The Short Answer
The Salesforce Certified Slack Developer exam (Slack-Dev-201) has 60 scored multiple-choice/multiple-select questions plus up to 5 unscored, a 90-minute time limit, a 67% passing score, a US$200 registration fee (US$100 to retake) and no prerequisite. Its questions still align to the Summer '24 release (checked in October 2026 against the official Slack Developer exam guide and Trailhead Academy).
It tests whether you can plan, design and build Slack apps: surfaces and Block Kit, the Web and Events APIs, OAuth, scopes and tokens, the admin APIs and app distribution. The two heaviest sections are Design the Interactive Flow of Your App (20%) and Design for Security (19%). The exam used to be called Slack Certified Developer. Because the outline dates from Summer '24 and the Slack platform has moved since, learn the concepts the outline names and the current terms, not old screenshots.
Exam Details at a Glance
| Detail | Slack Developer (Slack-Dev-201) |
|---|---|
| Questions | 60 scored multiple-choice/multiple-select, plus up to 5 unscored |
| Time limit | 90 minutes |
| Passing score | 67% |
| Registration fee | US$200 (JPY 30,000), plus applicable taxes |
| Retake fee | US$100 (JPY 15,000), plus applicable taxes |
| Prerequisite | None |
| Release alignment | Summer '24 |
| Delivery | Proctored, online or at a testing center |
| Level and language | Intermediate, English |
| Maintenance | One Trailhead maintenance module a year |
Sources: the Slack Developer exam guide for format, score, fees, release and maintenance, and Trailhead Academy for the exam code, level and language, both checked in October 2026.
What the numbers mean in practice:
- 67% of 60 is about 41 correct answers, a slightly higher bar than the Slack Administrator exam's 65%.
- 90 minutes for up to 65 questions is under 1.4 minutes each. Some questions show a JSON payload or a short Bolt listener, so leave time to read them.
For fees and retake rules across all Salesforce exams, see Salesforce certification cost and retake fees.
Who the Slack Developer Certification Is For
Salesforce recommends at least 6 months of experience working with Slack's APIs and that you've built a Slack app before, per the exam guide. It also expects you to be comfortable with:
- How Slack is structured and used, and what a Slack app is made of
- Reading and creating JSON objects
- Web APIs and event-based protocols (JSON over HTTP and, to a lesser extent, WebSockets)
- At least one programming language. The guide notes most developers use Node.js, Python or Java, but any language that can send and receive HTTP calls works
- Developing and deploying a web application, for example to a cloud provider
It's a good fit if you build internal Slack bots and workflow steps, maintain a Slack integration for a SaaS product, or are a Salesforce developer whose team now ships tools in Slack. If you administer Slack rather than build for it, the Slack Administrator practice exam and our Slack Administrator exam guide are the better match.
The Nine Exam Sections and What They Test
The weights below come from the official outline.
| Section | Weight |
|---|---|
| Apps in the Slack Platform | 7% |
| Design the Interactive Flow of Your App | 20% |
| Design Your Workflows: Spotlight on Slack's APIs | 13% |
| Design a Great User Experience | 8% |
| Design for Security | 19% |
| Design for Scale | 9% |
| Tools | 5% |
| APIs for Managing Your Slack | 12% |
| Distribute Your App | 7% |
Design the Interactive Flow of Your App: 20%
Common workflows and use cases, an app design that fits Slack's architecture, user entry points (slash commands, shortcuts, mentions), which Slack components to use, and building UIs with Block Kit.
Watch for: the 3-second rule. Slack expects an HTTP 200 within 3 seconds for an interaction, and a trigger_id for opening a modal expires in 3 seconds and works once (Handling user interaction). Acknowledge first, then do the slow work.
Design for Security: 19%
The OAuth installation flow, choosing scopes and tokens for a use case, communicating securely, and storing tokens safely.
Watch for: token types. Bot tokens start xoxb-, user tokens xoxp- and app-level tokens xapp-, and OAuth tokens don't expire unless you turn on token rotation, which you can't turn off again (Tokens). Request the fewest scopes the feature needs.
Design Your Workflows: Spotlight on Slack's APIs: 13%
When to use which API, the Web API, the Events API, Socket Mode versus HTTP delivery, legacy terms versus current ones, and rate limits.
Watch for: Socket Mode trade-offs. It uses an app-level xapp- token and needs no public URL, but Socket Mode apps aren't currently allowed in the public Slack Marketplace (Using Socket Mode).
APIs for Managing Your Slack: 12%
When to use an Admin API, the SCIM API for users and groups, the Audit Logs API, the Discovery API for DLP, archiving and eDiscovery, and which user role can generate the token for each.
