Port Slack app is now in open beta

Why we built it

We’re big fans of Slack at Port. You probably are too if your team uses it. We discuss features, triage incidents, share announcements, and document decisions there. The problem: we constantly needed information that only existed in Port. We'd leave Slack, open Port, ask our AI assistant a question, then return to Slack to share the answer. This context-switching slowed us down.

We've already solved this problem in IDEs. Developers use Port's MCP server to get answers without leaving their IDE. But developers aren't the only people who need Port data. Product managers need to check service ownership before a launch. Support engineers need to find dependencies during an incident. Engineering managers need to review their team's open pull requests before standup.

The Slack app brings Port's AI assistant into the tool where these conversations already happen.

What it is

The Port Slack app works like Port's AI assistant, but lives inside Slack:

• Ask it questions about your services, owners, or dependencies. 
• Trigger any self-service action you've configured in Port. 
• Get notifications when something changes in your catalog.
• The Port Slack app uses the same Port AI API which is permissions-aware and auditable.

Where it’s useful

1. Open a bug from a Slack thread

Bugs happen, and when they do, it’s best to create them in the moment. Now you can just tag Port (@Port) and say "Create a bug for payment-service timeout errors" and a Jira ticket gets created. Assuming you have a relevant self-service action set up in Port, it will trigger it and your ticket will be created. The Port Slack app will then post the link of the new ticket.

2. Get ownership answers

Answering “who owns this” shouldn’t take long. Just ask Port in Slack and you’ll get an immediate answer with the owner, their team, the docs, and anything else you ask for.

3. Prepare for a standup

For regular status meetings, you can reduce prep time and even meeting times tenfold by just asking Port questions like "What's the status of my team's PRs?".

4. Incident blast radius

Incidents happen too, and when they do, speed is critical. Instead of frantically searching through docs or pinging multiple team members, you can quickly ask Port about the service's dependencies. Within seconds, you'll have a clear view of the potential impact, helping you prioritize and communicate effectively. For example, ask "What depends on payment-gateway?" and you’ll get an immediate dependency map.

How to start using it

Install it

To install the Slack app, follow these steps:

• Navigate to the Slack app installation page.
• Click on the "Add to Slack" button.
• Select the workspace where you'd like to install the app, then click "Allow".
• Once installed, you will receive a Slack message from Port's bot with a summary of the app's capabilities:

Chat with it

Just mention @Port in any channel or in any DM where the app is installed

Get notifications

The Port Slack app allows you to send messages to any Slack channel directly from Port, without the need to create a separate webhook for each channel.

This can be used to communicate important notifications to people in your organization, such as:

•  A new PagerDuty incident has been triggered in this service
• A new GitHub issue has been created by this user
• A GitLab merge request has been merged by that user

Display Slack channel names in Port

Once you install the Port Slack app, Port automatically enriches any Slack channel URL in your catalog with the actual channel name. 

Other bits and bytes

• Use /port or /port help for available commands.
• Chat with Port via Slack’s AI side panel
• Customize notification messages using Slack blocks
• Rename the Port bot in Slack settings to anything you like

How it works

The Port Slack app connects to Port AI API through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). MCP is an open standard that lets AI assistants access external tools and data sources. This means the Slack app uses the same AI infrastructure that powers Port's web interface and IDE extensions.

Each team member authenticates with their own Port account when they use the Slack app. This means your audit logs show exactly who asked each question or triggered each action.

We also know that enforcing permissions is vital wherever Port is used, so the Slack app follows the requesting user’s permissions. They will only get answers about entities they are allowed to see and only be able to trigger actions they have permission to trigger.

What’s next for the Port Slack app

We’re really excited about extending Port to other places, especially Slack. Here’s what we’d like to work on next for the Slack app:

• Get answers from specific Port AI agents instead of the general AI assistant
• Trigger actions more explicitly (instead of letting AI choose the action based on your request)
• Interact with self-service action forms natively within Slack

How you can get started today

Just visit the installation page, or read more in our docs.

We can’t wait to hear how you use Port AI in Slack!