How to export and license your Slack history

Short answer: To export your Slack history, a workspace owner or admin opens workspace settings, goes to Import & export data, chooses the Export tab and a date range, and starts the export. Slack emails when the ZIP of JSON files is ready. What you can export depends on your plan. No export is needed to start a Latopis check.

Steps below are from Slack’s official documentation and are accurate as of October 2026. Menus change, so check the linked sources before you start.

What you need first

Workspace owners and admins can export data from public channels on all plans.
Exporting private channels and direct messages is limited to Business+ and Enterprise plans, and the workspace owner must apply for it.
Recurring exports are available on Business+ and above.
On the Free plan, exports only include file links from the last 90 days.
Exports include links to files, not the files themselves.

Export workspace data

Click Admin in the sidebar, then Workspace settings.
Under Security, choose Import & export data, then open the Export tab.
Choose a date range.
Click Start Export. Slack emails you when the export is finished.
Follow the link in the email to the export page and click Ready for download. The export is a ZIP file of JSON files.

Slack documents how the JSON files are organized in its guide to reading Slack data exports, linked below.

Sources

What buyers value in your Slack record

For a construction firm, Slack is where the field and the office work things out: schedule changes, problems on site, and how they were solved. Buyers who license the operating record look for that running conversation over years, tied to the projects it was about.

Privacy and ownership

Chat is personal. Strip or mask personal names, emails, phone numbers, and client details before anything is shared. Names, emails, phone numbers, and account numbers come off before a buyer sees the record, and records you hold for clients as their agent are not part of a license.

You do not need to export anything to start. The Latopis check asks three questions: your systems, the company, and who can sign. You approve the scope before anything moves, and the company keeps its data.

What is your Slack record worth?

Three questions, a rough range, and nothing leaves your systems.

Run the two-minute value check

Questions about exporting Slack

Do I need to export Slack data to start?

No. The Latopis check asks three questions: your systems, the company, and who can sign. Nothing is uploaded to start.

Can I export private channels and DMs?

Only on Business+ and Enterprise plans, and the workspace owner must apply for it. Public channels can be exported on all plans.

Are files included in the export?

No. Slack exports include links to files, not the files themselves.

This page is general information, not legal advice. If contracts with clients or employees limit how records may be used, check them with your own counsel.