Getting Started

1. Install Smithy

Click the Add to Slack button on our homepage to install Smithy into your Slack workspace. You'll be asked to authorize a set of permissions that Smithy needs to manage threads on your behalf.

Once installed, Smithy is available in every channel it's invited to, but won't enforce threading until you enable Thread Mode.

2. Enable Thread Mode

In any channel where you want Smithy to enforce threading, type:

That's it. From now on, any top-level message posted in that channel will automatically be converted into a managed thread. To disable Thread Mode, use /smithy off.

3. Authorize for Cleanup (Optional)

When Smithy converts a message into a thread, it can also delete the original top-level message to keep the channel clean. This requires each user to grant Smithy permission. You can authorize in two ways:

Alternatively, if you haven't authorized yet, you'll see an Authorize button directly in the thread creation modal. Clicking it opens the OAuth flow in your browser — the modal stays open so you can continue creating your thread.

This is a one-time step. Without authorization, the original message stays in the channel alongside the new thread. See Message Cleanup for details.

4. Enable Automatic Knowledge Capture

Head to the Smithy dashboard and turn on Automatic Knowledge Capture in your Customer Preferences. This unlocks powerful features that make your team's knowledge work for you:

• Find Related Threads — before creating a new thread, Smithy can search for existing discussions on the same topic, helping your team avoid asking the same questions over and over again.
• Semantic Search — use /thread search to discover knowledge hidden across your Slack channels, even when the exact words don't match.

Your data is never used to train AI models. See our Privacy Policy for details.

5. Start Using Threads

With Thread Mode enabled, post a message in the channel. Smithy will:

1. Detect the new message
2. Create a managed thread with a subject and content
3. Optionally clean up the original message (if authorized)

You can also create threads manually using the /thread new slash command. See Slash Commands for the full reference.