Search & export

Full-text search

SlackVault includes a built-in search that runs across all your backed-up messages, files, and channels. It's often faster than Slack's native search — especially for free-tier workspaces where Slack hides older history.

You can narrow results with filters:

• By channel — limit to one or more channels.
• By user — messages from a specific person.
• By date range — within a window.

Click any result to open the message in full context (including its thread).

Importing existing Slack exports

If you already have a Slack export (the ZIP/JSON Slack provides), SlackVault can import it so your older history sits alongside what the extension syncs. Use the Import page in the web app and upload the file.

note

Typical Slack exports keep messages inside per-channel folders. If you're importing messages directly, they need to be in a messages field — see the import screen for the expected shape.

Export formats

You can export an individual channel or your entire backup in three formats:

Format	Best for	Structure
JSON	Programmatic access, data migration, full backup	Nested objects matching the Slack API responses, with all metadata
CSV	Spreadsheet analysis, simple imports	Flat columns: timestamp, user, channel, text, etc.
PDF	Legal/compliance, printable archives, sharing	Chronological messages with user names and formatting

JSON export shape

{
  "workspace": {
    "id": "T1234567890",
    "name": "My Workspace",
    "domain": "myworkspace",
    "exported_at": "2024-01-15T12:00:00Z"
  },
  "channels": [
    { "id": "C1234567890", "name": "general", "messages": [] }
  ],
  "users": [],
  "files": []
}

CSV columns (messages)

timestamp (ISO 8601) · channel_id · channel_name · user_id · user_name · text · thread_ts (parent thread, if a reply) · has_files (boolean) · reaction_count (integer).

Your data is portable

Because everything lives in your own Firebase in standard formats, you're never locked in. Even if you stop using SlackVault, you can export your archive at any time and process it with any tool.

See the Data model reference for the exact object shapes, or the FAQ for storage and cost questions.