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:

1. Source channels — which Slack channels to scan for updates (e.g. #engineering, #frontend, #backend)
2. Target channel — where the digest should be posted (e.g. #standup, #team-updates)
3. Schedule — when should the digest run? Default: weekday mornings at 9 AM
4. Timezone — user's timezone (e.g. America/New_York, Europe/London)
5. Auto-post or draft — should the digest post automatically, or be saved for the user to review and approve first?
6. 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

Set OPENHANDS_HOST and AUTH_HEADER for the request below:

• OpenHands Cloud or Enterprise - a <HOST> value is in your system prompt: use it as OPENHANDS_HOST, with AUTH_HEADER="Authorization: Bearer $OPENHANDS_API_KEY"
• Local Agent Canvas - an Automation backend is listed in <RUNTIME_SERVICES>: use its url_from_agent as OPENHANDS_HOST, with AUTH_HEADER="X-Session-API-Key: $OPENHANDS_AUTOMATION_API_KEY"

Use the prompt preset endpoint:

curl -s -X POST "${OPENHANDS_HOST}/api/automation/v1/preset/prompt" \
  -H "$AUTH_HEADER" \
  -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} / $AUTH_HEADER with $env:OPENHANDS_HOST / $env:AUTH_HEADER 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}