Slack Standup Digest Automation

Set up a recurring automation that summarizes Slack activity into an async standup digest.

Prerequisites

Required integration

Slack MCP must be installed in Settings → MCP.

Information to collect

Ask the user for:

Source channels — which Slack channels to scan for updates (e.g. #engineering, #frontend, #backend)
Target channel — where the digest should be posted (e.g. #standup, #team-updates)
Schedule — when should the digest run? Default: weekday mornings at 9 AM
Timezone — user's timezone (e.g. America/New_York, Europe/London)
Auto-post or draft — should the digest post automatically, or be saved for the user to review and approve first?
Grouping — how should updates be organized? Default: by project/channel, with sections for shipped work, active work, blockers, and decisions

Setup Workflow

Step 1 — Verify Slack MCP access

Confirm the Slack MCP integration is working:

Use the Slack MCP to search for recent messages in one of the source channels.

If it fails, tell the user to install the Slack MCP integration first.

Step 2 — Configure the schedule

Build a cron schedule from the user's preferences:

Weekday mornings at 9 AM ET: 0 9 * * 1-5 with timezone America/New_York
Daily at 8 AM UTC: 0 8 * * *

Step 3 — Build the digest prompt

Construct a prompt that includes:

Source channels to scan
Target channel for posting
Lookback window (typically "since previous workday" — Friday→Monday for Monday digests)
Grouping structure (by project, by channel, etc.)
Whether to auto-post or draft
What to highlight: blockers, decisions, shipped items, unanswered questions

Step 4 — Create the automation

Read the Automation backend URL and auth from <RUNTIME_SERVICES>:

Use the Automation backend url_from_agent as OPENHANDS_HOST
Auth: X-Session-API-Key: $OPENHANDS_AUTOMATION_API_KEY

Use the prompt preset endpoint:

curl -s -X POST "${OPENHANDS_HOST}/api/automation/v1/preset/prompt" \
  -H "X-Session-API-Key: $OPENHANDS_AUTOMATION_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Slack Standup Digest",
    "prompt": "<constructed digest prompt>",
    "trigger": {"type": "cron", "schedule": "<schedule>", "timezone": "<tz>"}
  }'

PowerShell note: use curl.exe for this exact flag syntax, and replace ${OPENHANDS_HOST} / $OPENHANDS_AUTOMATION_API_KEY with $env:OPENHANDS_HOST / $env:OPENHANDS_AUTOMATION_API_KEY if running it natively.

Step 5 — Confirm

Tell the user:

✅ Slack Standup Digest is running!

Automation ID: {id}

Source channels: {channel list}

Target channel: {target}

Schedule: {cron description}

Mode: {auto-post or draft}

slack-standup-digest