feat: update 'app link' to not change the app manifest source by mwbrooks · Pull Request #396 · slackapi/slack-cli

mwbrooks · 2026-03-13T05:23:42Z

Changelog

Updated slack app link command to support project's that use a manifest file as the manifest source (manifest.json).

Does not display a warning message when the manifest source is local (project file).

Does not change the manifest source - now uses the project's current manifest source.

Displays the current manifest source for the developer's reference.

Displays a tip on where to change the manifest source (.slack/config.json).

Updated the app manifest overwrite warning prompt wording and appearance.

Clarifies that the app settings manifest will be overwritten by the project's app manifest file.

Displays a yellow warning that changes were detected on the app settings manifest that are not in the project's app manifest file.

Summary

This pull request is a little spicy 🌶️ because remove speed bumps and reduces friction for developers to allows apps from App setting to be managed by the Slack CLI.

See Changelog section for a detailed breakdown of the changes.

Motivation

The motivation for these changes is 💬 developer feedback. A consistent theme of questions from developers is how to have the Slack CLI manage and use the manifest.json that ships with all of our sample apps (sensible question). We often need to explain how to manually update .slack/config.json → manifest.source: "local" for developers to get the experience they want.

Our concern for embracing the project's manifest file is that it can overwrite the manifest on App Settings. This could be a shocking and difficult experience, if it happens unexpectedly. Thankfully, the Slack CLI's overwrite protection has been reliable for the past year and this change leans more heavily on it.

Preview

Linking an App ID from App Setting

Currently, when Linking an App ID from App Setting, the developer is forced to switch the manifest source to be App Setting (remote). If they decline the confirmation prompt, then they cannot link the app. A workaround that developers have taken is to accept the confirmation and then manually change the manifest source back to the manifest file: .slack/config → manifest.source: "local".

Now, the manifest source is not changed - it can remain local (manifest file) or remote (app settings). We rely on the manifest overwrite protection to warn developers when there are changes on App Settings that are not in the manifest file.

Expand to see a video of the current behaviour

2026-03-13-app-link-current.mov

2026-03-13-app-link-new.mov

Overwriting App Settings Warning

We made minor wording and appearance changes to clarify that the app settings manifest will be overwritten by the manifest file.

Expand to see a video of the current behaviour

2026-03-13-overwrite-manifest-current.mov

2026-03-13-overwrite-manifest-new.mov

Test Steps

# Create a Bolt Framework project
$ lack create my-app -t https://github.com/slack-samples/bolt-js-starter-template.git
$ cd my-app/

# Start & Stop the dev server to create an App ID 
$ lack run
# → Create an app
# → Stop the server once it's running
# CTRL+C

# Copy the App ID
$ lack app list
# → Copy the App ID

# Unlink the App ID
$ lack app unlink
# → Select your App ID

# Test: App Link
$ lack app link
# → Confirm: "Manifest source is "project" (local)"
# → Confirm: "Manifest source is configured in .slack/config.json"
# → App ID: Paste the App ID
# → Environment: Local

# Test: Change App Settings
$ lack app settings
# → Add a short description
# → Add a background color
# → Save

# Test: Overwrite Warning
$ lack run
# → Confirm: Overwrite warning
# → Select "Y"
# → CTRL+C after dev server starts

# Test: Confirm No Overwrite Warning when Manifests In-Sync
$ lack run
# → Confirm: No warning and dev server starts
# → CTRL+C

# Clean up
$ lack delete -f
$ cd ..
$ rm -rf my-app/

Requirements

I've read and understood the Contributing Guidelines and have done my best effort to follow them.
I've read and agree to the Code of Conduct.

Change the default manifest source for non-Deno (Bolt) projects from ManifestSourceRemote to ManifestSourceLocal, aligning their behavior with Deno projects.

…verwrite prompt

codecov · 2026-03-13T05:27:39Z

Codecov Report

❌ Patch coverage is 84.61538% with 2 lines in your changes missing coverage. Please review.
✅ Project coverage is 67.90%. Comparing base (3744b76) to head (aa2a95a).
⚠️ Report is 1 commits behind head on main.

Files with missing lines	Patch %	Lines
cmd/app/link.go	81.81%	1 Missing and 1 partial ⚠️

Additional details and impacted files

@@            Coverage Diff             @@
##             main     #396      +/-   ##
==========================================
- Coverage   67.90%   67.90%   -0.01%     
==========================================
  Files         218      218              
  Lines       18085    18050      -35     
==========================================
- Hits        12281    12256      -25     
+ Misses       4651     4640      -11     
- Partials     1153     1154       +1

☔ View full report in Codecov by Sentry.
📢 Have feedback on the report? Share it here.

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mwbrooks

Some words for the kind reviewers!

mwbrooks · 2026-03-13T17:24:00Z

cmd/app/link.go

+	// App Manifest section
+	manifestSource, _ := clients.Config.ProjectConfig.GetManifestSource(ctx)
+	if !manifestSource.Exists() {
+		manifestSource = config.ManifestSourceLocal


note(out-of-scope): We should have the default manifest source return by a common method instead of manually setting it in each spot.

🪬 question: I notice that without a source attribute in configs we default to a local manifest. Is this something we can favor instead of writing settings to projects?

👾 note: I realize a saved value in each project settings file means less confusion toward defaults, but IMHO we might have paths toward extending the "local" manifest experience adjacent.

slack-cli/internal/config/project.go

Lines 147 to 171 in 8e4c0aa

// GetManifestSource finds the manifest source preference for the project

func (c *ProjectConfig) GetManifestSource(ctx context.Context) (ManifestSource, error) {

var span opentracing.Span

span, ctx = opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "GetManifestSource")

defer span.Finish()

var projectConfig, err = ReadProjectConfigFile(ctx, c.fs, c.os)

if err != nil {

return "", err

}

if projectConfig.Manifest != nil {

source := ManifestSource(strings.TrimSpace(projectConfig.Manifest.Source))

switch {

case source.Equals(ManifestSourceLocal), source.Equals(ManifestSourceRemote):

return source, nil

case !source.Exists():

return ManifestSourceLocal, nil

default:

return "", slackerror.New(slackerror.ErrProjectConfigManifestSource)

}

}

return ManifestSourceLocal, nil

}

Good question. My feeling is that - for now - we should explicitly write to the config.json to ensure that a project functions the way it's expected even if the CLI changes it's defaults.

However, I see where you're coming from. I also know we juggle some challenges with config.json in templates (e.g. Project ID). Perhaps your ideas would have address those?

mwbrooks · 2026-03-13T17:25:46Z

cmd/app/link_test.go

 			ExpectedError: slackerror.New(slackerror.ErrAppNotFound),
 		},
-		"accepting manifest source prompt should save information about the provided deployed app": {
+		"links app when manifest source is local": {


note: Test linking an app when the manifest source is local (manifest file).

mwbrooks · 2026-03-13T17:26:23Z

cmd/app/link_test.go

 			},
 		},
-		"manifest source prompt should display for GBP apps with local manifest source": {
+		"links app when manifest source is remote": {


note: Test linking an app when the manifest source is remote (app settings).

mwbrooks · 2026-03-13T17:27:05Z

internal/pkg/apps/install.go

 		notice = "Manifest values for this app are overwritten on reinstall"
 	default:
-		notice = "The manifest on app settings has been changed since last update!"
+		notice = style.Yellow("The manifest on app settings has been changed since last update")


note: I'm open to other formatting (Red?) but I think we should make this pop and stand out in some way.

🌟 praise: I like yellow: it matches error codes and isn't confusing with green! But we might continue these discussions in a style guide soonish-

zimeg

@mwbrooks So amazing! I'm leaving more comments that suggest we find a source of truth in configuration defaults, but that shouldn't be blocking. I like the improvements to outputs you're making with these changes a lot 🎨 ✨

zimeg · 2026-03-13T19:58:18Z

cmd/app/link.go

+	// App Manifest section
+	manifestSource, _ := clients.Config.ProjectConfig.GetManifestSource(ctx)
+	if !manifestSource.Exists() {
+		manifestSource = config.ManifestSourceLocal


🪬 question: I notice that without a source attribute in configs we default to a local manifest. Is this something we can favor instead of writing settings to projects?

👾 note: I realize a saved value in each project settings file means less confusion toward defaults, but IMHO we might have paths toward extending the "local" manifest experience adjacent.

slack-cli/internal/config/project.go

Lines 147 to 171 in 8e4c0aa

// GetManifestSource finds the manifest source preference for the project

func (c *ProjectConfig) GetManifestSource(ctx context.Context) (ManifestSource, error) {

var span opentracing.Span

span, ctx = opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "GetManifestSource")

defer span.Finish()

var projectConfig, err = ReadProjectConfigFile(ctx, c.fs, c.os)

if err != nil {

return "", err

}

if projectConfig.Manifest != nil {

source := ManifestSource(strings.TrimSpace(projectConfig.Manifest.Source))

switch {

case source.Equals(ManifestSourceLocal), source.Equals(ManifestSourceRemote):

return source, nil

case !source.Exists():

return ManifestSourceLocal, nil

default:

return "", slackerror.New(slackerror.ErrProjectConfigManifestSource)

}

}

return ManifestSourceLocal, nil

}

zimeg · 2026-03-13T20:00:15Z

cmd/app/link.go

+	if !manifestSource.Exists() {
+		manifestSource = config.ManifestSourceLocal
 	}


Suggested change

if !manifestSource.Exists() {

manifestSource = config.ManifestSourceLocal

}

🪬 quibble: Related to the comment above, this might be alright to remove?

