Cannot start rtm client by providing valid xoxb token, the error shown `not_allowed_token_type`

[zhang699]

Description

Cannot star rtm client by providing valid xoxb token shown not_allowed_token_type error
use sample code

Am I missing something ?

I'm sure I am using a bot user token (xoxb), not a user token and the token can push message as bot to specific channel

const { RTMClient } = require("@slack/rtm-api");
import config from "../config";
// An access token (from your Slack app or custom integration - usually xoxb)
const token = config.SLACK_BOT_USER_AUTH_TOKEN;

// The client is initialized and then started to get an active connection to the platform
const rtm = new RTMClient(token);
rtm.start().catch(console.error);

// Calling `rtm.on(eventName, eventHandler)` allows you to handle events (see: https://api.slack.com/events)
// When the connection is active, the 'ready' event will be triggered
rtm.on("ready", async () => {
  // Sending a message requires a channel ID, a DM ID, an MPDM ID, or a group ID
  // The following value is used as an example
  const conversationId = "C1232456";

  // The RTM client can send simple string messages
  const res = await rtm.sendMessage("Hello there", conversationId);

  // `res` contains information about the sent message
  console.log("Message sent: ", res.ts);
});

// After the connection is open, your app will start receiving other events.
rtm.on("user_typing", event => {
  // The argument is the event as shown in the reference docs.
  // For example, https://api.slack.com/events/user_typing
  console.log(event);
});

What type of issue is this? (place an x in one of the [ ])

• bug
• enhancement (feature request)
• question
• documentation related
• testing related
• discussion

Requirements (place an x in each of the [ ])

• I've read and understood the Contributing guidelines and have done my best effort to follow them.
• I've read and agree to the Code of Conduct.
• I've searched for any related issues and avoided creating a duplicate issue.

Packages:

Select all that apply:

• @slack/web-api
• @slack/events-api
• @slack/interactive-messages
• @slack/rtm-api
• @slack/webhooks
• I don't know

Reproducible in:

package version: 5.0.3

node version: 10.15.3

OS version(s): MAC Mojave

Steps to reproduce:

1. use rtm sample code and provide valid xoxb token
2. run the code and display not_allowed_token_type there is no documentation about not_allowed_token_type error

Expected result:

rtm client should connected

Actual result:

[INFO] RTMClient:1 unable to RTM start: An API error occurred: not_allowed_token_type

Attachments:

[shaydewael]

EDIT: I just saw your screenshot so I see that you're app is in fact granular bot permissions instead of a regular app 😓Only the second part of this comment is relevant for you

@zhang699 Hey there 👋 I found one possible problem, but this may be a little confusing (sorry in advance 😅).

When I created a regular Slack app, this code worked fine for me and I didn't get any errors. "Regular" Slack apps, in this case, are apps that do not use granular bot permissions. To tell if your app uses granular bot permissions you can go to the App Management, click on your app, then OAuth & Permissions on the sidebar. If your app has a bot scope, it's probably a regular app. Something like this:

~

However, my guess is that your app is using a granular bot permissions app. I was able to reproduce the error using this token. If your app uses granular bot permissions, the OAuth & Permissions page will look like this instead:

Unfortunately, granular bot permissions apps do not support the RTM API, since it requires the bot scope. Instead, you can use the Events API to receive most events. If you need to use the RTM API for whatever reason you should create a regular Slack app (this is the default way Slack apps are created): https://api.slack.com/apps?new_app=1

If this doesn't fix your problem, let me know and I can look into it further.

[zhang699]

thanks @shaydewael :) , it fixed my problem, I have recreated the app, the bot scope appeared. and the bot scope cannot be removed.

I don't know how was I create granular bot permissions slack app that produce this problem.

could you give me steps to create granular bot permissions app?

[seratch]

I don't know how was I create granular bot permissions slack app that produce this problem.
could you give me steps to create granular bot permissions app?

You can create a GBP app from https://api.slack.com/apps?new_granular_bot_app=1

[zisadlier]

I had an app that had the bot scope, and then I changed the permissions and must have changed it to use granular permissions. How do I revert it back to using just the bot scope without creating a new app so I can use the RTM API again?

[confiq]

I'm in same boat as @zisadlier ^

EDIT: Talked with slack support, you can't change the app to be classic!

[confiq]

Don't click on this!

because there is no bot scope that is required for RTM :(

[aoberoi]

In general @confiq is right. Don't update scopes for an app that is using RTM, it will make your app stop working. If you accidentally update scopes, the recommended path forward is to update your app to use the Events API. We acknowledge that in some cases updating to use the Events API is impossible or impractical since that requires your app to be reachable via a public URL. In these cases, read on.

There is a way to convert your installation back. It's complicated, and will make managing your app much harder in the future, so don't go down this route unless its necessary. If you have many users already using your app, so creating a new app isn't an option, then this conversion back to a regular app likely makes sense.

In order to convert your app back to a regular Slack app, you need to first configure OAuth. In the app configuration, choose the "OAuth & Permissions" page. If you haven't already, add a "Redirect URL". If you cannot create a public URL for your app, you can use a "localhost" URL for OAuth purposes. For example, you can set the Redirect URL to http://localhost:3000/auth/slack.

Next, you need to add code in your app to handle the OAuth redirect. Please read the OAuth documentation to understand how the OAuth flow works. Following the example above, you'll need to start an HTTP server on port 3000, which handles requests to the path /auth/slack, where the handler calls the oauth.access method to exchange the code, client ID, and client secret for an access token. Be careful not to use oauth.v2.access - that would create a new granular permission installation.

Then, you'll need to visit the installation URL for your app. Typically this is done by clicking the "Add to Slack" button created for your app. As a shortcut, if you know which scopes your app needs and your client ID, you can create the URL yourself. Following the example, we would use https://slack.com/oauth/authorize?scope=bot&client_id=xxx.yyy. Notice that the scope query parameter includes bot, which is a scope for regular Slack apps but not for granular Slack apps. If your app uses other scopes, you would use a comma-separated list of them as the value for the scope parameter. Also notice that this URL does not contain v2, which would create a new granular permission installation. Substitute your own client ID into the URL in place of xxx.yyy. Once you've created this URL, visit it in a browser.

Now you should see Slack asking you permission to install the app in your workspace. Make sure its the right workspace and use the toggle in the upper right side of the screen if it isn't. Once you authorize the installation, the browser will redirect to the OAuth Redirect URL you set previously, which your app will handle by calling oauth.access, and then the installation will be complete. You've now converted your app back to a regular Slack app.

However, when you use the Slack app configuration pages you will continue to see the updated scopes, which will be incorrect. If you ever need to update the scopes, you'll have to build a new installation URL manually, visit it, and finish the installation as shown above. The xoxb token you receive will likely be the same as it was before, but you shouldn't rely on what the app configuration shows you.

[aoberoi]

I think we've gotten to the bottom of this issue, so I'm going to close. We can do a better job documenting the cases that got brought up here, so I created the issue above to track that work. Feel free to comment if this or a related concern comes up again!

[ChrisDoohan]

If the RTM API will no longer be usable on new apps, would it be possible to put a deprecation notice on this documentation? As is, it is very misleading.
https://api.slack.com/rtm