channel }}",
  "messageTs": "{{ $input.ts }}",
  "emojiName": "white_check_mark"
}