How to create Slack channels automatically using A4J or REST API

Summary

Jira DataCenter for Slack has the feature to create dedicated channels for issues manually. However, to create those channels automatically we need an external call that can be done either from the terminal/script or Automation for Jira.

Solution

After installing Jira DataCenter for Slack, a series of private REST APIS are enabled in Jira, which can be used to retrieve the integration information as well as modify and create channels, the endpoints we will use here are:

• GET slack/1.0/connection: return the workspace information

• GET/POST slack/1.0/channels: retrieve the workspace channels information or create a new channel

• POST slack/dedicatedchannel: set the channel dedicated to an issue, hence all updates in the issue will be posted in the channel.

With that, we can build a solution to automatically create dedicated channels using the REST API endpoints in a script or through Automation for Jira.

REST API

If calling the REST API endpoints directly in a script, follow the steps:

1. Get the workspace information. The teamId will be used later.

   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 curl -k -u dalves:dalves -X GET https://localhost:8443/rest/slack/1.0/connection | python3 -mjson.tool { "workspaces": [ { "teamName": "death start", "teamId": "T05UUAQ1WRY", "appConfigurationUrl": "https://api.slack.com/apps/custom-install/A05UWQ78UF6?edit=true", "botUserId": "U05V70ADHND", "botUserName": "jira_server" } ] }

2. Create the channel using as parameters the channelName (using any value you want) and the teamId (from step 1). The channelId will be used later.

   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 curl -k -u dalves:dalves -X POST "https://localhost:8443/slack/channels?channelName=issue-kbb-5xx&teamId=T05UUAQ1WRY" | python3 -mjson.tool { "teamId": "T05UUAQ1WRY", "teamName": "death start", "channelId": "C06BKN0DAC9", "channelName": "issue-kbb-5xx", "isPrivate": false }

3. Setup the dedicated channel using the issueKey (the issue you need the channel), channelId (from step 2), and the teamId (from step 1).

   1 curl -k -u dalves:dalves -X POST --data '{"issueKey":"KBB-12","channelId":"C06BKN0DAC9","teamId":"T05UUAQ1WRY"}' https://localhost:8443/slack/dedicatedchannel

Automation for Jira

The Automation for Jira rule will follow the same logic.

1. Get the connection information through the same REST API or using the browser (Project Settings > Slack integration and click on the Slack Workspace

   

2. With the teamId noted, create a rule to first create the channel with the rule action "Send Web Request".

   • The URL shall be: <jira-url>/slack/channels?channelName={{#urlEncode}}{{issue.key.toLowerCase()}}{{/}}&teamId=T05UUAQ1WRY

     Important: the smart value {{issue.key}} needs to be encoded and parsed as lower case, otherwise the rule will fail.

   • Use the authorization you are used to, in the example I used PAT.

   • HTTP method: POST

   • Click to Delay execution. This is essential as the automation needs to retrieve the channelId

   • Example from UI:

     

3. The second step will dedicate the channel using the channelId and teamId. Create the second rule action "Send Web Request" with the data below.

   • The URL shall be <jira-url>/slack/dedicatedchannel

   • Use the authorization you are used to, in the example I used PAT.

   • HTTP method: POST

   • Webhook body: Custom data with content (note you need to add the teamId with the information collected on step 1)

     1 {"issueKey":"{{issue.key}}","channelId":"{{webhookResponse.body.channelId}}","teamId":"T05UUAQ1WRY"}

   • Example from UI:

     

As an example, I created one automation rule to automatically create dedicated channels for all created Epics: