Starhive in Slack

The Starhive app for Slack lets people ask Nova about your Starhive workspace, and have Nova make changes for them, without leaving Slack. People can ask in a direct message with the Starhive app, by mentioning it in a channel, or from Slackbot. Automations can also post to Slack when records change.

The Slack app is rolling out gradually and isn't listed in the Slack Marketplace yet.

What people can do

Ask in plain language, for example:

Which laptops are due for replacement this quarter?

What changed on open service requests this week?

Create a service request for a broken monitor in the Oslo office.

Nova searches your workspace and answers, and can create, change, move, comment on or delete records and docs when asked.

Nova runs as the person asking: it only sees and changes what their Starhive role allows. Installing the app never gives anyone more access to Starhive than they already have.

Install the app (Slack admin)

1. Get the install link: a Starhive workspace admin finds it under Settings → Integrations → Slack, as Add to Slack, and shares it with you if you aren't a Starhive admin yourself. Open it signed in to the Slack workspace you want to add the app to.
2. Review the permissions and install. The app asks to send messages, to read the messages people send it directly and the ones that mention it, to read people's names and email addresses (to match them to their Starhive accounts), and to connect Slackbot to Starhive's server at api.starhive.com.
3. If your Slack workspace requires admins to approve apps, approve Starhive in Slack's app management page under Requests, and allow its starhive server.

Choose the Starhive workspace (once)

A Slack workspace uses one Starhive workspace. The person who installed the app, or a Slack admin or owner, chooses it:

1. Open the Starhive app in Slack and go to its Messages tab.
2. Click Connect Starhive and sign in (see below).
3. Pick the Starhive workspace from the list. It shows the workspaces where you're a Starhive admin or owner.

Until it's chosen, anyone who asks Nova is told that an admin still has to choose the Starhive workspace.

Connect your Starhive account (everyone)

1. Open the Starhive app in Slack and go to its Messages tab. The app sends you a Connect Starhive button. If it doesn't (it offers it once a day), send the app any message and it sends the button again.
2. Click it and sign in to Starhive, with email, Google or Atlassian, the same way you sign in to Starhive.
3. The app confirms which Starhive account you're connected as.

Your Starhive account must use the same email address as your Slack account. You need to be a member of the Starhive workspace the Slack workspace uses. New to Starhive? The same message has a Start a free trial button.

Ask Nova in a direct message

Send the Starhive app a message, in its Messages tab. Nova's answer appears as it writes it, with the steps it takes and links to the records it changed. Rate an answer with the thumbs up or down under it.

Reply in the same thread to follow up: the thread keeps the conversation's context. A new message outside the thread starts a new conversation. In Slack's agent view, press Stop to stop Nova while it works.

Before Nova changes or deletes a record that already exists, it tells you what it's about to do and shows Confirm and Cancel buttons. Nothing changes until you confirm.

Mention Nova in a channel

1. Invite the app to the channel: type /invite @Starhive in it.
2. Mention it with your question, for example @Starhive what changed on open service requests this week?

Nova answers in the mention's thread, for everyone in the channel, as it writes it. Under the answer it says who asked and that it used their Starhive access, so ask in a channel only what the channel may see. While Nova works, the thread shows that it's working, with Stop in Slack's agent view. To follow up, mention the app again in the same thread. If Nova asks to confirm a change, only your Confirm or Cancel counts.

Someone who hasn't connected their account yet is told privately what to do; nothing is posted in the channel.

When mention answers are private

A Starhive admin can keep mention answers private. Then only you see Nova's answer. A note, with a Stop button, says "You asked Nova. Only you will see its answer, below." Once the answer is in, Stop removes the note. A long answer comes in parts. Under the answer:

• Share in thread posts the answer in the mention's thread for everyone in the channel, with your name, and removes your private copy. Share within 30 minutes of the answer.
• Dismiss removes your private copy.

Private answers also disappear when Slack reloads.

Help

Send help to the app, in a direct message or by mentioning it, for a short guide to what Nova does and how to start. Only you see the reply to a mention.