Great suggestion! Commit b1b2678 in PR #395 now leverages the defaults provided by the project config getter. I think we can do the same here. I'll look into it now 🔍

Commit 0f2e6e1 removes this check 🎉

zimeg · 2026-03-13T20:01:38Z

internal/pkg/apps/install.go

 		notice = "Manifest values for this app are overwritten on reinstall"
 	default:
-		notice = "The manifest on app settings has been changed since last update!"
+		notice = style.Yellow("The manifest on app settings has been changed since last update")


🌟 praise: I like yellow: it matches error codes and isn't confusing with green! But we might continue these discussions in a style guide soonish-

zimeg · 2026-03-13T20:03:29Z

cmd/app/link.go

+	clients.IO.PrintInfo(ctx, false, "%s", style.Sectionf(style.TextSection{
+		Emoji: "books",
+		Text:  "App Manifest",
+		Secondary: []string{
+			"Manifest source is " + style.Highlight(manifestSource.Human()),
+			"Manifest source is configured in " + style.Highlight(configPath),
+		},
+	}))


🧭 praise: This is a nice callout to new learnings in this experience! I'm not certain how familiar the local|remote manifest concept is to exploring developers.

It crossed my mind as well and we don't have formal documentation that we can point toward. I figured I'd leave it as a future task for now.

cmd/app/link.go

…oks-default-bolt-manifest-source-local-warnings

Co-authored-by: Eden Zimbelman <eden.zimbelman@salesforce.com>

…warnings

mwbrooks · 2026-03-13T21:35:32Z

Thanks for the review and suggested improvements @zimeg! I think this is a step forward and we may have some new ideas on improving the project's config.json from our discussion! 🙇🏻

mwbrooks added 2 commits March 12, 2026 15:26

feat: default manifest source to local for non-Deno apps

a87561b

Change the default manifest source for non-Deno (Bolt) projects from ManifestSourceRemote to ManifestSourceLocal, aligning their behavior with Deno projects.

feat: update remote manifest warnings for link command and manifest o…

f5ab1ef

…verwrite prompt

mwbrooks mentioned this pull request Mar 13, 2026

feat: default manifest source to manifest.json for Bolt Framework projects #395

Merged

2 tasks

mwbrooks changed the title ~~feat: update app manifest warnings for 'app link' and manifest overwrite prompt~~ feat: update 'app link' to not change the app manifest source Mar 13, 2026

test: update tests for local and remote manifest source

3632f26

mwbrooks self-assigned this Mar 13, 2026

mwbrooks added this to the Next Release milestone Mar 13, 2026

mwbrooks commented Mar 13, 2026

View reviewed changes

mwbrooks marked this pull request as ready for review March 13, 2026 17:27

mwbrooks requested a review from a team as a code owner March 13, 2026 17:27

zimeg approved these changes Mar 13, 2026

View reviewed changes

mwbrooks and others added 4 commits March 13, 2026 14:01

feat: fix preserving app manifest source when template sets it

b1b2678

Merge branch 'mwbrooks-default-bolt-manifest-source-local' into mwbro…

ad7d605

…oks-default-bolt-manifest-source-local-warnings

chore: remove redundant default for manifest source

0f2e6e1

Update cmd/app/link.go

8bea8ec

Co-authored-by: Eden Zimbelman <eden.zimbelman@salesforce.com>

Base automatically changed from mwbrooks-default-bolt-manifest-source-local to main March 13, 2026 21:27

Merge branch 'main' into mwbrooks-default-bolt-manifest-source-local-…

aa2a95a

…warnings

mwbrooks merged commit 265d8a9 into main Mar 13, 2026
7 checks passed

mwbrooks deleted the mwbrooks-default-bolt-manifest-source-local-warnings branch March 13, 2026 21:35

	// GetManifestSource finds the manifest source preference for the project
	func (c *ProjectConfig) GetManifestSource(ctx context.Context) (ManifestSource, error) {
	var span opentracing.Span
	span, ctx = opentracing.StartSpanFromContext(ctx, "GetManifestSource")
	defer span.Finish()

	var projectConfig, err = ReadProjectConfigFile(ctx, c.fs, c.os)
	if err != nil {
	return "", err
	}

	if projectConfig.Manifest != nil {
	source := ManifestSource(strings.TrimSpace(projectConfig.Manifest.Source))
	switch {
	case source.Equals(ManifestSourceLocal), source.Equals(ManifestSourceRemote):
	return source, nil
	case !source.Exists():
	return ManifestSourceLocal, nil
	default:
	return "", slackerror.New(slackerror.ErrProjectConfigManifestSource)
	}
	}

	return ManifestSourceLocal, nil
	}

	if !manifestSource.Exists() {
	manifestSource = config.ManifestSourceLocal
	}

Conversation

mwbrooks commented Mar 13, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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Changelog

Summary

Motivation

Preview

Linking an App ID from App Setting

Overwriting App Settings Warning

Test Steps

Requirements

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mwbrooks commented Mar 13, 2026

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mwbrooks commented Mar 13, 2026 •

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