Tools5% of the exam
Slack CLI quickstart, samples and developer support
How to get a first Bolt app running with the Slack CLI quickstart, which official sample or tutorial fits a requirement, where to report framework defects, and how to spot an outdated external tutorial built on end-of-life packages.
Recommend when to use sample code and external resources.
~7 min read · 4 practice questions ·
What the exam expects
- Recommend the Slack CLI quickstart (
slack login,slack createfrom a starter template,slack run) when a developer needs a working Bolt app to study today. - Pick the right entry from the Samples & tutorials catalog for a requirement, including the custom step tutorials for an app that already exists.
- Send a suspected framework defect to the project's GitHub issue tracker and Slack's developer support, never to a public post with credentials.
- Judge an external tutorial against current docs, and replace end-of-life packages such as
@slack/events-apiand@slack/interactive-messageswith Bolt for JavaScript.
Key terms: Slack CLI (command-line tool to create, run and manage Slack apps); starter template (a preconfigured project that slack create copies); Samples & tutorials (Slack's curated catalog of sample code and step-by-step guides); issue tracker (each SDK's GitHub issues, for bugs and questions); end of life (EOL) (development stopped, no fixes).
Key facts
Quickstart order
- Detail
- Install the CLI,
slack login,slack create(Starter App, then Bolt for Python or JavaScript),slack run
slack run- Detail
- Installs the app to the chosen team using
manifest.jsonand restarts on saved changes
CLI runtimes
- Detail
- Bolt for JavaScript, Bolt for Python, or the Deno Slack SDK
Custom templates
- Detail
slack create <name> --template=<org>/<repo>uses any accessible GitHub repository
Catalog filters
- Detail
- Bolt for Java, Bolt for JavaScript, Bolt for Python, Deno Slack SDK
Existing-app custom step tutorial
- Detail
- Offered for Bolt for Python and Bolt for JavaScript; needs Bolt 1.20.0+ and a paid plan
Steps from Apps
- Detail
- Stopped working September 26, 2024, no direct migration path
Getting help
- Detail
- GitHub issue tracker (search first) and support@slack.com
EOL Node packages
- Detail
@slack/events-api,@slack/interactive-messages: EOL May 31, 2021; migrate to Bolt for JavaScript
Credentials in public
- Detail
- Never place tokens or the client secret in public repositories
Sources for this section (8)
- Quickstartdocs.slack.dev (opens in a new tab)
- Slack CLIdocs.slack.dev (opens in a new tab)
- Security best practicesdocs.slack.dev (opens in a new tab)
- Samples & tutorialsdocs.slack.dev (opens in a new tab)
- Existing app tutorial, Pythondocs.slack.dev (opens in a new tab)
- Workflow Steps from Apps step backdocs.slack.dev (opens in a new tab)
- Bolt for JavaScriptdocs.slack.dev (opens in a new tab)
- Node Slack SDKdocs.slack.dev (opens in a new tab)
- Which three CLI commands take a new developer from nothing to a running starter app?
- When should a developer use the "Custom Step for Workflow Builder: Existing Bolt app" tutorial rather than the plain custom step one?
- Why is `@slack/events-api` a poor choice for a new Node app?
- Where should a suspected Bolt for JavaScript defect be reported?
- Why can't an incoming webhook replace the packages that receive events and button clicks?
The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.
Keep reading with the Slack Developer pack
- Core concepts
- Exam traps
- Worked scenario
The pack includes:
- All 38 lessons of the Slack Developer guide, with reading progress
- Interactive decision walks and step-by-step sequence steppers
- Inline practice questions and one-click topic practice (4 questions for this lesson)
- An official source cited for every claim
- An AI tutor that answers from the guide
- Unlimited timed practice exams