[BUG] Slack replies not sending despite credentials being provably valid with manual cURL

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Include:
Bug Report:

Version: 2026.1.24-3
OS: Linux 6.17.9-76061709-generic

Issue: Slack messages are received and processed by the AI, but no replies are sent. No errors in logs. WhatsApp works perfectly.

Evidence:

• Messages received: ✅ (logs show agent processing)
• AI generates response: ✅ (processing completes successfully)
• Reply sent: ❌ (no "reply sent" log, no API call)
• Manual API call works: ✅ (can post with curl)

Config:

• Socket mode
• groupPolicy: open
• Bot invited to channel

What Should Happen?

Clawdbot should send a reply when it's @'ed

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install and configure Clawdbot with Slack credentials:

npm install -g clawdbot
clawdbot setup
# Configure Slack tokens when prompted

1. Start the gateway:

clawdbot gateway

1. Verify Slack connection:

clawdbot channels status --probe
# Should show: "Slack default: enabled, configured, running, works"

1. In Slack, invite the bot to a channel:

/invite @your-bot-name

1. Send a message mentioning the bot:

@your-bot-name hello

Expected behavior:

• Bot receives the message
• Bot processes it with AI
• Bot sends a reply in the Slack channel

Actual behavior:

• Bot receives the message ✅
• Bot processes it with AI (visible in logs: embedded run start, embedded run done) ✅
• Bot does not send any reply ❌
• No error messages in logs
• No "reply sent" or API call attempt logged
• Complete silence after processing

Verification:

1. Check logs show message received and processed:

clawdbot logs | grep -i slack
# Shows: "lane enqueue: lane=session:agent:main:slack:channel:..."
# Shows: "embedded run done" with no errors
# Does NOT show: any reply/send attempt

1. Verify bot CAN post manually (proves permissions are correct):

curl -X POST https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage \
-H "Authorization: Bearer xoxb-..." \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"channel":"C...", "text":"test"}'
# Returns: {"ok":true, ...}

1. Compare to WhatsApp (works correctly):

# Configure WhatsApp, send message
# Logs show: "auto-reply sent (text)" ✅
# Message appears in WhatsApp ✅

Additional observations:

• WhatsApp replies work perfectly with same config
• Slack socket mode connects successfully
• Bot processes ALL messages but sends ZERO replies
• No difference between simple messages ("hello") vs complex ones
• Removing userTokenReadOnly setting didn't help
• Debug logging enabled shows no additional errors

● How is Claude doing this session? (optional)

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2026.1.24-3

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Ubuntu/Debian Linux

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

_No response_