# Slackbot skills API methods are here!

By Steven Van · 2026-10-28

Enterprise org admins can publish and auto-enable skills for users or groups, while authors manage their own skills from CI.

Slack has added Web API methods for creating and managing Slackbot skills, so a skill's instructions can now be kept in source control and deployed from CI. The [Slack](<https://creatorstoolbox.com/tools/slack>) methods are covered in a [Slackbot skills guide](<https://docs.slack.dev/ai/slackbot-skills>). These skills run in Slackbot and are separate from the skills installed in coding agents, such as those in the Slack MCP and Skills Plugin.

## Creating and updating skills

A skill is created by calling slackbot.skills.create with markdown instructions, or with a canvas the caller owns. Skills created from markdown start invite-only, while converting an existing canvas keeps its sharing. Slack attempts to add the new skill to the author's library, and the returned skill ID is used for later changes.

The slackbot.skills.update method changes a skill's instructions or metadata, and slackbot.skills.info reads the current instructions back. A CI pipeline would repeat the update step on each change.

## Rolling a skill out to an organization

Org admins and owners get a separate set of admin.slackbot.skills.\* methods:

- **Publish:** admin.slackbot.skills.publish adds a skill to the organization's catalog and, if the canvas isn't already shared org-wide, shares it with the whole organization. This is available to an org admin of an Enterprise organization. admin.slackbot.skills.list helps find skills to publish.

- **Auto-enable:** admin.slackbot.skills.setAutoEnabled adds a skill to everyone's library, or to specific user groups. Setting permission\_type to no\_one stops the automatic adding. The canvas must already be shared with those people.

- **Unpublish:** admin.slackbot.skills.unpublish removes a skill from the org catalog.

The admin methods require a user token from an org-level installation of the app. Workspace-level installations can't be granted the admin skills scopes.

## Libraries and cleanup

A published skill is not enabled for anyone else until it is in their library. People can add it from the catalog, either in Slackbot or with slackbot.skills.library.add. slackbot.skills.library.remove takes a skill out of a library.

slackbot.skills.list shows what is in a library, what a user owns, or what is in the catalog. slackbot.skills.delete removes a skill entirely, including its canvas.

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Sources

[Original source](<https://docs.slack.dev/changelog/2026/10/28/slackbot-skills-api>)

[Read Slackbot skills API methods are here! on Creators Toolbox](<https://creatorstoolbox.com/blog/slack-slackbot-skills-api-methods-are-here>)

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Canonical source: https://creatorstoolbox.com/blog/slack-slackbot-skills-api-methods-are-here