### Slack Import

*Note: As a proprietary SaaS service, Slack is able to change its export format quickly and without notice. If you encounter issues not mentioned in the documentation below, please alert the product team by [filing an issue](https://github.com/mattermost/platform/issues).*

#### Usage

The Slack Import feature in Mattermost is in "Beta" and focus is on supporting migration of teams of less than 100 registered users. To use: 

1. Generate a Slack "Export" file from **Slack > Team Settings > Import/Export Data > Export > Start Export**  

2. In Mattermost go to **Team Settings > Import > Import from Slack**. _Team Owner_ or _Team Administrator_ role is required to access this menu option.

3. Click **Select file** to upload Slack export file and click **Import**.   

4. Emails and usernames from Slack are used to create new Mattermost accounts  

5. Slack users can activate their new Mattermost accounts by using Mattermost's Password Reset screen with their email addresses from Slack to set new passwords for their Mattermost accounts  

6. Once logged in, the Mattermost users will have access to previous Slack messages in the public channels imported from Slack.

**It is highly recommended that you test Slack import before applying it to an instance intended for production.** If you use Docker, you can spin up a test instance in one line (`docker run --name mattermost-dev -d --publish 8065:80 mattermost/platform`). If you don't use Docker, there are [step-by-step instructions](../install/Docker-Single-Container.md) to install Mattermost in preview mode in less than 5 minutes.

#### Notes: 

- Newly added markdown suppport in Slack's Posts 2.0 feature announced on September 28, 2015 is not yet supported. 
- Slack does not export files or images your team has stored in Slack's database. Mattermost will provide links to the location of your assets in Slack's web UI.
- Slack does not export any content from private groups or direct messages that your team has stored in Slack's database. 
- In Beta, Slack accounts with username or email address collisions with existing Mattermost accounts will not import and mentions do not resolve as Mattermost usernames (still shows Slack ID). No pre-check or roll-back is currently offered. 

