How Vybe works in Slack
There are two kinds of Slack apps:- The Vybe app. An Owner or Admin installs it once. It links one Slack workspace to one Vybe organization. A workspace can’t be connected to two organizations: you’d see “This Slack workspace is already connected to another Vybe organization.”
- One app per coworker. Vybe creates and installs a separate Slack app for each coworker, with the coworker’s name and avatar.
Connect Vybe to Slack
Only an organization Owner or Admin can connect Vybe to Slack.- New organization
- Existing organization
When you create an organization, Vybe walks you through Slack setup:
- Your first AI coworker. Vybe creates your first coworker.
- Add to Slack. Click Add to Slack. This connects Vybe to your workspace and adds the coworker in one step.
- Approve in Slack. Approve the app on Slack’s own screen.
- Pick channels. “Which channels should name join?” Public channels start selected. Uncheck any to skip, then click Invite to N channels, or click Continue without channels.
Disconnecting Vybe from Slack doesn’t remove coworkers already in Slack. In the words of the confirmation dialog: “Agents already in Slack keep working, but Vybe stops answering there and can no longer add, rename or remove agents until it is connected again.”
Add a coworker to Slack
Once Vybe is connected, every new coworker is added to Slack automatically. That includes duplicated coworkers and coworkers created by other coworkers. The new coworker DMs the person who created it to say hello. To add a coworker yourself, or to check its status:- Open the coworker and go to Connections → Integrations.
- On the Slack card, click Manage Slack.
- Click Add to Slack.
- Set name profile picture in Slack or Download name profile picture
- Open Slack app settings
- Disconnect name from Slack
Add a coworker to channels
A coworker only reads and replies in channels it belongs to. You can add it from Vybe or from Slack:- From Manage Slack. Open the coworker → Connections → Integrations → Slack → Manage Slack. The Slack channels list shows “Joined channels” and “Other channels”. Click Invite next to a public channel. Private channels show “Invite in Slack”: add the coworker from inside the channel in Slack.
- From Sharing. Open the coworker → Overview → Sharing, then use + Add channel under Channels.
- From Slack. Invite the coworker to a channel like any other member.
Default access for new channels
An Owner or Admin sets the default under Settings → Organization → General → Slack channel access. Pick Read or Read and write in Default access: “Read requires someone to grant write access for each channel. Read and write lets agents post without an extra approval.” The default applies when the coworker’s owner, one of its admins, or someone with Can edit access adds it to a channel, either from Vybe or by inviting it in Slack. Channels the coworker is already in keep their current access. Other joins start at Read, for example when someone else invites it, when it joins from a channel pick in Slack, or when turning on a Slack trigger joins it. An approved access request gives the access that was asked for. The Channels list under Overview → Sharing shows the current default, for example “Channels this agent is added to get read access by default.” Owners and Admins also see a link to change it in Organization settings.Choose where a coworker can post
Go to the coworker’s Overview → Sharing. Under Channels, each channel the coworker has joined has an access setting:
You can’t remove a coworker from a private channel in Vybe. In Slack, open the channel and type
/remove followed by the coworker’s name.
When someone asks in a read-only channel
If someone addresses the coworker in a channel set to Read, the coworker doesn’t answer the question. It posts this once per thread:Automated message: I don’t have the right access to this channel, but @manager can change the access rights here.If the person asking manages the coworker, they also get a private message only they can see, with a Let me reply here button. Clicking it gives the coworker Read and write access to that channel. A coworker can also ask for write access itself. A card reads “name is asking for access to #channel”, with Approve and Approve all.
Choose who can talk to a coworker
The same Overview → Sharing page controls who the coworker answers in Slack. Who can talk to name?
“Slack channel and direct-message restrictions still apply.” You add people by searching Slack users. They need to be members of your Vybe organization. Each person gets Can chat or Can edit. Only the owner or an admin can change sharing. See Sharing and access.
People without access who ask a restricted coworker something get “Automated message: You don’t have access to me…” along with who can change that.
In channels, everyone sees a restricted coworker’s replies. The page reminds you: “Everyone in a channel sees this agent’s replies there. Only people with access can ask it things.”
- Only respond when @mentioned. In channels and group DMs, the coworker answers only when someone @mentions it. It can still follow up in threads it started. DMs aren’t affected.
- Direct messages. Turn DMs with the coworker on or off.
- Direct group messages. Who the coworker answers in group DMs. “Turn on direct messages to allow group messages.” With a restriction set, it “Only replies if every member of the group is allowed.”
