OpenClaw Slack Not Receiving Messages: Socket Mode Zero Inbound Events (Since 3.11)

Your OpenClaw agent connects to Slack successfully — the connection log shows no errors — but it never responds to any messages. You can send to Discord or Telegram just fine. Slack is completely silent. This is issue #67496: Slack Socket Mode connects but receives zero inbound events, a regression present in every version since 2026.3.11.

What's Broken

OpenClaw uses Slack's Socket Mode to receive messages (rather than a public webhook endpoint). The Socket Mode client connects without error, but the connection doesn't receive any events — messages, mentions, DMs, nothing. The standalone @slack/socket-mode library bundled with OpenClaw was tested independently and confirmed the same behavior: zero inbound events despite a successful connection.

This is a regression — it worked before 2026.3.11. It's present in 4.14 stable and 4.15-beta.1. If you're on any version between 3.11 and 4.15, your Slack integration is silently broken.

Diagnosis

Check if you're hitting this bug:

# 1. Confirm Slack shows as connected
openclaw gateway logs | grep -i "slack\|socket"

# 2. Send a test message to your bot in Slack
# 3. Watch for any log activity
openclaw gateway logs -f | grep -i "inbound\|message\|event"

If you see the Socket Mode connection established but nothing appears in logs when you send a message — this is issue #67496.

Fix #1 — Roll Back to 2026.3.10 or Earlier

The last known-good version for Slack Socket Mode is 2026.3.10:

npm install -g openclaw@2026.3.10
openclaw gateway restart

Significant trade-off: 3.10 predates many features and fixes from the 4.x line. Only use this if Slack is your primary or only channel and you can't move to an alternative.

Fix #2 — Switch to Discord (Recommended Interim)

Discord's channel integration is fully functional in all current versions. If your use case allows it, switching to Discord as your primary agent channel is the path of least resistance while Slack is broken:

openclaw configure

Navigate to channel settings and add Discord. The setup takes about 5 minutes (bot token from Discord Developer Portal + one pairing message).

Fix #3 — Switch to Telegram

If you need mobile notifications and don't want Discord, Telegram is equally reliable and works flawlessly in all 4.x versions. BotFather setup takes under 10 minutes:

• Open Telegram → search BotFather → /newbot
• Get your token → paste into openclaw configure
• Send /start to your bot to complete pairing

Fix #4 — Wait for the Slack Socket Mode Fix

Issue #67496 is confirmed by the maintainers as a regression with a clear reproduction path. It's likely to be prioritized for 4.15 stable. Watch the issue for a patch release.

Why This Affects So Many Users Without Being Fixed Sooner

Slack integration requires a paid Slack workspace with a bot token and Socket Mode enabled — a much higher setup barrier than Telegram or Discord. Fewer users hit this, so the bug festered longer before getting traction. It's now confirmed and tracked.

TL;DR

• Slack Socket Mode connects but receives zero inbound events — regression since 3.11
• Affects all versions 3.11 through 4.15-beta.1
• Fix A: Roll back to 3.10 (big trade-off)
• Fix B: Switch to Discord (easiest, recommended)
• Fix C: Switch to Telegram
• Fix D: Wait for 4.15 stable patch
• Tracking: GitHub issue #67496