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Teams can be attached to incidents in Rootly to ensure the appropriate responders are notified and involved in the incident response process. When a team is attached to an incident, Rootly can trigger notifications, invite responders into the incident Slack channel, and apply automation workflows related to that team. Attaching teams helps organizations coordinate response efforts by clearly identifying which groups are responsible for investigating or resolving the issue. If the Slack integration is enabled, teams can be attached directly from Slack using Rootly’s slash commands. This allows responders to quickly involve the right team without leaving the incident channel.

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Attaching Teams via Slack

If your organization has configured the Slack integration, you can attach teams directly from the Slack incident channel. To attach a team using Slack:
  1. Open the Slack channel associated with the incident
  2. Type the following command:
/rootly add team
  1. Press Enter
Rootly will open a Slack modal where you can select one or more teams to attach to the incident.
You must run this command from the incident-specific Slack channel. The command will not work in other Slack channels.

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Selecting Teams

After running the command, a dialog appears in Slack with a searchable list of available teams. From this dialog you can:
  • Search for teams by name
  • Select one or multiple teams
  • Review currently attached teams
  • Submit the changes
Once you click Submit, the selected teams are attached to the incident.
Attaching teams using Slack

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What Happens When a Team Is Attached

Attaching a team to an incident can trigger several actions depending on your Rootly configuration. Common behaviors include:
  • Inviting team members into the incident Slack channel
  • Sending notifications to the team’s configured Slack channels
  • Triggering workflows associated with team involvement
  • Recording team ownership on the incident timeline
These actions help ensure the correct responders are notified and can begin investigating the incident quickly. In many organizations, teams represent functional groups such as Infrastructure, Security, or SRE, so attaching the appropriate team helps route the incident to the right experts.

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Automatically Adding Team Members

Teams can be configured to automatically add their members to an incident’s Slack channel when they are attached. When this setting is enabled:
  • All members of the team are invited to the incident channel
  • Responders can immediately join the conversation and begin coordinating the response
This behavior can be configured from the team settings under the team’s communication or channel configuration.

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Permissions

Attaching teams to incidents requires permission to update incidents. If you attempt to run the Slack command without the required permissions, Rootly will return an authorization error. In most organizations, these permissions are granted to:
  • Incident responders
  • Incident commanders
  • Team administrators
  • Organization administrators
If the command does not work for you, contact your Rootly administrator to confirm your access level.

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Troubleshooting

The command must be used inside an incident Slack channel. If the command is run in a regular Slack channel or a channel that is not linked to an incident, Rootly will not be able to identify the incident.
You may not have permission to update incidents. Attaching teams requires update access to the incident. Contact your administrator if you need this permission.
If no teams appear in the selection dialog, it may mean that no teams have been created in your Rootly organization yet. Teams can be created from the Configuration → Teams page.
Automatic Slack invitations only occur if the team has the auto-add members when attached setting enabled. If the setting is disabled, team members will not automatically join the incident channel.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Attaching a team to an incident helps identify which group of responders is responsible for investigating or resolving the issue. Once attached, Rootly can trigger notifications, invite team members into the incident Slack channel, and apply any automation workflows configured for that team. This ensures the right responders are aware of the incident and can begin coordinating a response quickly.
Yes. Multiple teams can be attached to the same incident. This is common when incidents involve several areas of responsibility, such as infrastructure, security, and application teams. Attaching multiple teams ensures all relevant responders are notified and able to collaborate during the incident response process.
Team members can be automatically invited to the incident Slack channel when a team is attached, depending on the team’s configuration. If the auto-add members when attached setting is enabled for that team, Rootly will invite all team members to the incident channel so they can participate in the response.
The /rootly add team command must be run inside the Slack channel associated with the incident. If the command is used in another channel, Rootly cannot determine which incident the command should apply to. Additionally, you must have permission to update the incident in order to attach or modify teams.
Yes. Teams can be removed from an incident if they were attached by mistake or if their involvement is no longer required. This can be done through Slack using the appropriate Rootly command or from the incident interface in the Rootly dashboard.
In many cases, yes. When a team is attached to an incident, Rootly can send notifications to the communication channels configured for that team, such as Slack channels or email addresses. The exact behavior depends on your team’s notification settings and any workflows configured in your organization.
Only users with permission to update incidents can attach or remove teams. These permissions are typically granted to incident responders, incident commanders, team administrators, or organization administrators depending on your Rootly permission model.