Slack Permission Levels
Choose how much access Kit's Slack integration gets — from notifications-only posting to full candidate channel collaboration.
Why It Matters
Not every team wants a bot that can read messages and create private channels. Permission levels let you grant Kit only the Slack access you actually use — the principle of least privilege. A connection limited to notifications can’t read a single message, so even if a connection is compromised or broader than you intended, the blast radius stays small.
The Three Levels
You pick a level when connecting Slack, and you can change it later.
| Level | What Works |
|---|---|
| Notifications only | Kit posts notifications to the public channels you select, can view public channel names, and can join public channels. It cannot read any messages, see private channels, DM members, or look up members by email. |
| Collaboration | Everything above, plus personal DMs, @mentions in notifications, emoji-reaction actions, rich link previews, and @KitBot mention replies (without thread context). Still no private-channel access. |
| Full (default, recommended) | Everything above, plus private candidate channels, AI thread summaries, and pinned summaries with channel bookmarks. |
Which Level Do I Need?
- Channel notifications — works at every level
- Personal DMs, @mentions, emoji reactions, rich link previews — Collaboration or Full
- Candidate channels, AI thread summaries, pinned summaries & bookmarks — Full only
If a feature toggle (candidate channels, emoji reactions, team reactions, personal notifications) is greyed out in your integration settings, the explanation next to it tells you that no connection’s permission level supports it yet.
Choosing a Level at Connect Time
- Go to Integrations > Slack and click Connect
- Pick a permission level — Full is preselected and recommended
- Authorize in Slack — the permissions Slack asks for match the level you chose
Changing Levels Later
On the connection card under Integrations > Slack, pick a new level and confirm.
- Upgrading (e.g., Notifications only → Collaboration) re-authorizes in Slack, where you approve the additional permissions.
- Downgrading revokes the bot token first, then re-authorizes at the lower level. Your notification channel selections may need to be set up again afterwards.
Warning
Slack can retain previously granted permissions after a downgrade. The connection card shows a warning when this applies. To fully reduce what the Slack app can do, disconnect the workspace and reconnect at the lower level.
Existing Connections
All connections created before permission levels existed behave as Full — nothing changes for them. You can downgrade them from the connection card at any time.
Slack Enterprise Workspaces
Slack Enterprise admins can approve only a subset of the permissions Kit requests. Kit gates features on what was actually granted — if a permission was withheld, the dependent features stay disabled with an explanation, even if the chosen level would normally include them.
Quick Checklist
- Decide which features you need (notifications? DMs and reactions? candidate channels?)
- Connect Slack at the matching level — or keep the recommended Full
- If a feature toggle is disabled, check the explanation — your connection’s level may not support it
- When downgrading, watch for the retained-permissions warning and reconnect if you need a hard reduction