Why is the Slack channel picker empty in notification settings?
The Slack channel picker in Settings, under Notifications, then Slack, only lists channels that are set to the Discussion type in Plain. If the list is empty, the Plain Slack bot has not been added to any internal team channel yet, or all your connected channels are set to the Customer type.
Why only Discussion channels appear
Plain has two types of connected Slack channel:
- Customer: channels where customer messages are turned into threads. These are external-facing or Slack Connect channels.
- Discussion: internal team channels where Plain sends notifications and your team talks internally.
Customer channels are left out of the picker so that workspace notifications cannot be sent to a customer-facing Slack channel.
How to fix it
- Go to Settings, then Channels, then Slack. This page shows which channels are connected and their types.
- Make sure your Slack integration is connected and the Plain Slack bot is a member of at least one internal team channel, for example
#supportor#plain-notifications. Pick a channel your support team uses internally, not one customers message you on. - Check that the channel is set to Discussion type, not Customer. Channels added as internal discussion channels are Discussion by default.
The channel then appears in the picker within moments.