Install Ragtime for Slack

This guide is for organization admins who want to install the Ragtime app in their company Slack workspace and stream channel content into a Ragtime knowledge library.

You do not need any developer tools, a Slack app, or environment variables. The Ragtime app is installed straight from your dashboard with one click.

Before you start

• You must be an org admin in Ragtime.
• You must be allowed to install apps in your Slack workspace. If you are not, ask a Slack workspace owner or admin to do the install for you (they only need to approve the OAuth screen — they do not need a Ragtime account).
• Have at least one project and library already created in Ragtime. Slack messages will be ingested as sources into the library you choose.

1. Open the Slack integration

1. Sign in to Ragtime.
2. Go to Dashboard → Integrations.
3. Open the Slack tab.

2. Connect your Slack workspace

1. Click Connect to Slack.
2. Slack will show the standard permissions screen with the workspace you are signed into. Switch workspace at the top right if needed.
3. Review the requested permissions and click Allow.
4. You will be returned to the Integrations page. The Slack card now shows your workspace name and a green idle status.

That’s the whole install. The Ragtime app is now a member of your Slack workspace and appears in Apps in the Slack sidebar.

3. Invite the Ragtime app to your channels

The Ragtime app can only read channels it has been added to. For each channel you want to sync:

1. Open the channel in Slack.

2. Type:

   /invite @Ragtime

3. Press Enter.

Public channels work the same way — invite the app there too, otherwise it will not appear in the channel picker in Ragtime.

4. Map Slack channels to a library

Back in Dashboard → Integrations → Slack, scroll to Channel mappings:

1. Pick a Slack channel from the dropdown.
2. Pick the Ragtime project and library the messages should land in.
3. Choose a grouping mode:
   • Daily — one source per channel per day. Best for active channels where you mainly care about the topic, not the individual thread.
   • Per thread — one source per Slack thread. Best when each thread is a discrete Q&A or decision you want to be retrievable on its own.
4. Optional toggles:
   • Sanitize via AI — uses AI to clean up the synced text (removes noise like reactions, ephemeral acknowledgements, off-topic chatter).
   • Include canvas — also ingests the channel’s Slack canvas content.
5. Click Add.

Repeat for every channel you want Ragtime to learn from.

5. Choose how often Ragtime syncs

At the top of the Slack card:

• Disabled — nothing happens automatically; you can still click Sync now.
• Every 12 hours or Every 24 hours — Ragtime pulls new messages on that schedule.

Click Save after changing the interval.

Use Sync now at any time to queue an immediate sync. It starts within a few seconds; the Last sync timestamp updates when it finishes.

6. Verify everything works

1. Make sure at least one channel mapping exists and is enabled.
2. Click Sync now.
3. After it completes (status returns to idle with a fresh timestamp), open the target library in Ragtime.
4. You should see new sources appearing, named after the channel and date (or thread).

Common issues

”I don’t see my channel in the dropdown”

The Ragtime app has not been invited to that channel yet. In Slack, open the channel and run /invite @Ragtime, then refresh the Integrations page.

”Sync now finished but nothing changed in my library”

• Check that the mapping is enabled and points to the library you are looking at.
• If the channel has had no new messages since the last sync, there is nothing new to ingest.
• Check the Last sync line on the Slack card — if it shows an error, hover for details.

”Canvas content is missing”

Turn on Include canvas on the mapping row, then click Sync now.

”I want to stop syncing a channel”

Remove the mapping from the Channel mappings list. Existing sources already in the library are not deleted.

”I want to remove Ragtime from Slack entirely”

Click Disconnect on the Slack card. This revokes the Slack token and removes all channel mappings for this workspace. Sources already ingested stay in your libraries.

Privacy & permissions

The Ragtime Slack app only reads:

• Channels it has been explicitly invited to.
• Public channel and user metadata required to show channel and author names.

It does not read direct messages, and it does not post messages in your workspace.