Slack Integration
Connect Slack to let Fern join your channels, import support conversations, and create documentation tasks from Slack threads. The integration syncs thread context from your workspace and uses it to improve your help center content.
What you can do with Slack
Create tasks from Slack — Mention Fern in a thread or use the message shortcut to create a documentation task. Fern replies with a link to open the task in Ferndesk.
Support analysis — Fern imports threads from selected channels as support signals, learning from real customer questions to improve your documentation.
Connect Slack
You need permission to install apps in your Slack workspace. If app installations require admin approval, contact your Slack admin first.
Go to Integrations
From your Ferndesk dashboard, click Integrations in the sidebar.
Connect Slack
Find Slack in the integrations catalog and click Connect.
Authorize in Slack
Select your workspace and grant the requested permissions. Ferndesk needs access to read channel history, join channels, send messages, and view thread context.
After authorizing, you'll return to Ferndesk with your Slack workspace connected.
Configure auto-join rules
Auto-join rules tell Fern which channels to join automatically. Rules match on channel name patterns, so Fern stays present in channels where support conversations happen.
Open the Slack integration
From Integrations, click on your connected Slack workspace to open the detail page.
Add a rule
In the Auto-join channels section, click Add rule. Choose whether channel names should start with or end with a pattern, then enter the pattern (for example, support- or -customers).
Choose options
Enable Join matching channels now to have Fern immediately join any existing channels that match the rule. Enable Use matching channels for support analysis to include conversations from these channels in Fern's support signals.
Rules apply to new channels automatically. When you create a channel that matches a rule, Fern joins it.
Manage channel access
The Channel access section shows every channel Fern can see in your workspace. From here you can refresh the list and control which channels contribute to support analysis.
Refresh — Sync the latest channel membership from Slack. The page shows when channels were last refreshed.
Support analysis toggle — Turn on Use for support analysis for any channel to include its threads in Fern's support signals.
Fern only sees channels where it's a member. For private channels, invite Fern to the channel in Slack first.
Channel visibility
Public — Visible to everyone in the workspace.
Private — Visible only to invited members. Fern needs an explicit invite to access these.
Create tasks from Slack
Once connected, you can create Ferndesk tasks directly from Slack conversations.
Mention Fern in a thread
Mention Fern in any Slack thread to create a documentation task. Fern adds a memo reaction to acknowledge the mention, then replies with a link to open the task in Ferndesk.
If the thread context doesn't clearly indicate what documentation work is needed, Fern will ask you to specify the task.
Use the message shortcut
Select any Slack message and use the Send to Fern shortcut to create a task from that message. Fern replies with a link to the new task.
Reconnect or disconnect
From the Slack integration detail page:
Reconnect — If the connection loses access or needs updated permissions, click Reconnect to refresh the OAuth token.
Disconnect — Remove the Slack integration from your Ferndesk workspace. You can confirm or cancel in the dialog.
If you installed the Slack app before support ingestion was added, reconnect to grant the additional permissions.