Creating a Slack Export

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The export command saves your Slack workspace as a ZIP file compatible with Slack's own export format.

For incremental/resumable archiving, prefer slackdump archive. See the Archive vs Export vs Dump section below.

Quick Start

# Export the whole workspace (Mattermost format by default)
slackdump export

# Export to a specific ZIP file
slackdump export -o my_export.zip

# Export only specific channels
slackdump export C12301120 D4012041

# Standard format (for use with slack-export-viewer)
slackdump export -type standard -o my_export.zip

Export Types

Type	Flag	Description
Mattermost (default)	-type mattermost	Compatible with mmetl / Mattermost bulk import
Standard	-type standard	Compatible with slack-export-viewer and other tools

File Structure

Mattermost Format (default)

/
├── __uploads/             ← all uploaded files
│   └── F02PM6A1AUA/
│       └── Chevy.jpg
├── everyone/              ← channel "#everyone"
│   ├── 2022-01-01.json
│   └── 2022-01-04.json
├── DM12345678/            ← a DM conversation
│   └── 2022-01-04.json
├── channels.json
├── dms.json
└── users.json

Standard Format

/
├── everyone/
│   ├── 2022-01-01.json
│   ├── 2022-01-04.json
│   └── attachments/
│       └── F02PM6A1AUA-Chevy.jpg
├── DM12345678/
│   └── 2022-01-04.json
├── channels.json
├── dms.json
└── users.json

Including and Excluding Channels

Pass channel IDs or URLs as arguments. Use ^ to exclude, @file for a list file. For the full syntax, run slackdump help syntax.

# Include only specific channels
slackdump export C12401724 C4812934

# Exclude a channel
slackdump export ^C123456

# Use a file list
slackdump export @channels.txt

# With time range
slackdump export C123456,2024-01-01T00:00:00,2024-12-31T23:59:59

Viewing the Export

You can use the built-in viewer:

slackdump view my_export.zip

Or use one of these external tools:

• SlackLogViewer — fast C++ desktop app with search; works with Export files.
• slack-export-viewer — web-based viewer; requires Standard format.

Migrating to Mattermost

1. Export in Mattermost format:

   slackdump export -o my-workspace.zip
   

2. Download mmetl from the mmetl GitHub page and transform the export:

   ./mmetl transform slack -t YourTeamName -d bulk-export-attachments \
     -f my-workspace.zip -o mattermost_import.jsonl
   

3. Create the bulk import ZIP:

   mkdir data
   mv bulk-export-attachments data/
   zip -r bulk_import.zip data mattermost_import.jsonl
   

4. Upload and import into Mattermost:

   mmctl auth login http://your-mattermost-server
   mmctl import upload ./bulk_import.zip
   mmctl import list available     # note the file name with ID prefix
   mmctl import process <filename>
   mmctl import job list           # monitor progress
   

See the Mattermost documentation for full details.

Migrating to Discord

There are multiple Discord importers that are compatible with Slackdump export files:

• slack-to-discord (CLI tool)
• Slackord (GUI tool)

Archive vs Export vs Dump

Command	Format	Best for
archive	SQLite database	Incremental backups, large workspaces, SQL queries
export	Slack-compatible ZIP	Mattermost/Discord migration, compatibility with viewers
dump	Per-channel JSON	Low-level access, custom tooling

archive is the recommended default. It is faster than export, can be resumed, and can be converted to Export or Dump format afterwards:

slackdump convert -f export ./slackdump.sqlite

In fact, Slackdump uses a temporary archive file and then converts it to export, when you run slackdump export.

Key Flags

Flag	Default	Description
-o location	slackdump_<ts>.zip	Output directory or ZIP file
-type value	mattermost	Export type: mattermost or standard
-files	true	Download file attachments
-export-token string	—	Append export token to file URLs (or set SLACK_FILE_TOKEN env var)
-member-only	—	Only export channels the current user is a member of
-chan-types value	all	Filter channel types (public_channel, private_channel, im, mpim)
-time-from YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS	—	Oldest message timestamp
-time-to YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS	now	Newest message timestamp
-workspace name	current	Override the active workspace

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