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Creating a Slack Export

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The export command saves your Slack workspace as a ZIP file compatible with Slack's own export format.

For incremental/resumable archiving, prefer slackdump archive. See the Archive vs Export vs Dump section below.

Warning

For Enterprise Workspaces, read the [Enterprise tips][enterprise.md] first!

Quick Start

# Export the whole workspace (Mattermost format by default)
slackdump export

# Export to a specific ZIP file
slackdump export -o my_export.zip

# Export only specific channels
slackdump export C12301120 D4012041

# Standard format (for use with slack-export-viewer)
slackdump export -type standard -o my_export.zip

Export Types

Type Flag Description
Mattermost (default) -type mattermost Compatible with mmetl / Mattermost bulk import
Standard -type standard Compatible with slack-export-viewer and other tools

File Structure

Mattermost Format (default)

/
├── __uploads/             ← all uploaded files
│   └── F02PM6A1AUA/
│       └── Chevy.jpg
├── everyone/              ← channel "#everyone"
│   ├── 2022-01-01.json
│   └── 2022-01-04.json
├── DM12345678/            ← a DM conversation
│   └── 2022-01-04.json
├── channels.json
├── dms.json
└── users.json

Standard Format

/
├── everyone/
│   ├── 2022-01-01.json
│   ├── 2022-01-04.json
│   └── attachments/
│       └── F02PM6A1AUA-Chevy.jpg
├── DM12345678/
│   └── 2022-01-04.json
├── channels.json
├── dms.json
└── users.json

Including and Excluding Channels

Pass channel IDs or URLs as arguments. Use ^ to exclude, @file for a list file. For the full syntax, run slackdump help syntax.

# Include only specific channels
slackdump export C12401724 C4812934

# Exclude a channel
slackdump export ^C123456

# Use a file list
slackdump export @channels.txt

# With time range
slackdump export C123456,2024-01-01T00:00:00,2024-12-31T23:59:59

Viewing the Export

You can use the built-in viewer:

slackdump view my_export.zip

Or use one of these external tools:

Migrating to Mattermost

  1. Export in Mattermost format:

    slackdump export -o my-workspace.zip

  2. Download mmetl from the mmetl GitHub page and transform the export:

    ./mmetl transform slack -t YourTeamName -d bulk-export-attachments \
  -f my-workspace.zip -o mattermost_import.jsonl

  3. Create the bulk import ZIP:

    mkdir data
mv bulk-export-attachments data/
zip -r bulk_import.zip data mattermost_import.jsonl

  4. Upload and import into Mattermost:

    mmctl auth login http://your-mattermost-server
mmctl import upload ./bulk_import.zip
mmctl import list available     # note the file name with ID prefix
mmctl import process <filename>
mmctl import job list           # monitor progress

See the Mattermost documentation for full details.

Migrating to Discord

Use Slackord2 — a GUI tool compatible with Slackdump export files.

Archive vs Export vs Dump

Command Format Best for
archive SQLite database Incremental backups, large workspaces, SQL queries
export Slack-compatible ZIP Mattermost/Discord migration, compatibility with viewers
dump Per-channel JSON Low-level access, custom tooling

archive is the recommended default. It is faster than export, can be resumed, and can be converted to Export or Dump format afterwards:

slackdump convert -f export ./slackdump.sqlite

In fact, Slackdump uses a temporary archive file and then converts it to export, when you run slackdump export.

Key Flags

Flag Default Description
-o location slackdump_<ts>.zip Output directory or ZIP file
-type value mattermost Export type: mattermost or standard
-files true Download file attachments
-export-token string — Append export token to file URLs (or set SLACK_FILE_TOKEN env var)
-member-only — Only export channels the current user is a member of
-chan-types value all Filter channel types (public_channel, private_channel, im, mpim)
-time-from YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS — Oldest message timestamp
-time-to YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS now Newest message timestamp
-workspace name current Override the active workspace

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