Admin controls (Starhive admins)

Under Settings → Integrations → Slack, a Starhive workspace admin can:

• See whether a Slack workspace uses this Starhive workspace, and add the app with Add to Slack.
• Turn Answer in Slack on or off. When it's off, people who ask Nova in Slack are told that an admin has turned it off, and Nova isn't asked. It's on until an admin turns it off.
• Choose the Agent that answers in Slack: Nova itself, or a custom agent that's shared with the workspace and set to work in Slack. A thread that started with another agent starts a new conversation with the new one.
• Turn on Answer mentions privately: Nova then answers a mention only to the person who asked, who can share it in the thread. It's off until an admin turns it on, so mentions are answered in the thread for everyone.

Ask Nova from Slackbot

People can also ask Nova through Slackbot. Mention Starhive in the request:

Using Starhive, which laptops are due for replacement this quarter?

Ask Starhive what changed on open service requests this week.

Follow-up questions in the same Slackbot conversation keep the context.

Connect Starhive in Slackbot

1. Open a direct message with Slackbot.
2. Click Apps in Slackbot's toolbar, then + next to Starhive.
3. Sign in to Starhive in the page that opens.
4. Starhive now shows under Your apps in Slackbot's Integrations tab.

To check it works, ask something only Starhive could answer:

Using Starhive, how many spaces are in my workspace?

You need a Starhive account to connect. Slack guests can't use apps in Slackbot.

Approving what Slackbot does

Slackbot asks before it uses a Starhive tool: Allow once, Always allow, or Deny. Asking a question and making a change are separate tools, so you can always allow questions and still be asked before every change.

Before Nova changes or deletes a record that already exists, it also replies with what it's about to do and waits for your answer. Reply in the same Slackbot conversation to confirm or cancel.

Workspaces and agents in Slackbot

If you're a member of several Starhive workspaces, Slackbot asks which one to use, or you can name it in your question. To use one of your custom Nova agents, name it:

Ask the IT onboarding agent in Starhive what a new hire needs on day one.

Disconnect

• Starhive app: in the app's Messages tab, scroll back to the message that confirmed which account you're connected as, and click Disconnect on it. Send the app a message any time to connect again.
• Slackbot: open Slackbot's Integrations tab, find Starhive under Your apps, and click Manage to disconnect it.

To remove the app for everyone, a Slack admin uninstalls it from Slack's app management page.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause and fix
Nova says an admin still has to choose the Starhive workspace	The Slack workspace isn't connected to a Starhive workspace yet. Ask the person who installed the app, or a Slack admin, to choose it.
Your account wasn't connected: it has a different email address	Your Starhive and Slack accounts use different email addresses. Sign in to Starhive with the account that uses your Slack email.
Nova says you aren't a member of the Starhive workspace	Ask a Starhive admin to invite you to the workspace the Slack workspace uses.
Nova says an admin has turned it off	A Starhive admin turned off Answer in Slack. Ask them, or ask Nova in Starhive.
Nova says the agent this workspace uses in Slack isn't available to you	The chosen agent was deleted, no longer works in Slack, or isn't shared with you. Ask a Starhive admin to check Settings → Integrations → Slack.
Mentioning the app does nothing	The app isn't in the channel. Type /invite @Starhive in the channel.
Starhive isn't in Slackbot's Apps list	The app isn't installed in this Slack workspace, or it's waiting for an admin's approval. Ask your Slack admin.
Slackbot has no Apps button	Apps in Slackbot depend on your Slack plan and your admin's settings. Ask your Slack admin.
Nova is still working on your last message	Wait for its answer in the thread, then send the next message.
Nova says your workspace has used all its Nova credits	The workspace has used its Nova credits for now. An admin can see the usage in Starhive.
Nova took too long and was stopped	Ask a smaller question, or split it into steps.
Slackbot says too many requests are running	You or your workspace already have as many Nova requests running as allowed. Wait for one to finish, then try again.
Answers say data is missing that you know exists	Nova only sees what your Starhive user can see. Check your permissions on that space.

To use Nova from other AI tools, see Connecting AI tools to Starhive via MCP.