Sentra discovers and classifies sensitive data across your Slack Enterprise Grid organization — messages, files, canvases, and lists — and shows you who can access it. The integration is read-only by design, and all content is scanned inside your environment: Sentra stores classification findings and metadata, never copies of your messages or files.
This guide walks through connecting Slack to Sentra and what you'll see once scanning begins.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, make sure you have:
- A Slack Enterprise Grid plan with the Discovery API enabled for your organization
- A Slack Org Owner available to approve the installation — only Org Owners can install apps with these permissions
- A Sentra Scanner Connector deployed with internet access enabled
- Admin access to your Sentra tenant
Step 1: Enable the Discovery API for Your Slack Organization
Sentra connects to Slack through the Discovery API — Slack's organization-level API designed for security and compliance use cases.
- The Discovery API is not enabled by default. Ask your Slack Org Owner to request access from your Slack account team.
- Wait for Slack to confirm the Discovery API is enabled. Without it, the installation will fail.
Step 2: Create a Slack Connector in Sentra
- Sign in to Sentra and open the Connectors page.
- Click New Connector, select Target Connector, and choose Slack.
- Enter a Connector Name and select the Environment, then click Next.
- Select the Scanner Connector that will scan the data and the Region from which scanning will take place, then click Next.
Step 3: Approve the Installation in Slack
- In the Connect Slack step, review the summary of Sentra's read-only access — messages, files, canvases, and lists across channels, DMs, and group DMs — and click Connect Sentra to Slack.
- A Slack window opens. Sign in as an Org Owner, review the requested permissions, and approve the installation on your entire organization (not a single workspace).
- You are redirected back to Sentra and the connector is created automatically — there are no keys to copy or store.
Step 4: Discovery and Scanning
Once connected, Sentra automatically discovers your Slack content and begins scanning within a few hours:
- Sentra scans messages across public channels, private channels, direct messages, group direct messages, and externally shared (Slack Connect) channels, as well as files, canvases, and lists — including canvas and list comments.
- Scanning happens inside your environment: the Scanner Connector downloads content temporarily, classifies it locally, and removes it upon completion. Only classification findings and metadata are stored in Sentra.
- After the initial scan, incremental scans pick up new, edited, and restored content — Sentra always classifies the most recent version of each item.
- Scanning is configurable per content type: enable or disable each, and adjust scan frequency and sampling depth. Many teams start with externally shared channels only and expand coverage gradually.
Step 5: View Results
Data Stores
Slack content types — channels, files, direct messages, and group direct messages — appear as separate data stores in your Sentra catalog, each with its own scan configuration.
Data Assets
Drill down into any channel, file, canvas, or list to see its sensitivity, data classes, and context — including whether the channel is private or public and whether it is shared externally. From any asset you can open the item directly in Slack (subject to your own Slack permissions), or copy its Slack URL to route it to the content owner.
Findings
Review classified findings across your Slack organization and see which internal users can access each sensitive item — so your team can prioritize by real exposure and decide on action.
Next Steps
With Slack connected, you can put your findings to work across the Sentra platform:
- Define policies that focus on the exposure scenarios that matter most — for example, sensitive data in externally shared channels.
- Review identities and access to understand which users can reach large volumes of sensitive Slack data.
- Tune your scan configuration as you expand coverage from external channels to your full organization.
Slack is one of the fastest-growing sources of ungoverned sensitive data in the enterprise, and it feeds the AI assistants your teams already use. A Sentra demo walks through discovery, classification, and access findings on an environment like yours.
