A Laravel-based Slack bot that helps executives assign, track, and follow up on tasks with automated reminders and comprehensive task management features.

• Slash Command: Use /follow-up to create new tasks
• Message Shortcuts: Create tasks directly from Slack messages using the "Create Follow-up Task" shortcut
• Rich Task Details: Set title, description, assignee, due date, priority, and follow-up frequency
• Custom Messages: Add custom messages with @mentions for due date notifications
• Thread Support: Tasks created from messages post updates in the original thread

• Smart Reminders: Automatic follow-up messages based on configurable intervals (1, 2, 3, or 7 days)
• Interactive Buttons: Assignees can respond with ✅ Completed, 🔄 Still Working, ⚠️ Need Help, or 📅 Request Extension
• Executive Notifications: Real-time updates to task assigners about progress, completion, or help requests

• Extension Requests: Employees can request deadline extensions with reasons
• Executive Approval: Automated approval workflow with approve/deny buttons
• Extension History: Track multiple extension requests per task

• Dashboard Command: Use /task-status to view all active assigned tasks
• Overdue Alerts: Automatic notifications for overdue tasks
• Priority Levels: High (🔴), Medium (🟡), Low (🟢) priority indicators

• Backend: Laravel 11+ (PHP 8.3+)
• Database: PostgreSQL 16+ (MySQL also supported)
• Containerization: Docker with Docker Compose
• Database Management: Adminer (web-based database management)
• Web Server: Nginx (in Docker)
• Process Manager: Supervisor (for background tasks)
• Slack Integration: JoliCode Slack PHP API
• Queue System: Laravel Queues for scheduled tasks
• Security: Slack request signature verification

• Docker and Docker Compose
• Slack App with appropriate permissions

• PHP 8.3 or higher
• Laravel 11+
• PostgreSQL 16+ (or MySQL 8.0+)
• Composer
• Slack App with appropriate permissions

git clone <repository-url> cd slack-followup-bot cp .env.example .env

The .env.example file comes pre-configured for Docker. Key variables:

# Application APP_NAME="Slack Follow-up Bot" APP_ENV=local APP_DEBUG=true # Ports WEBSERVER_PORT=8081 # Laravel app will be available at http://localhost:8081 ADMINER_PORT=8083 # Adminer will be available at http://localhost:8083 # Database (PostgreSQL) DB_CONNECTION=pgsql POSTGRES_DB=follow_up POSTGRES_USER=root POSTGRES_PASSWORD=password DB_PORT=5432 # Slack Configuration (add your actual values) SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-your-bot-token-here SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET=your-signing-secret-here SLACK_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id-here SLACK_CLIENT_SECRET=your-client-secret-here

# Build and start all services in development mode docker-compose up --build # Or run in detached mode (background) docker-compose up -d --build

This will start:

• Laravel App: Available at http://localhost:8081
• PostgreSQL Database: Running on port 5432
• Adminer: Database management interface at http://localhost:8083

Once the containers are running, set up the database:

# Generate application key (if not done already) docker-compose exec app php artisan key:generate # Run database migrations docker-compose exec app php artisan migrate # Optional: Seed the database docker-compose exec app php artisan db:seed

• URL: http://localhost:8081
• Health Check: http://localhost:8081/api/slack/health

• URL: http://localhost:8083
• System: PostgreSQL
• Server: postgres
• Username: root (or value from POSTGRES_USER)
• Password: password (or value from POSTGRES_PASSWORD)
• Database: follow_up (or value from POSTGRES_DB)

# View logs docker-compose logs -f app docker-compose logs -f postgres # Access Laravel container shell docker-compose exec app bash # Run Laravel commands docker-compose exec app php artisan migrate docker-compose exec app php artisan tinker docker-compose exec app php artisan schedule:work # Restart services docker-compose restart # Stop all services docker-compose down # Remove all containers and volumes (clean slate) docker-compose down -v

To expose your Dockerized application for Slack webhook testing:

# Make sure your Docker containers are running docker-compose up -d # Start cloudflared tunnel cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:8081

For production deployment, use the production target:

# Set production environment export BUILD_TARGET=production export APP_ENV=production # Build and deploy docker-compose up --build -d

git clone <repository-url> cd slack-followup-bot composer install cp .env.example .env php artisan key:generate

# Configure your .env file DB_CONNECTION=mysql DB_HOST=127.0.0.1 DB_PORT=3306 DB_DATABASE=slack_followup_bot DB_USERNAME=your_username DB_PASSWORD=your_password # Run migrations php artisan migrate

composer require jolicode/slack-php-api

Create a Slack App at https://api.slack.com/apps with these configurations:

channels:read chat:write commands groups:read im:read mpim:read users:read 

• /follow-up - Description: "Create a new task follow-up"
• /task-status - Description: "View your active assigned tasks"

