Ryker / Docs / Working in Slack

Working in Slack

Mention Ryker in a channel it has joined, or send it a direct message. Give it the question or the result you need, then keep talking in the same place.

Start a conversation

@Ryker investigate elevated checkout latency in production

A top-level mention gets a top-level reply; a mention in a thread gets a reply in that thread. Direct messages need no channel setup. Ryker interprets the request using the conversation and the tools available to it.

By default, it reads up to 20 earlier messages from the thread, including its first message, or from the channel before a top-level request. Paste a link when it should read another conversation.

After a reply, nearby follow-ups in the same place reach Ryker without another mention for 30 minutes. Every reply in a task thread continues that task. In an incident room, configured operators can address it anywhere without a mention.

Set up a channel

Send /invite @Ryker. Its welcome message has Be proactive, Mentions only, and Customize controls. With the installation defaults, new channels use mentions only, the default environment if one exists, investigations in alert threads, and no extra incident-room invitations.

Customize walks through participation, the environment, how to handle app alerts, and whom to invite to incident rooms. It shows a summary before an operator saves. People selected on the Slack integration page are always invited to incident rooms.

You can reopen setup with @Ryker reconfigure this channel, even when the model is unavailable. Operators can also use /ryker status and its Configure channel button.

Choose when Ryker joins in

Mentions only

Ryker responds when you address it and follows conversations it has already joined.

Be proactive

Ryker reads messages from people and apps. It can answer a question, add useful context, investigate an alert, react with an emoji, or stay silent. Routine success notices, duplicates, and conversations that need no help can pass without a reply.

Observe only

Ryker reads the channel and records what it would have done, but posts nothing. With background learning enabled, it can build knowledge from these conversations. Operators can enable this with /ryker shadow on.

Channel settings take priority over the workspace default. A person asking for an incident room gets an offer for an operator to confirm. Only credible, unresolved app alerts can open rooms automatically, when the channel is configured for that. See incident rooms.

Work in a task thread

When you ask for a code change, Ryker can offer a Start task button. Pressing it confirms the task and creates its writable working copy. An active full member can start the task and continue it in the thread; messages elsewhere in the channel do not become part of it.

The task card updates in place through workspace setup, planning, implementation, self-review and checks, draft PR, CI, and review and merge. It shows the current work and any decision Ryker needs. Follow your first code change for the complete process.

Operators can use Stop current run to cancel the active run or Close task to end the task. Both keep uncommitted and unpublished work. The card’s menu links to its timeline, evidence, and handoff summary. Read diffs in the console or GitHub.

Questions, files, and voice notes

Slack’s status line shows when Ryker is queued, working, or preparing a reply. If it needs a decision, it asks in the conversation. Up to five choices appear as buttons; six to ten use a list and Submit answer. You can type an answer too.

Attach up to two files, totaling 8 MiB: PNG, JPEG, WebP, or GIF images; text, Markdown, CSV, JSON, YAML, or PDF files; or supported voice and video recordings. Recordings can be up to five minutes long. Ryker uses Slack’s transcript or transcribes them locally, so the model receives words rather than the recording.

Ryker checks file types and sizes before using them. Replies support Slack formatting, code blocks, and inline source links. A Sources row can also contain links from the investigation’s evidence. Posting the answer somewhere else as well requires the requester’s confirmation.

Charts and images

With a suitable tool available to the configured model, Ryker can return up to five images in the thread, totaling 8 MiB. Each has a title and alt text. For a chart, check the sources behind the data as well as the picture.

Give feedback

Tell Ryker what it missed or what you want done differently. An operator’s explicit correction can become saved guidance for future work.

Emoji reactions are context for the next conversation. They do not start work, approve actions, or save instructions. Ryker’s own reaction is an acknowledgement, not a claim that it verified or fixed something.

Find open work

Open Ryker in Slack’s Apps list to see active tasks, incidents, failures, and questions waiting for people. Each row links to its thread. Operators can also manage schedules, rules, and memory there, or press Open the console.

The Investigate message shortcut starts a read-only investigation in a message’s thread. It works even in a channel where Ryker is not listening.

Slack commands

Configured operators can use these without a working model or worker. Replies are private to the person who typed them.

inherit clears the channel override so it follows the workspace default.

Who can manage work

Active full workspace members can ask questions, start code tasks, and work in their threads. Guests, bots, deactivated accounts, and Slack Connect users cannot authorize work.

Operators can manage channel settings, incident controls, saved memory and automation, draft publication, and task stop, close, and discard controls. Operators are the people chosen under Integrations › Slack, plus workspace admins and owners unless you turn that option off.

Infrastructure approval belongs to Emisar. Being a Slack operator does not grant permission to approve an Emisar action. The access guide covers the other interfaces.