user/getStatus

Retrieve the current presence status and last activity timestamp for a Slack user. Returns whether the user is active or away based on their recent Slack activity.

When to Use

Check whether an on-call engineer is active in Slack before routing an urgent page to them.
Route an incoming customer message to an available agent based on their active/away status.
Use presence as a soft signal to schedule meeting invites during active periods.
Pause automated outreach messages while the target user is away.

Approximation Warning: Slack presence status is approximate. Slack marks users as active when they have recently interacted with the Slack client and away after a period of inactivity. Users may appear away while still working (e.g. in a meeting, focused mode, or using a non-Slack tool). Never use presence as a hard gate for access control. Use it for soft signals only — routing preferences, notification timing, and similar non-critical decisions.

Configuration

Connection

Field	Required	Description
`botToken`	Required	Slack Bot Token starting with `xoxb-`. Requires the `users:read` OAuth scope.

Operation Fields

Field	Required	Description
`userId`	Required	The Slack user ID to retrieve presence for (e.g. `U01ABCDEFGH`).

Sample Configuration

{
  "operation": "user/getStatus",
  "connection": {
    "botToken": "{{ $credentials.slackBot.token }}"
  },
  "userId": "{{ $input.oncallUserId }}"
}

Validation Errors

Error Code	Cause	Resolution
`user_not_found`	No user with the given ID exists in the workspace.	Verify the user ID with a `user/get` call first.
`missing_scope`	Token lacks the `users:read` scope.	Add `users:read` under OAuth & Permissions in your Slack App and reinstall.
`invalid_auth`	Bot token is invalid or revoked.	Regenerate the token and update the credential store.

Output

Success Port

Field	Type	Description
`userId`	string	Slack user ID (echoed from input).
`presenceStatus`	string	Current presence — either `"active"` (recently active in Slack) or `"away"` (inactive or explicitly set away).
`lastActivity`	number	Unix timestamp (seconds) of the user's last recorded Slack activity. May be `0` if no activity has been recorded yet.
`status`	string	`"success"` on successful retrieval.
`errorCode`	string	Empty on success. Slack API error code on failure.
`payload`	object	Raw Slack API presence response.

Error Port

Activated when the user is not found or the token lacks the required scope.

Sample Output

{
  "userId": "U01ALICE123",
  "presenceStatus": "active",
  "lastActivity": 1748221180,
  "status": "success",
  "errorCode": "",
  "payload": {
    "ok": true,
    "presence": "active",
    "online": true,
    "auto_away": false,
    "manual_away": false,
    "connection_count": 2,
    "last_activity": 1748221180
  }
}

Expression Reference

Expression	Result
`{{ $output.getUserStatus.presenceStatus }}`	Presence string — `"active"` or `"away"` — for conditional routing.
`{{ $output.getUserStatus.lastActivity }}`	Unix timestamp of last activity for staleness checks.
`{{ $output.getUserStatus.userId }}`	User ID for downstream nodes.
`{{ $output.getUserStatus.lastActivity \| date:'HH:mm' }}`	Last activity time formatted as HH:mm for display in messages.

Node Policies & GuardRails

Policy Area	Recommendation
Soft Signal Only	Presence is approximate and not a reliable real-time signal. Always provide a fallback for `away` users rather than blocking the workflow entirely (e.g. send to backup contact or queue for later).
No Hard Access Control	Never use presence to gate security-sensitive operations. A user appearing `away` does not mean they are unavailable — they may be in a meeting or on another device.
Rate Limits	The `users.getPresence` endpoint is Tier 3 (50+ req/min). Avoid polling this endpoint in tight loops. Use it as a one-time check at the start of a routing decision.
Privacy Awareness	Some workspaces allow users to set their presence to manual away or hide their presence. A `"away"` response does not distinguish between genuinely inactive and deliberately hidden users.
Stale Data	Slack presence can lag by 1–5 minutes. For time-critical routing, combine presence with a schedule check (e.g. Google Calendar or PagerDuty) for higher confidence.

Examples

Route Page to Active On-Call Engineer

Before sending a critical alert, check if the primary on-call engineer is active. If away, route to the backup.

{
  "operation": "user/getStatus",
  "userId": "{{ $input.primaryOncallId }}"
}
// If presenceStatus === "active" → send DM to primary
// Else → send DM to backup contact

Delay Outreach Until User is Active

Check presence before sending a non-urgent workflow notification. If away, schedule for the next active period.

{
  "operation": "user/getStatus",
  "userId": "{{ $input.targetUserId }}"
}
// Branch: presenceStatus === "active" → send now
// Else → enqueue for retry in 30 minutes

Log Last Activity for Idle User Report

In a weekly inactive user report, retrieve last activity for each user and flag those who have been away for over 7 days.

{
  "operation": "user/getStatus",
  "userId": "{{ $loop.item.userId }}"
}
// Flag condition: ($now - lastActivity) > (7 * 86400)