Using Dash in Slack

Using Dash in Slack/GovSlack

Once your GovDash administrator has connected your Slack or GovSlack workspace, you can link your account and start asking Dash questions right from a thread. This article walks you through linking, using Dash, and unlinking when you’re done.

Slack/GovSlack Integration Setup Guide

If you’re an administrator looking to connect a workspace or manage classification settings, please see our integration setup guide here.

What Does Dash in Slack Do?

After linking your account, you can mention Dash in any channel thread where the GovDash app is present. Dash sees the thread context and responds based on the same team, role, and classification settings you have inside GovDash. It can pull from the same source categories you’d use with Dash inside GovDash: Data Library, Proposal, Contract, Capture, and Discover.

Dash works the same way in both Slack and GovSlack, with one small difference: in GovSlack, the full response posts at once instead of streaming in word by word.

Before you start…

You’ll need:

• A GovDash account on the team your workspace is connected to.

• An administrator on your team to have already connected the Slack or GovSlack workspace.

If you’re not sure whether your workspace is connected, use the /govdash-link command in Slack.

Link your Slack or GovSlack account

Connecting your Slack account to GovDash is a very easy process, and you only need to do this once per workspace.

1. In the connected Slack or GovSlack workspace, type /govdash-link in any channel and send it.

2. Dash will send you a private link. Open it to continue.

3. Sign in to GovDash if you’re not already signed in.

4. Review the details Dash shows you:

   • Slack workspace ID

   • Slack workspace name

   • Your Slack user ID

   • Your Slack display name

5. If everything looks right, confirm the link. This completes the setup process.

Important Information Regarding Setup

• The link expires after five minutes. If you wait too long, just run /govdash-link again.

• Don’t share the link. It’s tied to your account.

• If GovDash warns you the link belongs to a different GovDash team, switch teams in GovDash before you confirm.

• If you don’t recognize the workspace or user details on the confirmation screen, cancel and reach out to your administrator.

Using Dash in Slack

Once your account is linked, using Dash is just a matter of tagging it in a thread. Find a channel where GovDash is installed, start a thread or reply in an existing one, and mention @Dash with your question. Dash verifies your account, team, and classification settings behind the scenes, then responds right there in the thread.

Dash uses the thread you’re in for context, so make sure the messages that matter to your question are part of it. If you haven’t linked your account yet, you’ll get a prompt to type /govdash-link instead of a response. Direct messages to Dash aren’t supported right now, so we recommend to use Dash inside channel threads. And if you’re on GovSlack, you’ll notice Dash waits until the full response is ready before posting it rather than streaming it in word by word.

Unlink your Slack/GovSlack account

If you want to disconnect your Slack identity from GovDash:

1. Open GovDash.

2. Go to Settings > Configurations > Integrations.

3. Find your Slack/GovSlack account link status.

4. Select Unlink.

After you unlink, Dash will no longer respond to your mentions from that Slack/GovSlack identity until you link again.

What GovDash sees from your workspace

When you use Dash in a thread, GovDash receives:

• The text of the thread and the names of message authors, so Dash has the context for your question.

• Your Slack or GovSlack user ID, so GovDash can confirm you’re a linked user.

GovDash doesn’t crawl your workspace or read messages outside the threads where you invoke Dash. It only sees events when you actively use the integration.