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Overview

Slack is one of the fastest ways to record timeline events during an incident.
Rootly supports multiple Slack-based methods so responders can capture actions, observations, and decisions without leaving the incident channel. You can add events using:
  • The /rootly timeline slash command
  • Message actions (the Slack hamburger menu)
  • Configurable pin or emoji reactions
All Slack-created events appear instantly in the incident timeline.

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Methods for Adding Timeline Events

1

Use the /rootly timeline command

In the incident Slack channel, type:/rootly timeline <event>This opens the Add Event modal pre-filled with your text, allowing you to set visibility and optional details before submitting.
2

Use the message action (hamburger menu)

You can capture any message directly into the timeline:
  1. Hover over a message
  2. Click the hamburger icon
  3. Select Add event
Adding an event using Slack
The modal will auto-fill the message content and attach a permalink back to Slack.
3

Use pin or emoji reactions

Rootly can automatically create timeline entries whenever specific reactions are added to a message.
  • Pin reactions (📌)
  • Any custom emoji your team configures for timeline ingestion
Using the pin emoji to add an event
You can configure which emoji should create events in Slack Integration Settings.

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How Slack-Captured Events Behave

  • Events created from a command or message action open a modal so you can review details
  • Events created from pin/emoji reactions are added automatically — no modal
  • Reaction-based events use the original Slack message timestamp as the event’s occurred_at value
  • All entries include a Slack permalink and optional user-attribution
  • Deduplication prevents duplicate events from repeat reactions
Emoji triggers, follow-up creation, and task creation each use separate emoji lists and cannot overlap. Configure them in Integrations → Slack.

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Troubleshooting

Make sure you ran the command inside the incident channel.
Running it anywhere else will result in a non-incident error.
Verify that:
  • Emoji ingestion is enabled
  • The emoji is included in the Add to Timeline emoji list
  • You are in a recognized incident channel
For emoji/pin reactions, occurred_at is taken from the Slack message timestamp, not the moment you reacted.
You may not have permission to update the incident timeline, especially for private incidents.