---
sourceDocument: Xanadu ServiceNow AI Platform Administration
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/xanadu/platform-administration

 Release :

    - xanadu

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Xanadu ServiceNow AI Platform Administration

ft:clusterId :

    - platadm

bundleId :

    - platadm

workflow :

    - Platform


---

# Configure crawl settings for the Slack external content connector

# Configure crawl settings for the Slack external content connector {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Xanadu
* 
* Updated July 2, 2025
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 3 minutes to read

Specify the public channels you want your Slack external content connector to crawl. Define inclusion or exclusion filters for file extensions to dictate the types of documents the crawl retrieves and feeds to AI Search for indexing.

## Before you begin

An admin must have already created the Slack external content connector that you want to configure crawl settings for. To learn about this procedure, see [Create a Slack external content connector](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/ONPDvOCvx~4md1RjIujHTQ "Create an external content connector to retrieve searchable content from public channels in your Slack source system.").

Role required: ais_admin

## About this task

This task is optional. By default, the Slack external content connector crawls all public channels from its specified source system and sends documents with all supported file extensions to AI Search for indexing. You only need to perform this task if you want the connector to use any of the following non-default settings:

* Crawl only a specified set of public channels from the source system
* Include only documents with specific file extensions when crawling the source system
* Exclude documents with specific file extensions when crawling the source system
{#configure-crawl-settings-slack-ext-cont-connector__ul_onp_x1f_tdc}  
Important:  
By default, an external content connector can index up to one million (1,000,000) documents from its source system. When a connector exceeds this limit, it continues to crawl the source system, but
only sends document deletions and updates to AI Search for indexing, ignoring new documents. The connector logs an error message for every 10,000 documents it crawls beyond the indexing limit.{#configure-crawl-settings-slack-ext-cont-connector__store-app-external-content-connectors-indexing-limit-numeric-ph}

When a connector's indexed document count exceeds 800,000, a warning message appears in the connector's UI to indicate that it's approaching the indexing
limit. If the connector reaches the indexing limit, an error message appears in its UI.

If one of your connectors reaches the indexing limit, you can update its crawl settings and file inclusion/exclusion filters to reduce the number of documents it retrieves. Alternately, if you need to index
more than 1,000,000 documents, you can create a Customer Service and Support case at <https://support.servicenow.com/now> to request a limit increase for the connector.

## Procedure

1. Navigate to AllExternal Content ConnectorsExternal Content Admin Home.
2. In the Connectors list, select the record for the Slack external content connector whose settings you want to modify.
3. In the connector editor's Settings tab, select Crawl settings.
4. Specify the connector's crawl scope by selecting one of the following Channels to crawl options:
   * To crawl all public channels from the source system, select All, then optionally select Exclude channels and use the Add URL field and Add button to enter URLs for any public channels that you want to exclude from the crawl.
   * To crawl only a specified set of public channels from the source system, select Specify, then use the Add URL field and Add button to enter URLs for the public channels that you want to include in the crawl.

   {#configure-crawl-settings-slack-ext-cont-connector__choices_cdr_s4x_sdc}  
   Important:  
   When specifying URLs for Slack channels, always use the format that includes your Slack workspace's hostname followed by <kbd class="ph userinput">/archives/</kbd> and a channel ID, as in this example: <kbd class="ph userinput">https://example.slack.com/archives/C69S1L3SS</kbd>. You can
   obtain the URL for a channel by selecting and holding (or right-clicking) the channel in Slack and then selecting CopyCopy link from the context menu.

   Don't use channel URLs that include <kbd class="ph userinput">app.slack.com</kbd> as the hostname, such as <kbd class="ph userinput">https://app.slack.com/client/TP6U2MGFM/C69S1L3SS</kbd>, as these aren't supported by the Slack external content connector.
5. **Optional:** To apply inclusion or exclusion filters to a crawl based on file extensions, perform the following steps:
   1. Select Filter by file extension.
   2. To specify the type of filter, select Include or Exclude.  
      Select Include if you want the crawl to only retrieve documents that have one of the specified file extensions. Select Exclude if you want the crawl to retrieve all documents except those that have one of the specified file extensions.
   3. In the File extension field, select the file extensions that you want to include or exclude.  
      For details on the supported file extensions, see [File extensions supported in External Content Connectors](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/uXS9vld1m~byewyj30qPJQ "Search administrators can restrict the items an external content connector crawls by specifying file extensions in inclusion or exclusion filters.").
   {#configure-crawl-settings-slack-ext-cont-connector__substeps_qzr_mpx_sdc}
6. Select Save.
{#configure-crawl-settings-slack-ext-cont-connector__steps_yqk_jjw_22c}

## Result

The Slack external content connector is updated with your crawl scope and file extension filter settings.

## What to do next

Now that you've configured the crawl for your Slack external content connector, you can schedule crawls to run on a recurring basis, or you can run one-time crawls on demand. For details on scheduling crawls, see [Define a crawl schedule for an external content connector](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/XCXxlqJZb8I1hurNFcj9JQ "Keep your search index up to date by scheduling regular document and user mapping crawls for your external content connector. Scheduled crawls can run daily or on selected days of the week, starting at a time that you specify."). To learn how to run one-time crawls on demand, see [Run a one-time full or partial document crawl for an external content connector](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/WF27NJ6iuXMWR2w_4osxvw "Retrieve document content and metadata from all or part of your external content connector's data source on demand. A document crawl sends retrieved content and metadata to AI Search for indexing, making them available to users of your AI Search applications.").

*[\>]: and then