Watch for: matching the API to the job. SCIM provisions people, Audit Logs records who did what, and Discovery reads message content for compliance partners.
Design for Scale: 9%
Designing for Enterprise Grid (now usually called an Enterprise organization), Enterprise Grid sandboxes, and supporting Slack Connect channels shared with other companies.
The smaller sections
- Design a Great User Experience (8%): onboarding, App Home, notification etiquette and clear copy.
- Apps in the Slack Platform (7%): automation options, choosing surfaces (App Home, modals, messages) and app collaborators.
- Distribute Your App (7%): single-workspace apps versus distributed apps versus Marketplace apps, and the submission process.
- Tools (5%): sample code, the Bolt framework, Block Kit Builder and Slack Developer Tools.
What's Changed Since the Summer '24 Outline
The exam guide still says "Slack Directory" and "Enterprise Grid", and the platform has moved on. You'll answer better if you know both the exam-era terms and today's:
- Docs moved. Slack's developer documentation now lives at docs.slack.dev, and the old api.slack.com pages redirect there. The App Directory is now the Slack Marketplace.
- Legacy bots and classic apps. Legacy custom bots stopped working on March 31, 2025, and new classic apps couldn't be created after June 2024. Slack's deprecation changelog lists November 16, 2026 as the date classic apps stop working, but the same page also carries a "deprecation paused" notice. Either way, the right answer for a new app is a Slack app with granular scopes, never a classic app or a legacy bot token.
- Steps from Apps are gone. Workflows that used a step from an app stopped working on September 26, 2024 (Slack changelog). Custom steps for Workflow Builder are now built with Bolt or the Deno Slack SDK.
- Plan names. Slack's Help Center now lists Pro, Business+ and Enterprise+ and calls the multi-workspace structure an Enterprise organization (plan updates). For the exam, "Enterprise Grid" means an Enterprise org with several workspaces.
A Five-to-Seven-Week Study Plan
- Read the exam guide once and note the verbs: recommend, implement, differentiate. Most questions ask you to choose, not write code.
- Take a baseline. Try the 18 free Slack Developer practice questions to see the question style and your weak sections.
- Work the official trailmix. The credential page and Trailhead Academy link Salesforce's recommended prep, Prepare for your Salesforce Slack Developer Exam.
- Build one small app end to end. Use Bolt to add a slash command that opens a modal, handle the submission, post a Block Kit message and listen for an event. Then switch it between Socket Mode and an HTTP Request URL.
- Spend the most time on Interactive Flow and Security (39% together): acknowledgement timing,
response_url, OAuth v2, scopes, token rotation and request signing. - Learn the admin APIs as a set. Make a one-page table of Admin, SCIM, Audit Logs and Discovery APIs: what each does, and which role and token each needs.
- Practice under time. Book the exam when you're comfortably above 67% and can say why each wrong option is wrong. Our guide to answering Salesforce scenario questions helps with that habit.
Slack Developer Study Guide and Practice Exam on Certifyforce
Certifyforce has a full prep set for this exam, written to the official outline and checked against current docs.slack.dev pages:
- The Slack Developer study guide: 38 lessons across all nine sections, one per exam-guide topic, each citing the Slack documentation it's based on and noting where today's platform differs from the Summer '24 exam. Every lesson's summary, exam expectations, key facts and self-check questions are free to read.
- The Slack Developer practice exam: a 300-question reviewed bank weighted to the outline, with an explanation and source for every answer. The full Slack pack is launching soon.
- 18 free practice questions with answers, no account needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many questions are on the Slack Developer exam?
60 scored multiple-choice/multiple-select questions plus up to 5 unscored ones, in 90 minutes, with a 67% passing score, per the exam guide.
Is the Slack Developer exam hard?
It's rated intermediate, but it expects real build experience: Salesforce recommends at least 6 months with Slack's APIs and a Slack app you've built. Candidates who have only read the docs tend to struggle with token, scope and acknowledgement questions.
Do I need to write code on the exam?
No. Questions are multiple choice. Some show a JSON payload, a Block Kit snippet or a short listener and ask what it does or what's missing, so you need to read code comfortably in at least one language.
Is Slack Certified Developer the same as Salesforce Certified Slack Developer?
Yes. The Slack Certified Developer credential became the Salesforce Certified Slack Developer, and the Trailhead credential page is trailhead.salesforce.com/credentials/slackdeveloper.
How much does the Slack Developer exam cost?
US$200 (JPY 30,000) plus applicable taxes, and a retake costs US$100 (JPY 15,000), per the exam guide.
Does the Slack Developer certification expire?
Only if you skip maintenance. You complete one Slack Developer maintenance module on Trailhead each year, per the exam guide.