# Connect Slack for questions and handoffs

> Verified against the product on 2026-10-05

## Connect Slack

In **Connect › Slack**, select **Connect** to open Slack’s installation flow. When you return to Cactus, it connects your Slack workspace and creates or reuses `#cactus-escalations` as the initial handoff channel.

- detail: Hold to disconnect, the Handoffs page, **Connect** (1)

*In Connect › Slack, select Connect to open Slack’s installation flow.*

## Ask Cactus in Slack

Ask a product question by mentioning `@Cactus` in a channel it’s in, sending it a direct message, or running `/cactus ask <question>`. Cactus answers a channel mention in that channel. You can also opt selected public channels into reading and choose separate destinations for release announcements and handoffs.

## Choose channels Cactus reads

1. In **Connect › Slack**, choose a channel from **Pick a public channel**.
2. Select **Watch**.

When you add a channel, Cactus reads the last two weeks of messages, then each new message. Private channels and DMs are never read.

### Remove a channel

1. Select **Remove** beside a channel to stop reading it.

> Removing a channel also deletes its messages and artifacts.

## Configure release announcements

Choose a channel under **Release announcements channel**, or select **Create #cactus-releases** to create or adopt that channel. Cactus posts release cards to the selected channel. Without a selected channel, releases aren’t posted to Slack. The release channel must be different from the handoff channel.

### Stop announcements

1. Select **Stop posting releases** to stop posting to Slack.

## Choose a handoff channel

Connecting Slack creates or adopts `#cactus-escalations` as the initial handoff channel. To change it:

1. In **Connect › Slack**, select **the Handoffs page**.
2. On the Handoffs page, choose a channel under **Handoff channel**.

For the full handoff setup, see [the Handoffs page](https://cactus.heycactus.ai/resolve-and-escalate-conversations).