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Overview

Private incidents allow teams to restrict who can see sensitive discussions, customer details, or internal system information.
Using Rootly’s Slack integration, you can add or remove authorized responders directly from the incident’s Slack channel—without switching to the web interface. The Slack access modal mirrors the same controls available in the Rootly UI and ensures only approved users can view or participate in private incident channels.
These actions only work inside a private incident channel, and require appropriate permissions to manage access.

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Manage Access via Slack

1

Open the Incident Channel

Navigate to the private incident channel in Slack.
Access controls only work from within the correct incident channel.
2

Open the Access Management Modal

You can open the access modal in two ways:Option A: Slash commandType one of the following commands and press Enter:
  • /rootly manage
  • /rootly access
  • /rootly users
Option B: Button in the pinned incident summaryClick Manage Access in the pinned Rootly block at the top of the channel.
Rootly incident in Slack showing the Manage Access button highlighted.
3

Add or Remove Users

The access modal displays:
  • A multi-select list showing all users who currently have access
  • A search box to add additional users
  • A checkbox titled Remove Unauthenticated Users
To add users:
Start typing a name and select any user to grant them access immediately.To remove users:
Click the × next to their name in the selected users list.
Manage users modal in Slack.
The checkbox “Remove Unauthenticated Users” does not remove all users you didn’t select.
Instead, it automatically removes anyone who does not have permission to view private incidents based on RBAC.
4

Save Your Updates

Click Update to apply the changes.
Rootly will add or remove Slack channel members accordingly.

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What Happens After Updating Access

When you save changes:
  • Users added gain access to the private incident immediately
  • Users removed are removed from the Slack channel
  • Removed users may receive a Slack notification depending on workspace settings
  • Rootly updates the list of authorized incident subscribers
  • Any user who lacks private-incident read permission can be automatically removed if the checkbox was selected
Slack may prevent automatic removal if your workspace restricts channel membership management.
In those cases, Rootly attempts removal but Slack may reject the action.
Example Slackbot message when a user is removed.

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Best Practices

  • Use the checkbox when cleaning up access
    It ensures only users with the correct private incident permissions remain in the channel.
  • Be intentional about adding observers
    Private incidents often involve sensitive operational or customer data.
    Grant access sparingly.
  • Review access during major incident transitions
    For example, as roles shift or when incident severity changes.
  • Use workflows for structured access management
    Workflows can automatically add on-call engineers, service owners, or leadership groups.
  • Keep private incidents small and focused
    The fewer people involved, the faster and more aligned your response tends to be.

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Troubleshooting

Make sure you ran the command inside the private incident channel.
Rootly identifies the incident by the Slack channel ID.
You may not have permission to manage private incident access.
Only users with the required RBAC permissions will see the button.
The Remove Unauthenticated Users checkbox removes anyone who lacks private-incident read permission—even if you had selected them previously.
Some Slack workspaces restrict who can remove members from channels.
Rootly attempts removal, but Slack may reject it based on workspace policies.
The user must be a Slack workspace member and must have Rootly access in your organization.