# Manage incidents from Slack

Source: https://instatus.com/help/incident-response/slack

You can use our Instatus for Slack integration to access all incident response features right from Slack: declare incidents, coordinate responders, track action items, and post updates without leaving your workspace.

## Install Instatus for Slack
Go to **Integrations → Slack**, then click **Add to Slack**

[Add Slack to Instatus](https://dashboard.instatus.com/integrations/slack)

Congrats, you just added the Instatus for Slack app. 🏄‍♂️

## Receive incident announcements
After install, we create an `instatus-incidents` channel.
All incident announcements post there so teammates can follow and join.
Keep this channel public to increase visibility.

## Add an incident
Run `/incident` in any channel to open the modal.
Fill status and title (description, components, and time are optional).
Submit to create the incident and its dedicated Slack channel.

![Declare an incident from Slack](https://instatus.com/help/slack/add-incident.png)

You can declare an incident with just a status and title to get started quickly. Declaring small incidents helps share knowledge, builds better practices, and prepares your team for bigger issues, leading to lower MTTR and operational excellence.

## Work in the incident channel
Join the new incident channel to coordinate all things related to that incident.
Use the welcome message to assign a lead, manage responders, and post updates.
The announcement card auto-updates with the latest status.

![Incident channel summary](https://instatus.com/help/slack/add-incident-msg-welcome.png)

## Open the command palette
Click Commands in the welcome message or run `/incident` inside the incident channel.
Pick any action: update, assign, view action items, and more.

![Incident command palette](https://instatus.com/help/slack/view-command-palette.png)

## Assign a lead and responders
Open Lead & Responders to set one lead and multiple responders.
The lead must also be a responder, so removing the lead from the list of responders will show an error.

Ask each responder to run `/incident ack` in the incident channel to confirm ownership and start time.

## Action items
Action items help coordinate who does what, and by when.

Open Action Items from the palette or run `/incident actions`. From there you can:

- **Add** an item — keep it brief: title, assignee, due (others optional).
- **View** items — switch between All and Mine, and use filters to track priority and status.
- **Edit** items — use the overflow menu to edit, delete, or mark as done.

![View action items](https://instatus.com/help/slack/view-action-items.png)

## Add an incident update
Share new information as soon as it’s available.
Use any entry point: `/incident update`, Command Palette, or Update from the welcome message.

## Add a postmortem
When the incident is resolved, add a postmortem from the palette or run `/incident postmortem`.
Capture lessons, root cause, and long-term fixes.

![Add a postmortem](https://instatus.com/help/slack/add-postmortem.png)

## Schedule maintenance
Create planned work and keep everyone informed.
Run `/maintenance` to schedule and `/maintenance update` to post updates.

![Schedule maintenance](https://instatus.com/help/slack/add-maintenance.png)

## Use app-wide commands
Adjust settings, switch pages, and send feedback from anywhere by running `/instatus settings`.
You can also subscribe/unsubscribe to external pages and incidents.

## Get more help
Run `/instatus help` to see a detailed reference of all available commands. Click on view more to open a modal with even more options.

- [Get started with your status page](https://instatus.com/help/status-page): Learn how to set up your status page.