The export lives at Admin > Workspace settings > Security > Import & export data > Export, and an Owner or Admin starts the public-channel export. Slack sends an email when the ZIP is ready. What you get depends on your plan. Free and Pro get public channels only. Business+ can add private channels and DMs, once Slack approves an application. You, or whoever runs your systems, run the removal tool on your own computer and review flagged items there. You upload only the cleaned package. We never connect to Slack to take messages.
Who runs it and how long it takes
- Who: Owners and Admins run the public-channel export. Applying for private channels and DMs is a Workspace Owner action. On Enterprise Grid it can also be an Org Owner, an Admin, or someone with the Export Admin role.
- Waiting: Slack gives no figure. It emails the person who started the export when it is ready. A Business+ application also waits on the Primary Owner and on Slack.
Before you start, read How to export your Xero data and How to export your Zendesk tickets.
What your plan can export
| Plan | What the export holds |
|---|---|
| Free | Messages and file links from public channels; file links from the last 90 days |
| Pro | Messages and file links from public channels |
| Business+ | Public channels, and private channels and direct messages after an application that Slack reviews, which Slack frames as for legal and regulatory compliance; recurring exports are available |
| Enterprise Grid | Exports by conversation type, member or workspace; an Org Owner asks Slack Support to turn the Enterprise tools on |
Buyers pay most for the threads where people coordinate work, decide and hand off. Public channels often carry much of that; tell us how your team uses channels. Slack decides whether an application for private channels and DMs is approved, and it frames that route as for legal and regulatory compliance, so we do not count on it.
The steps
Public channels (every plan):
- Click Admin in Slack, then Workspace settings, then Security.
- Open Import & export data and go to the Export tab.
- Set Export date range to the range we agreed, then click Start Export.
- When Slack's email arrives, open Visit your workspace's export page and download the ZIP marked Ready for download.
- Run our removal tool on the ZIP, unchanged, on your own computer and review the items it flags. Upload only the cleaned package on your deal's Slack page.
Private channels and DMs (Business+):
- A Workspace Owner opens the same Export page, chooses submit an application and selects the export type.
- The Workspace Primary Owner approves it, and Slack Support reviews it.
- If Slack enables it, run the export as above and choose the full export type.
Enterprise Grid: an Org Owner opens the organization name, then Tools & settings > Organization settings > Security > Exports, chooses Export beside the option we agreed, sets the scope, and downloads from the email.
What you get
- One ZIP of JSON files, one folder per channel with one file per day, plus files listing channels and members.
- Links to uploaded files, never the files themselves.
- Edited and deleted messages appear only as far as your retention settings kept them.
Review the cleaned package on your computer before you upload
Your export stays on your computer. Check that it is complete, then run the removal tool and review the cleaned package there before you upload anything.
- Before you export, write down the date range you will pick and the channels you expect to see.
- After the download, unzip the ZIP and list the channel folders. Slack gives an example: with a retention policy that deletes public-channel messages after 30 days, a date range older than that returns no folders for public channels. Note any channel you expected that has no folder.
- Open one day's JSON file in a channel you know and find a message you remember.
- Open
channels.jsonandusers.jsonand compare the number of channels and members in them with the numbers you expect. - Write down what the export leaves out. Slack says the ZIP holds file links that point back to your workspace's files, and that edited and deleted messages appear only if your retention policy keeps them. Send us the list when you upload.
If the export looks incomplete
- A channel has no folder. Slack says a channel folder is only included if there are messages in the date range you exported. A retention policy that deleted the older messages gives the same result, so check the range and your retention settings before you run it again.
- The private channel and DM application is still open. Slack says its Support team will reach out by email before it reviews the application. Export the public channels meanwhile and tell us when Slack answers.
- The Export option is missing on Enterprise Grid. Slack says an Org Owner contacts its Support team to request access to the self-serve export tools, and that they must be requested separately.
- The ZIP is not on the export page. On Enterprise Grid, Slack says to open the email, click the Downloads tab and click Download next to your export.
What the removal tool strips, and what stays out
The removal tool strips these on your own computer, before you upload:
- Our scanner covered the labelled spans on its own two frozen synthetic held-out test sets (650/650 and 700/700 spans). On a real-email run of 100 public Enron emails on 7 October, three partially masked names remained visible. A model review caught the partial-name misses, seat-app checked the findings, and unresolved rework blocked release; the package was not released. These results do not guarantee removal of every personal detail.
- Email addresses, phone numbers, and links to personal files or profiles go.
- Client and customer company names, replaced with labels ("Client 3").
What stays out by default:
- Direct messages and private channels, unless you choose to include them and your team has been told.
- HR, legal, benefits and health channels.
- Channels shared with clients or other companies (Slack Connect), unless the other company agrees.
- Passwords, keys and tokens pasted into messages, which the removal tool finds and drops.
You review the tool's flagged items on your own computer before you upload, and you review a cleaned sample before any buyer sees it (how personal data is removed). Telling your staff covers what to say to your team.
Why we never connect to Slack
Slack's App Developer Policy bars apps from "renting, selling or sharing Data with third parties under any circumstances". Your own export is different: Slack's User Terms say customer data "is owned by Customer", and the export is your copy of it (why we ask for an export). Our optional count scan can list how many channels and members you have, without reading any message, so the estimate is closer before you export anything.