Bolt for Python Blank Template

This is a blank Bolt for Python template app used to start building new Slack apps.

Setup

Before getting started, make sure you have a development workspace where you have permissions to install apps. If you don't have one setup, go ahead and create one.

Developer Program

Join the Slack Developer Program for exclusive access to sandbox environments for building and testing your apps, tooling, and resources created to help you build and grow.

Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and Other Coding Agents

Install the Slack MCP and Skills Plugin so your coding agent can create, run, and deploy Slack apps, look up Web API methods and scopes, and build Block Kit without guessing.

Claude Code

Run this in a Claude Code session:

/plugin install slack@claude-plugins-official

Codex

Run this in your terminal:

codex plugin marketplace add slackapi/slack-skills-plugin
codex plugin add slack@slack

Cursor

Run this in a Cursor Agent chat:

/add-plugin slack

Other agents

Install the skills with npx skills, using your agent's identifier:

npx skills add slackapi/slack-skills-plugin -y -a <agent>

# For example, OpenCode
npx skills add slackapi/slack-skills-plugin -y -a opencode

Installation

Using Slack CLI

Install the latest version of the Slack CLI for your operating system:

• Slack CLI for macOS & Linux
• Slack CLI for Windows

You'll also need to log in if this is your first time using the Slack CLI.

slack login

Initializing the project

slack create my-bolt-python-app --template slack-samples/bolt-python-blank-template
cd my-bolt-python-app

After cloning, you're all set to start developing!

Using Terminal

Create Your Slack App

1. Open https://api.slack.com/apps/new and choose "From an app manifest"
2. Choose the workspace you want to install the application to
3. Copy the contents of manifest.json into the text box that says *Paste your manifest code here* (within the JSON tab) and click Next
4. Review the configuration and click Create
5. Click Install to Workspace and Allow on the screen that follows. You'll then be redirected to the App Configuration dashboard.

Environment Variables

Before you can run the app, you'll need to store some environment variables.

1. Open your apps configuration page from this list, click OAuth & Permissions in the left hand menu, then copy the Bot User OAuth Token. You will store this in your environment as SLACK_BOT_TOKEN.
2. Click Basic Information from the left hand menu and follow the steps in the App-Level Tokens section to create an app-level token with the connections:write scope. Copy this token. You will store this in your environment as SLACK_APP_TOKEN.

# Replace with your app token and bot token
export SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=<your-bot-token>
export SLACK_APP_TOKEN=<your-app-token>

Initializing the project

git clone https://github.com/slack-samples/bolt-python-blank-template.git my-bolt-python-app
cd my-bolt-python-app

Setup your python virtual environment

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # for Windows OS, .\.venv\Scripts\Activate instead should work

Install dependencies

pip install -e ".[dev]"

Development

Starting the app

Slack CLI

slack run

Terminal

python3 app.py

Linting

# Run ruff from root directory for linting
ruff check

# Run ruff from root directory for code formatting
ruff format

Resources

To learn more about developing Slack apps, visit the following pages:

• API docs
• Bolt for Python docs