omnara-ai/omnara/slack-coding-agent

Deploy the Slack Coding Agent

You are setting up an Omnara agent for the user from agent.yaml in this folder. The goal: a coding agent the user's team can mention in Slack, in Discord, or on a GitHub pull request, which works on one of their GitHub repositories and opens pull requests, and which the user has watched answer once.

The steps below are the usual path, with the exact commands. Skip anything that's already done (for example, the token and profile exist and the user only wants a different model), and follow the user's lead if they want a different order.

• Start from agent.yaml as written. If the user wants something different

(the instruction, tools, or model), change it and tell them what you changed.

• If the user wants the agent to read their issue tracker (Linear, Jira, and

so on), add the tracker's MCP server in an mcp: block, store its credential with npx omnara secrets mcp-oauth (OAuth) or as a generic secret (API key), and add a short instruction section on how to use it. Tell the user that an OAuth connection acts as whoever approves it, so its writes appear under that person's name.

• If a command fails, npx omnara <command> --help and

docs.omnara.com have the details.

• Stop only where a step says to ask the user. Ask in a sentence or two of

plain language, together with the next step's question if one comes right after, then end your turn and wait for the reply.

• Where a step gives a default, use it without asking and say in a line what

you picked, so the user can change it.

• When a step needs a token, the user can paste it in the chat or add it to a

.env file in the current directory, whichever they prefer; offer both. If they paste it, write it to .env yourself so the commands work as written.

The commands use the Omnara CLI (npx omnara); add --json to read IDs. They're a reference, not a requirement: the Omnara MCP tools, the REST API, and the SDK work too, and the flags map directly to API fields.

1. Connect to Omnara

Run npx omnara whoami. If you aren't logged in, run npx omnara login without piping its output, and keep it running: it waits until the user approves. It opens the approval page in the user's browser and prints the page's link and a code. Show the user both right away, since you may be on a different machine than their browser, and ask them to approve once the code matches. If the request expires, run it again. If login says the account has no organization yet, have the user create one at the link it prints. Then npx omnara whoami should succeed.

Pick the org and project (npx omnara whoami --json lists orgs, npx omnara projects list --org <org-id> --json their projects): use them if there's one of each, otherwise the defaults from npx omnara config or the project named Default; ask only if there's still no clear choice. Save the choice with npx omnara config --org <org-id> --project <project-id>; later steps need the project ID.

2. Choose the repository and store a GitHub token

Ask which repository the agent works on (GITHUB_REPO, as owner/name). One repository is supported as written.

The agent pushes branches and opens pull requests, so it needs a token with write access. Recommend a fine-grained token limited to that repository, with Contents and Pull requests set to read and write. Optional extras: Issues read (to read linked issues), Actions read (to read CI logs), and Workflows read and write (only if it should edit .github/workflows). Commits and pull requests appear under the token owner's account, so a dedicated bot account keeps them separate from a person's. If the repository belongs to an organization, its owners may need to approve the token.

If a secret named slack-coding-agent-github already exists (npx omnara secrets list --owner-kind project --owner-project-id <project-id> --name slack-coding-agent-github --json), reuse it and note its id; if the value changed, the user updates it on the dashboard's Secrets page (the ID stays the same). Otherwise get AGENT_GITHUB_TOKEN from the user, then create the secret and note its id (sec_…) as GITHUB_TOKEN_SECRET_ID:

set -a && . ./.env && set +a
npx omnara secrets create --owner-kind project --owner-project-id <project-id> \
  --name slack-coding-agent-github --material-kind generic \
  --material-value "$AGENT_GITHUB_TOKEN" --json

3. Pick the model and machine pool

1. npx omnara grant models list --json: each item has model.provider_config

and model.name. Use anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 on omnara-openrouter if it's granted (agent.yaml runs it at high reasoning effort), otherwise the strongest coding model on the list. The choice gives MODEL_PROVIDER_CONFIG and MODEL_NAME.

1. npx omnara grant pools list --json; each grant's machine_pool.name is a

candidate MACHINE_POOL. Use default-pool if it's granted: its machines come with git, gh, and common language toolchains. Otherwise use the only pool, or ask if there are several. If there are none, tell the user the project needs a machine pool; the agent can't work on code without one. On a custom pool, the image needs git and gh.

4. Create the agent

1. Copy agent.yaml from this folder to ./slack-coding-agent.yaml in the

current directory. If this folder isn't available locally, download https://raw.githubusercontent.com/omnara-ai/omnara/main/examples/slack-coding-agent/agent.yaml instead.

1. In the copy, replace every placeholder:

Then confirm nothing is left: grep -n '{{' slack-coding-agent.yaml must print nothing.

1. Check for an existing profile: npx omnara profiles list --name slack-coding-agent --json.

• None: npx omnara profiles create --name slack-coding-agent --file ./slack-coding-agent.yaml --json
• Exists: npx omnara profiles update <agent-profile-id> --file ./slack-coding-agent.yaml --json

If it rejects the reasoning effort, the chosen model doesn't support high: remove the reasoning block and retry. Note the profile id.

5. Choose where the team reaches it

Ask where the team should mention the agent: Slack, Discord, GitHub pull requests, or any combination. Suggest whichever chat tool the team already uses, plus GitHub pull requests. Wait for the user's reply; don't assume the console or pick for them. Wherever it's mentioned, it answers in that thread or pull request, and replies there go to the same agent.

Set up whichever the team picks with `integrations.md` (read it from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/omnara-ai/omnara/main/examples/integrations.md if you don't have the repo). For this agent, name the integrations slack-coding-agent-slack, slack-coding-agent-discord, and slack-coding-agent-github, and call the Slack and Discord bot "Coding Agent". A private channel suits it, since threads often include internal details.

On GitHub, register the App for the account that owns GITHUB_REPO, grant it only that repository, and give it Contents write access so it can push fixes. The first mention is a comment on an open pull request, such as "@acme-coding-agent summarize this PR" with the App's slug.

6. Give it a first task

Have the user mention the bot in Slack or Discord with a question that doesn't change anything:

@Coding Agent what does this repo do, and how do I run its tests?

The first reply takes a minute or two while the machine starts and clones the repository. The conversation also shows up as an agent in the Omnara console (app.omnara.com), where the user can watch every command it runs. Once the answer looks right, suggest a small real fix as the next message, such as a known bug or a typo, so they see it open a pull request. With only GitHub connected, the comment from step 5 is the first task.

7. Wrap up

Summarize what you created: the secret, the profile, and the integrations. Remind the user to delete .env or move what's in it somewhere safe. Then tell them:

• Start it from elsewhere too: anything that can call the API (a Linear

webhook, a CI job) can launch an agent from the profile with the task as the message; see docs.omnara.com. The instruction assumes a Slack or Discord thread or a pull request, so for those entry points adjust its Reporting Guidelines.

• Change the instruction, model, or anything else: ask a coding agent

with this skill. It reuses the secret and updates the profile in place.

• Remove it: remove its integrations (see "Removing" in integrations.md),

then run npx omnara profiles delete <agent-profile-id> and npx omnara secrets delete <secret-id> for each secret. Revoke the GitHub token in GitHub's settings as well.