# How to add Slack to Ignition (SCADA/MES)

> Source: https://netray.co/integrations/ignition-slack
> Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems.
> Section: Integrations

## Short answer

Post alarms and reports to Slack from an Ignition alarm pipeline Script step using an incoming webhook or the Web API. Slash commands and button clicks need a public HTTPS endpoint, so route them through a relay that talks to the Gateway.

## System

Inductive Automation Ignition (MES/SCADA)

## Capability

slack

## Intro

Some Ignition customers, especially discrete manufacturers with software-minded engineering teams, run their operations conversation in Slack. Channels exist for each line, the controls team lives there, and an on-call rotation already pages through it. What is missing is the plant itself: alarms, quality events and downtime show up in Ignition clients that nobody has open at 2 a.m.

Slack's strength here is the interactive message. A button on an alarm message that says Acknowledge or Create work order is faster than any mobile client, and slash commands such as a status query against a line give engineers a read path without VPN logins. The risk is the same: any action reachable from Slack must be authorised on the Ignition side.

Slack's request model also matters. Slash commands and interactivity call your server over public HTTPS, and they expect an answer in about three seconds. A Gateway on a plant network cannot be that server, so a thin relay becomes part of the design from day one.

## Use Cases

### Line channel alert feed

**Description:** Each production line has a channel that gets alarm activations, clears and shelving events with a thread per alarm so history stays together.

### Slash command line status

**Description:** Typing a status command with a line name returns current state, rate, last stop reason and open alarms, read from tags and the MES schema.

### Interactive acknowledge and assign

**Description:** Buttons on an alarm message acknowledge the alarm or assign it to a technician, and the message updates to show the owner.

### Quality escalation thread

**Description:** A failed SPC rule posts to a quality channel with a control chart image rendered by the Gateway and opens a thread for disposition notes.

### Deployment and Gateway health notices

**Description:** Gateway backups, module errors, store-and-forward queue growth and license warnings go to the controls team's channel.

### Energy and utilities exceptions

**Description:** Compressed air or steam consumption outside a learned band posts with a trend snapshot and the shift context.

## System Surface

- Alarm notification pipelines with Script steps, which can call Slack's incoming webhook URL or chat.postMessage with a bot token; the exact HTTP functions depend on your Ignition version.
- system.alarm query and acknowledge functions to read active alarms and acknowledge by event ID when a button is pressed.
- Gateway system diagnostics and status tags that expose backup state, store-and-forward and connection health for infrastructure alerts.
- Reporting module or Perspective charts that can be rendered to an image and uploaded to Slack, depending on your licensed modules.
- Web Dev module resources and SQL Bridge tables, used as the landing point for relay calls and for audit logs.

## How It Works

### Create a Slack app

**Detail:** Start with an incoming webhook for one-way posts. For interactivity, add a bot user, scopes for posting and reading channel info, and a signing secret.

### Map areas to channels

**Detail:** Store a lookup table of alarm area to channel ID in SQL so channel changes do not require redeploying the project.

### Add the pipeline Script step

**Detail:** Format a Block Kit message with severity, asset, value and a deep link. Save the returned message timestamp so clears and acknowledgements can update the same thread.

### Build the relay

**Detail:** Host a service that verifies Slack signatures, responds within the time limit, and queues the real work to the Gateway through a Web Dev endpoint or a SQL command table.

### Authorise the Slack user

**Detail:** Resolve the Slack user ID to an Ignition user via a mapping table, then check role before acknowledging or assigning anything.

### Close the loop

**Detail:** Update the original message when the alarm clears or is acknowledged, and log the interaction in an audit table.

## Example Flows

### Acknowledge from the alarm message

**Trigger:** A medium priority alarm activates on a packaging line.

**Steps:**

- The pipeline posts a Block Kit message with Acknowledge and Assign buttons.
- A technician presses Acknowledge; Slack calls the relay.
- The relay verifies the signature and queues an acknowledge command to the Gateway.
- The Gateway acknowledges the alarm and the relay edits the message to show who did it.

**Result:** The alarm is acknowledged with the technician's identity and the thread shows the history.

### Line status slash command

**Trigger:** An engineer types a status command naming a line.

**Steps:**

- Slack posts the command to the relay, which acknowledges within three seconds.
- The relay calls a read-only Web Dev endpoint that returns state, rate and open alarms.
- The relay posts the formatted answer back to the channel.

**Result:** A quick read of line state without VPN or a client session.

## On Prem

Slack is cloud-only, so apply the same discipline as for any outbound channel: only short, non-sensitive text leaves the site. Keep the Gateway outbound-only, put the Slack-facing relay in a DMZ, and pass commands inward through a queue the Gateway polls or a locked-down Web Dev endpoint allowed only from the relay. If you want a conversational assistant behind a slash command that answers questions about plant history, host retrieval and the language model locally, so the Slack app receives only the final text. Sites that cannot allow any cloud chat should use an on-prem tool such as a self-hosted chat server instead.

## Security

- Verify the Slack signing secret and timestamp on every request to prevent replay and spoofing.
- Limit bot scopes to the channels and actions you need.
- Keep slash commands read-only by default; require explicit role mapping for any write.
- Never post secrets, recipe parameters or customer-identifying data in alerts.
- Rotate bot tokens and keep them out of Gateway project exports.

## Options

### Incoming webhook from an alarm pipeline Script step

**Fit:** Small teams that only need alerts in a channel.

**Effort:** Half a day to two days.

### Custom Slack app with relay, Block Kit and Web Dev integration

**Fit:** Controls teams that want buttons and slash commands and can run a small service.

**Effort:** Two to five weeks.

### Partner build adding an on-prem assistant behind Slack

**Fit:** Sites that want natural-language plant questions answered from the historian and MES data.

**Effort:** Scoped per site; Netray can build it with your integrator.

## Pitfalls

- Slack's three-second response window will time out if the relay calls the Gateway synchronously; acknowledge first, process after.
- Thread timestamps are the only key for updating a message; losing them means duplicates instead of updates.
- Posting every alarm transition to a channel trains people to mute it. Use priority thresholds and digests.
- Rate limits on chat.postMessage can drop messages during an upset if there is no queue.

## Faq

### What is the easiest way to get Ignition alarms into Slack?

**Answer:** Create an incoming webhook and call it from a Script step in an alarm notification pipeline with a formatted message. It needs no relay and no inbound connection, which makes it the right starting point for alert-only use.

### Can Slack buttons acknowledge Ignition alarms?

**Answer:** Yes, with extra plumbing. The button calls your relay over public HTTPS, the relay verifies the signature and maps the user, and then triggers acknowledgement on the Gateway using the alarm event ID. The Gateway should stay unexposed.

### Is there an Inductive Automation Slack module?

**Answer:** Do not rely on one. Third-party modules and community scripts exist and their availability changes by version, so check the current Ignition Exchange and module listings. Scripted webhooks work on any version with HTTP scripting.

### Can I query tags from Slack?

**Answer:** Yes, through a slash command that hits a read-only Web Dev endpoint returning selected tag values or MES summaries. Whitelist the tags and lines it can read rather than exposing arbitrary tag paths.

### Does this work for air-gapped plants?

**Answer:** No, Slack needs internet connectivity. Air-gapped sites should use an on-site chat system or Ignition's own notification types, and can still run an on-prem assistant that answers questions inside the site network.

## Search terms

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