Download Slack channel histories.

download_slack.py

#!/usr/bin/env python
#
#  Download Slack channel histories.
#
#  Prerequisites:
#    1. Create a Slack app.
#    2. Give the app the following OAuth & Permissions:
#      channels:read, channels:history, users.profile:read
#    3. Install the app & get OAuth token:
#      "xoxp-..."
#    4. $ pip install slackclient --user
#
#  How to Use:
#    $ python download_slack.py -O output-dir xoxp-your-token
#
import sys
import os
import json
from slack import WebClient
from slack.errors import SlackApiError

def download_slack(token, outdir):
    client = WebClient(token=token)
    profiles_cache = {}
    print('Getting the channel list...')
    obj = client.conversations_list()
    channels = obj.get('channels')
    assert channels is not None
    for channel in channels:
        if not channel.get('is_channel'): continue
        if channel.get('is_archived'): continue
        channel_id = channel.get('id')
        sys.stdout.write(f'Getting the members in {channel_id}.')
        sys.stdout.flush()
        obj = client.conversations_members(channel=channel_id)
        member_ids = obj.get('members')
        assert member_ids is not None
        members = {}
        for user_id in member_ids:
            if user_id in profiles_cache:
                profile = profiles_cache[user_id]
            else:
                obj = client.users_profile_get(user=user_id)
                profile = obj.get('profile')
                assert profile is not None
                profiles_cache[user_id] = profile
                sys.stdout.write('.'); sys.stdout.flush()
            members[user_id] = profile
        sys.stdout.write('\n')
        sys.stdout.write(f'Getting the messages in {channel_id}.')
        sys.stdout.flush()
        messages_all = []
        cursor = ''
        while True:
            try:
                obj = client.conversations_history(channel=channel_id, cursor=cursor)
            except SlackApiError as e:
                print(channel, e)
                continue
            sys.stdout.write('.'); sys.stdout.flush()
            messages = obj.get('messages')
            assert messages is not None
            messages_all.extend(messages)
            cursor = None
            response_metadata = obj.get('response_metadata')
            if response_metadata is not None:
                cursor = response_metadata.get('next_cursor')
                continue
            break
        sys.stdout.write('\n')
        data = {'channel':channel, 'members':members, 'messages':messages_all}
        path = os.path.join(outdir, f'{channel_id}.json')
        print(f'Exporting {len(messages_all)} messages to {path}...')
        with open(path, 'w') as fp:
            json.dump(data, fp)
    return

def main(argv):
    import getopt
    def usage():
        print('usage: %s [-d] [-O outdir] token ...' % argv[0])
        return 100
    try:
        (opts, args) = getopt.getopt(argv[1:], 'dO:')
    except getopt.GetoptError:
        return usage()
    debug = 0
    outdir = '.'
    for (k, v) in opts:
        if k == '-d': debug += 1
        elif k == '-O': outdir = v
    try:
        os.makedirs(outdir)
    except OSError:
        pass
    for token in args:
        download_slack(token, outdir)
    return

if __name__ == '__main__': sys.exit(main(sys.argv))

Hello - thank you very much for this GIST. At this point, its 'slack_sdk', but honestly this has saved hours worth of time. We have a better understanding of the API. Much appreciated.