• app_mention - When the bot is mentioned

• Enable Interactive Components for button interactions and modals

• Callback ID: create_followup_from_message
• Name: "Create Follow-up Task"
• Description: "Create a follow-up task from this message"

Add to your .env file:

# Slack Configuration SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-your-bot-token SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET=your-signing-secret SLACK_VERIFY_REQUESTS=true

In config/services.php:

'follow-up-slack' => [ 'bot_token' => env('SLACK_BOT_TOKEN'), 'signing_secret' => env('SLACK_SIGNING_SECRET'), 'verify_requests' => env('SLACK_VERIFY_REQUESTS', true), ],

Add to your server's crontab:

* * * * * cd /path-to-your-project && php artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

Or run the scheduler manually for development:

php artisan schedule:work

1. Type /follow-up in any Slack channel
2. Fill out the modal with task details:
   • Assignee: Select team member
   • Task Title: Brief task description
   • Task Description: Detailed requirements
   • Due Date: Task deadline
   • Follow-up Frequency: How often to send reminders
   • Priority: High, Medium, or Low
   • Custom Message: Optional message with @mentions for due date

1. Hover over any message
2. Click the "More actions" (⋯) menu
3. Select "Create Follow-up Task"
4. Fill out the modal (task will be linked to original message)

• Receive automated follow-up messages with interactive buttons
• Click ✅ Completed when task is done
• Click 🔄 Still Working to reschedule follow-up
• Click ⚠️ Need Help to request assistance
• Click 📅 Request Extension to extend deadline

• Receive real-time notifications about task progress
• Approve or deny extension requests
• Use /task-status to view dashboard of all assigned tasks
• Get alerts about overdue tasks

app/ ├── Console/Commands/ │ └── ProcessTaskFollowupsCommand.php # Automated task processing ├── Enums/ # Slack interaction enums │ ├── SlackActionIdEnum.php │ ├── SlackBlockIdEnum.php │ ├── SlackCallbackIdEnum.php │ ├── TaskStatusEnum.php │ ├── TaskPriorityEnum.php │ └── ExtensionStatusEnum.php ├── Http/ │ ├── Controllers/Api/V1/ │ │ └── SlackController.php # Main Slack interaction handler │ └── Middleware/ │ └── VerifySlackRequestMiddleware.php # Security middleware ├── Models/ │ ├── TaskFollowup.php # Main task model │ └── TaskExtensionRequest.php # Extension request model └── Services/ └── SlackService.php # Slack API integration service 

• Task details and metadata
• Slack user and channel information
• Follow-up scheduling
• Custom messages and mentions
• Thread management

• Extension request details
• Approval workflow tracking
• Decision history

Configure available intervals in SlackService::getEnhancedModalBlocks():

• Every 3 days
• Weekly (7 days)

• High (🔴)
• Medium (🟡) - Default
• Low (🟢)

• Pending
• In Progress
• Completed
• Need Help
• Extension Requested
• Cancelled

• Request Verification: All Slack requests are verified using signing secrets
• Middleware Protection: Custom middleware validates all incoming requests
• Environment-based: Verification can be disabled in local development

The bot logs all activities for debugging and monitoring:

• Task creation and updates
• Slack API interactions
• Extension requests and approvals
• Follow-up message delivery
• Error handling and exceptions

1. Modals not opening: Check trigger_id validity and bot permissions
2. Messages not sending: Verify bot token and channel permissions
3. Signature verification failing: Ensure signing secret is correct
4. Scheduled tasks not running: Verify cron job setup and Laravel scheduler

For local development, disable request verification:

SLACK_VERIFY_REQUESTS=false

The application is designed to run with Docker and includes PostgreSQL and Adminer:

# Start all services docker-compose up -d --build # The application will be available at: # - Laravel App: http://localhost:8081 # - Adminer (Database UI): http://localhost:8083

If you prefer to run without Docker:

# Start the Laravel development server php artisan serve --host=0.0.0.0 --port=8081

For testing Slack integrations during development, you can use Cloudflared tunnel to expose your local server:

# For Docker setup docker-compose up -d cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:8081 # For manual setup php artisan serve --host=0.0.0.0 --port=8081 cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:8081

This will provide a public HTTPS URL that you can use in your Slack app configuration for:

• Request URL for slash commands
• Event Request URL for event subscriptions
• Interactivity Request URL for interactive components

Note: Make sure your application is running on port 8081 before starting the tunnel.

GET /api/slack/health # Health check POST /api/v1/slack/events # Slack events webhook POST /api/v1/slack/commands/follow-up # Follow-up slash command POST /api/v1/slack/commands/task-status # Task status slash command POST /api/v1/slack/interactive # Interactive components (buttons, modals)