How a coworker decides when to reply
In DMs, the coworker answers every message, as long as DMs are allowed. In channels and group DMs:- If one or more coworkers are @mentioned, only those coworkers respond.
- If no one is @mentioned, Vybe considers coworkers that were @mentioned earlier in the thread, that already posted in it, or that are addressed by name in the latest message (a first name is enough). For each one, it decides whether to reply, react with an emoji (to a “thanks” or “ok”, for example), or stay quiet. When in doubt, it stays quiet.
- More than one coworker can answer the same message.
- Messages from bots, including other coworkers
- Join and leave notices and other system messages
- Conversations they aren’t part of
While a coworker works
- Status. The thread shows what it’s doing: “Thinking…”, “Choosing a model…”, or a step such as “Searching the web…”.
- Progress card. When the coworker uses tools, one collapsible card appears in the thread. Its headline shows the current step, then “All done” or “Ran into a problem”. Failed steps are marked ⚠️. The final answer replaces the card’s body in the same message.
- Feedback. Answers have Good response and Bad response buttons.
- Errors. If something breaks, you’ll see “Sorry, I encountered an error processing your message.” with a Retry button. Only the person who sent the original message can retry.
- Questions with buttons, Submit, Dismiss, and an Other option for a free-text answer.
- Connect cards that open a private, one-time link to connect an integration in your browser. “Connect links work once and expire after an hour.”
- Access requests with Approve, Deny, and Review in Vybe.
People without a Vybe account
Vybe matches Slack users to Vybe members by email address. Slack guests, people from other companies in Slack Connect channels, and teammates who haven’t joined Vybe are treated as external. A coworker can still help external people, if its sharing settings allow them. But it refuses actions that need a Vybe account, such as:- creating coworkers or apps
- connecting integrations, MCP servers, databases, or custom APIs
- adding itself to channels
- saving notes about them
- changing its own name or avatar
Messages coworkers send on their own
- Welcome DM. When a coworker is added to Slack, it DMs the person who added it, in a thread titled “Getting started”.
- Department question. After Vybe is installed, Vybe DMs the installer, and later each new member who’s in Slack, asking Which department can I help with? The options are Product, Engineering, Marketing, Sales, HR, Data, Customer Success, or Other. Picking one sets up a coworker for that department, or points you to an existing one.
- Proactive suggestions. The person who installed Vybe gets occasional suggestions based on their recent work: every workday for the first week, then weekly, ending after 90 days. Say “stop suggestions” in the DM to turn them off.
- Follow-ups. When something is left open in a conversation, the coworker may come back to it later. Follow-up reminders have Already done, Not relevant anymore, and Remind me in… (from “In 30 mins” up to “2 weeks”). See Automations overview.
- Problem reports. If a coworker runs into a problem it can’t solve, it DMs its creator and the coworker’s admins.
- Scheduled tasks and triggers post wherever their instructions say, in channels where the coworker has Read and write access. See Scheduled tasks and Triggers.
Slack memory
Coworkers learn from the public channels they belong to, including thread replies, even when no one mentions them. They never learn from private channels, DMs, Slack Connect channels, or messages from guests. Owners and Admins control this for the whole organization under Settings → Organization → General → Slack memory. Each coworker also has a Learn from Slack switch under Knowledge → Notes. See Knowledge.Troubleshooting
The coworker reads a channel but never replies
The coworker reads a channel but never replies
Check the channel’s setting under Overview → Sharing → Channels. A channel set to Read gets an automated message instead of an answer. Switch it to Read and write. Also check whether Only respond when @mentioned is on.
Someone gets 'You don't have access to me'
Someone gets 'You don't have access to me'
The coworker is set to Only people invited or Private. Add the person under Overview → Sharing, or change who can talk to it.
'Slack rejected the generated app name'
'Slack rejected the generated app name'
Slack didn’t accept the coworker’s name as an app name. Rename the coworker and try again.
'Vybe can't add agents to Slack'
'Vybe can't add agents to Slack'
Vybe’s Slack connection is missing permissions. An Owner or Admin should click Reconnect Vybe under Settings → Organization → General → Slack and approve every requested permission.
'This Slack workspace is already connected to another Vybe organization'
'This Slack workspace is already connected to another Vybe organization'
Each Slack workspace links to one Vybe organization. Disconnect it from the other organization first, or contact support@vybe.build.