Are you using Slack to gather product feedback from teammates or customers?
With our Slack integration, you can push all that feedback and product discussion directly to your Harvestr inbox to fuel your roadmap with the voice of your customers.
How does the integration work?
teammates can submit feedback with a form opened in Slack via the
/harvestrcommandyou can push existing messages and threads to Harvestr as new feedback using Slack message actions
you can categorize feedback and link it to your discoveries
you can close the feedback loop with teammates right inside Slack
Prerequisites
To set up the integration, you need:
a Slack account. Depending on your workspace setup, you might need permission from your workspace owner to install the Harvestr app. See Slack's documentation on managing app installation.
a Harvestr Editor account
How to connect Harvestr to your Slack workspace
Go to your integration settings in Harvestr, select Slack, and click Connect to Slack.
This opens the Slack OAuth window. Connect your Slack account and review the rights you're granting.
Sending feedback from Slack to Harvestr
Now that Harvestr is connected to your Slack workspace, you have two ways to push feedback.
Collect feedback using the Harvestr form
You and your team can collect structured product feedback from Slack using the Harvestr feedback form. Enter the /harvestr command in Slack and the form opens automatically.
The Slack user who opened the form can then enter:
a title
the requester: the customer or teammate who originally gave this feedback. Left empty, it defaults to the Slack user submitting it.
a label, selected from the labels available in your Harvestr inbox
a discovery: link the feedback to an existing discovery straight from Slack. It then goes directly to the Processed folder of your inbox, saving you the categorization step. This option is activated from the integration settings.
the content of the feedback itself, which can be pre-filled with a template
If it isn't linked to a Discovery from Slack, the feedback goes to your Harvestr inbox and can be linked from there.
In Slack, you get a confirmation that the feedback was sent, and your whole team can view it. The confirmation shows the content, the options picked in your template's select questions, the customer, and the linked discovery if there is one.
For this confirmation to reach private channels, you must first manually add the Harvestr bot to the channel. Mention @Harvestr in the channel and follow the suggested steps.
Feedback templates
To structure the feedback you get from teammates in Slack, define a default feedback template that pre-loads when someone opens the form.
Templates are created and managed from their dedicated settings, and the default template for Slack is set in your integration settings.
Templates only apply to feedback sent with the /harvestr command, not to messages pushed via Slack message actions.
Push existing Slack messages as new feedback
If you spot valuable feedback in an existing Slack message, push it to Harvestr using Slack message actions.
Hover the message, click More actions on the right, then Send to Harvestr.
The feedback form opens with the content already filled from the Slack message. You can then add a title, the requester, a label, and a discovery: same fields as above.
Pushing threads
When you push a Slack message that belongs to a thread, the whole thread is sent to Harvestr so you keep the full conversation context.
The individual message you triggered the action from is highlighted in orange in Harvestr.
Processing Slack feedback in Harvestr
All this feedback arrives in your inbox alongside everything from the other tools you've connected.
At the top of each item, a button with the Slack logo links back to the original message, so you can jump to Slack for more context.
From there, use our selector to capture product insights and link them to your discoveries.
Close the loop with people who sent feedback from Slack
Harvestr replies in the Slack thread where the feedback was sent, so the teammate who shared it knows what happened to it.
Which events send a reply
The events are set once for your whole organization, in Settings > Notifications. Slack follows these organization rules unless you give it its own: open Slack in the Per-channel rules card and choose Customised, or Off to never reply from Slack.
The events you can turn on:
their feedback arrives in Harvestr
their feedback is linked to a discovery
a teammate comments on their feedback. Comment notifications are never posted in the thread: they reach the teammate in Harvestr or by email.
the linked discovery moves to a status you chose, typically Planned or Shipped
The Notifications card on the Slack integration page summarises what is currently on. Its Configure button opens the notification settings.
Feedback sent with the /harvestr command is always acknowledged in Slack. That first message is the thread later replies go to, so turning off the arrival event for Slack only silences the acknowledgement for messages pushed with a message action.
For the full picture (who is notified, how to check what was sent), see Close the loop with feedback loop notifications.
Where replies can be posted
For Harvestr to reply in a Slack channel, the Harvestr bot must be in that channel. How it gets there depends on the channel type.
Public channels
The bot joins automatically the first time you send feedback from the channel.
Private channels
The bot won't join automatically. Invite it yourself:
Type the
/addcommand in the channelClick Add apps to this channel
Search for Harvestr and add it
Direct messages
Bots cannot be invited to DMs, so Harvestr can't reply for feedback submitted from a direct message. The feedback itself still reaches Harvestr: only the reply is unavailable.
FAQ
The /harvestr command isn't working
1. Check that the Harvestr app is installed in Slack
Open Slack
Go to Apps in the sidebar
Search for Harvestr
Make sure the app appears and isn't marked as inactive
If the app isn't listed, the integration wasn't fully installed. Reinstall it from Harvestr.
2. Confirm the app is added to the right channels
In each channel you want to use with Harvestr:
Type
/add apps to this channelAdd Harvestr
Run the
/harvestrcommand to verify the app joined successfully
If the app isn't in the channel, it can't capture messages or respond to commands.
I'm not getting feedback loop notifications in Slack
First, open Settings > Notifications and check that Slack isn't Off in the Per-channel rules card, and that the event you expect is on (in the organization rules, or in Slack's own rules if it is Customised).
Then open the feedback in Harvestr: its Notifications section lists every reply posted, or the reason nothing went out.
If the reason points to the channel, check whether the Harvestr bot is present in it. Type /add in the channel, click Add apps to this channel, then search for Harvestr and add it if it isn't there. Keep in mind:
the bot joins public channels automatically when you send feedback
for private channels, you have to invite the bot yourself
the bot cannot join direct messages, so no replies can be posted there
If everything is set up and nothing is still coming through, reach out and we'll help.
If you have requests or ideas about how we could improve our Slack integration to better fit your workflow, send us a message!