README

This is an API client for Slack for PHP clients, with support for the Real Time Messaging API (RTM API) using web sockets.

Overview

This library was created primarily for Slackyboy, but was branched off into its own codebase so it could be used in other projects as well. I created this client because existing clients were either too complicated to use, or buggy, or incomplete. This is also the first PHP client I am aware of to support Slack's RTM API.

This project is updated to be compatible with PHP 8.1+ and has updated packages.

Installation

Install with Composer, obviously:

$ composer require jc5/slack-client

Please note that the current version has unstable dependencies.

In order to install those dependencies, you can set "minimum-stability" in your composer.json, and recommend that you set "prefer-stable":

{
    "minimum-stability": "dev",
    "prefer-stable": true
}

Usage

First, you need to create a client object to connect to the Slack servers. You will need to acquire an API token for your app first from Slack, then pass the token to the client object for logging in. Since this library uses React, you must also pass in an event loop object:

$loop = \React\EventLoop\Factory::create();

$client = new \Slack\ApiClient($loop);
$client->setToken('YOUR-TOKEN-HERE');
// ...
$loop->run();

Assuming your token is valid, you are good to go! You can now use wrapper methods for accessing most of the Slack API. Below is an example of posting a message to a channel as the logged in user:

$client->getChannelById('C025YTX9D')->then(function (\Slack\Channel $channel) use ($client) {
    $client->send('Hello from PHP!', $channel);
});

Advanced messages

Slack supports messages much more rich than plain text through attachments. The easiest way to create a custom message is with a MessageBuilder:

use Slack\Message\{Attachment, AttachmentField};

$message = $client->getMessageBuilder()
    ->setText('Hello, all!')
    ->setChannel($someChannelObject)
    ->addAttachment(new Attachment('My Attachment', 'attachment text'))
    ->addAttachment(new Attachment('Build Status', 'Build failed! :/', 'build failed', 'danger')))
    ->addAttachment(new Attachment('Some Fields', 'fields', null, '#BADA55', [
        new AttachmentField('Title1', 'Text', false),
        new AttachmentField('Title2', 'Some other text', true)
    ]))
    ->create();

$client->postMessage($message);

Check the API documentation for a list of all methods and properties that messages, attachments, and fields support.

Asynchronous requests and promises

All client requests are made asynchronous using React promises. As a result, most of the client methods return promises. This lets you easily compose request orders and handle them as you need them. Since it uses React, be sure to call $loop->run() or none of the requests will be sent.

React allows the client to perform well and prevent blocking the entire thread while making requests. This is especially useful when writing real-time apps, like Slack chat bots.

Real Time Messaging API

You can also connect to Slack using the Real Time Messaging API. This is often useful for creating Slack bots or message clients. The real-time client is like the regular client, but it enables real-time incoming events. First, you need to create the client:

$client = new \Slack\RealTimeClient();
$client->setToken('YOUR-TOKEN-HERE');
$client->connect();

Then you can use the client as normal; RealTimeClient extends ApiClient, and has the same API for sending requests. You can attach a callback to handle incoming Slack events using RealTimeClient::on():

$client->on('file_created', function($data) {
    echo 'A file was created called ' . $data['file']['name'] . '!\n';
});

Below is a very simple, complete example:

$loop = React\EventLoop\Factory::create();

$client = new Slack\RealTimeClient($loop);
$client->setToken('YOUR-TOKEN-HERE');

// disconnect after first message
$client->on('message', function ($data) use ($client) {
    echo "Someone typed a message: ".$data['text']."\n";
    $client->disconnect();
});

$client->connect()->then(function () {
    echo "Connected!\n";
});

$loop->run();

See the Slack API documentation for a list of possible events.

Documentation

You can view the complete API documentation here.

Running tests

You can run automated unit tests using PHPUnit after installing dependencies:

$ vendor/bin/phpunit

Where to get help

Need help? Just send me an email with your questions. Be sure to add "Slack client" to the message subject line so I know how I can help you out.

License

This library is licensed under the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for details.