Slack gives a free model of its office communication app that is utilized by loads of on-line communities giant and small. This free model hides all messages which can be older than three months in age, which means you’ll be able to’t seek for or scroll as much as see messages older than that. Till not too long ago, Slack saved older messages on its server although free customers could not see them, the thought being that you can improve to realize entry to your group’s total message archive.
That is altering this month. If in case you have a free workspace account, Slack is going to delete all messages older than one year on August 26, 2024. It is comprehensible you may need to maintain an archive of your older conversations, and you’ll, however it is advisable act now.
Slack permits directors of any Slack occasion to export an archive of all messages in public channels. The archive is not precisely simple to learn or browse, however you’ll be able to change that with the correct software program. It’s also possible to migrate all your messages over to Discord, should you’d choose to make use of a messaging service that does not restrict entry to your archive. Let’s begin by displaying you again up your Slack archive after which discover the instruments that offer you entry to it.
Export Your Slack Archive
Slack by way of Justin Pot
First you’ll need to export your Slack archive. To do that, it is advisable be an admin for the Slack you need to export. In Slack, click on the identify of your Slack within the top-left nook, hover over Settings & administration, then click on Office settings. This can open the Settings & Permissions web page in your browser, the place you will note an Import/Export Knowledge button.
Click on that, then click on the Export tab. Choose the date vary you need to obtain, and click on Begin Export. The export course of may take anyplace from a couple of minutes to a few hours, relying on how large your Slack archive is. You’ll get a Slackbot DM when it’s completed, although, so don’t really feel like it is advisable go away the window open. When it’s prepared, the archive will likely be a ZIP file, which it is best to unarchive.
You may discover that the archive will not be simple to learn—the exported archive is only a bunch of JSON information. If you wish to browse or restore these conversations, you are going to have to do some work.
Browse Your Archive on Your Laptop
ScreenshotCourtesy of Justin Pot
If you’d like a person interface to discover your outdated Slack archives I like to recommend Slack Log Viewer, which is a free obtain for Home windows or Mac. It is a bit tough across the edges, granted, however with it you’ll be able to discover outdated messages by channel, search outdated messages, and even view profiles. Word that the Mac model is at present unsigned, so you may need to right-click and click on Open with a view to open it.
