Ask Slack — VS Code Extension

Going to the bathroom and worried your AI agent will be stuck waiting for you with a question? Grabbing coffee while a long task runs, only to come back and find Copilot froze 10 minutes ago asking "should I use tabs or spaces?"

Relax. This extension forwards agent questions straight to your Slack DMs so you can answer from your phone, your couch, or yes — the bathroom.

How it works

#ask_slack is a Copilot Chat tool that shows a native inline prompt when the agent needs your input. If you don't answer within the timeout, the question is automatically forwarded to your Slack DM. The first answer wins — whether you type it in VS Code or tap it on your phone. The UI is based on the original vscode_askQuestions carousel, so it supports options, multi-select, and freeform input. The Slack fallback uses interactive Block Kit messages with buttons and checkboxes.

Agent asks question
        │
        ├──→ VS Code inline prompt (immediate)
        │
        └──→ Slack DM (after timeout, default 60s)
                │
        ← first answer wins ←

Setup

Deploy the server — follow the server setup guide
Install the extension in VS Code
Open settings — run Ask Slack: Open Settings from the Command Palette, or go to Settings → Ask Slack
Configure:
- API URL — your server URL (e.g. https://ask-slack.yourcompany.com or http://localhost:3000)
- API Key — the shared secret you set on the server (ASK_SLACK_API_KEY)
- Slack User ID — your personal Slack member ID (profile → ⋯ → Copy member ID)
Test connection — click "Test Connection" in the settings panel
Disable the built-in vscode_askQuestions tool to avoid confusion
(Optional) add this to your .github/copilot-instructions.md:

Add Always use #ask_slack tool to ask user questions

If you leave the connection fields empty, the tool works in local-only mode — just the inline prompt, no Slack fallback.

Usage

Reference the tool in your Copilot Chat prompts or .github/copilot-instructions.md:

If you need to ask the user a question, use #ask_slack

The agent can send plain questions or multiple-choice options:

Use #ask_slack with question "Which approach?" and options ["Refactor", "Rewrite", "Keep as-is"]

Extension Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`askSlack.timeoutSeconds`	`60`	Seconds before Slack fallback kicks in
`askSlack.apiUrl`	`""`	Server URL
`askSlack.slackUserId`	`""`	Your Slack user ID
`askSlack.disableNotifications`	`false`	Disable Slack notifications — UI only
`askSlack.awayMode`	`false`	Skip local prompt, send straight to Slack

API key is stored securely in OS keychain — configure it via the settings panel.

Disable Notifications

Toggle Disable Notifications to turn off all Slack DM forwarding. Questions can only be answered in the VS Code UI — no messages will be sent to Slack, and the timeout fallback is skipped. When this is enabled, Away Mode is automatically disabled and cannot be toggled on.

Away Mode

Toggle Away Mode and questions skip the local prompt entirely — they go straight to Slack. Perfect for when you step away but want your agents to keep working. Cannot be enabled while Disable Notifications is active.

Features

Inline question UI — same native carousel as vscode_askQuestions, with options, multi-select, and freeform input
Slack DM fallback — unanswered questions are forwarded to Slack with interactive buttons/checkboxes (Block Kit)
Away Mode — send everything to Slack immediately, no local prompt
Disable Notifications — turn off Slack entirely, answer only in VS Code UI
Numbered reply fallback — reply with 1 or 1, 3 in Slack instead of clicking buttons
Secure — API key stored in OS keychain (Windows Credential Manager / macOS Keychain)
Settings GUI — configure everything from a webview panel (Ask Slack: Open Settings)

Requirements

This extension needs a running ask-slack-mcp server to forward questions to Slack.

👉 Server setup instructions on GitHub

The server holds the Slack WebSocket connection and exposes an HTTP API. You deploy it once; the extension connects to it.

Tool Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`question`	string	Yes	The question to ask
`context`	string	No	Context shown above the question
`options`	array	No	Selectable answers (`{ label, description?, recommended? }`)
`multiSelect`	boolean	No	Allow picking multiple options
`allowFreeformInput`	boolean	No	Allow typed answer alongside options

Development

cd extension
npm install
npm run compile

Press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host. See extension development docs for details.

Package as VSIX

npx @vscode/vsce package

License

MIT

Ask Slack

Doctor Spider