Set a Slack Status With the API: users.profile.set, With Code

To set a Slack status with the API, call users.profile.set with a user token that has the users.profile:write scope, and send a profile object with status_text, status_emoji and, optionally, status_expiration as a Unix timestamp. Slack's developer docs say status text holds up to 100 characters without formatting, the emoji must be installed in the workspace, and an expiration of 0 means the status never clears. To clear a status, set both text and emoji to empty strings. Bot users have no profile, so a bot token cannot set your status; admins on paid plans can set another user's status by passing user.

Status is the emoji and text. Your green or grey dot is presence, a separate API with different rules: users.setPresence takes only auto or away. If you want the dot green during working hours, Slack Green handles that from the cloud.

Slack status fields

Set your status with curl

Use a user token (xoxp-) with users.profile:write:

curl -s -X POST https://slack.com/api/users.profile.set \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_USER_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
  -d '{"profile": {"status_text": "Focus time", "status_emoji": ":headphones:", "status_expiration": 0}}'

Slack recommends JSON; with a form-encoded POST, profile must be a URL-encoded JSON string.

To clear it:

curl -s -X POST https://slack.com/api/users.profile.set \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_USER_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
  -d '{"profile": {"status_text": "", "status_emoji": ""}}'

Set a status that expires, in Python

import os, time
from slack_sdk import WebClient

client = WebClient(token=os.environ["SLACK_USER_TOKEN"])

# "In a meeting" for the next 45 minutes
client.users_profile_set(profile={
    "status_text": "In a meeting",
    "status_emoji": ":calendar:",
    "status_expiration": int(time.time()) + 45 * 60,
})

Wire this to a calendar or a cron job to build your own status automation. Slack's Google Calendar and Outlook apps already do it for meetings; see sync Slack status with Google Calendar.

Read a user's status

profile = client.users_profile_get(user="U0123ABCD")["profile"]
print(profile["status_emoji"], profile["status_text"], profile["status_expiration"])

users.profile.get needs users.profile:read. Profiles returned by users.list and users.info also include status, with users:read. To be told when a status changes, subscribe to user_change in the Events API.

Which method and scope to use

Getting a user token is covered in Slack bot token: xoxb vs xoxp. Presence methods, fields and rate limits are in our Slack presence API guide.

Set a Slack status from the terminal

Put the curl command in a shell alias or script:

slack_status() {
  curl -s -X POST https://slack.com/api/users.profile.set \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $SLACK_USER_TOKEN" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
    -d "{\"profile\": {\"status_text\": \"$1\", \"status_emoji\": \"$2\"}}"
}
slack_status "Deploying" ":rocket:"

Keep the token in your keychain or an environment variable, never in the script file.

FAQ

How do I set my Slack status with the API?

Call users.profile.set with a user token that has users.profile:write, sending status_text and status_emoji inside profile.

Can a bot set my Slack status?

No. Bots have no profile. Use a user token; admins on paid plans can set other users' statuses.

How do I make an API status expire?

Set status_expiration to a Unix timestamp. 0 means it never clears.

How do I get a user's status with the API?

users.profile.get with users.profile:read, or read profile from users.info.

Can the API set me to active?

No. users.setPresence accepts only auto or away; see script to keep Slack active.