How to schedule a message in Slack (desktop, mobile and recurring)

You can schedule a message in Slack in a few clicks, and it works the same way in a channel, a DM or a thread. It matters most when you post in Slack Connect channels with customers in other time zones and want an update to land at the right hour without you being online. Slack's help article on sending messages in real time or later covers the basics, and this guide adds the variants you are likely to hit.

How to schedule a message in Slack

1. Open the channel, DM or thread you want to post in, as Slack's help article on scheduling messages describes.
2. Write your message in the composer.
3. Click the arrow icon next to the paper plane (Send) icon. Pressing Enter sends the message at once, so use the arrow to schedule it for later.
4. Pick one of the suggested times, or choose Custom time and set your own date and time.
5. Click Schedule message to confirm. The message waits in your scheduled list until it posts.

When the time comes, Slack sends it to the conversation you picked.

Pick a custom date and time (and mind the time zone)

Custom time is the option to use for customers in other time zones. In Slack Connect channels, aim for the customer's morning, not yours, so your message is near the top when they start work instead of buried under their overnight notifications.

Take a customer six hours ahead of you as an example. If you want the update in front of them at 9am their time, it has to post at 3am yours. That is exactly the case scheduling exists for: you schedule it to send later and it goes out while you sleep. Do the subtraction once per customer and note it in the channel topic so the whole team schedules to the same hour.

Schedule a message on iPhone or Android

On mobile, the send control is the same paper plane icon, with a different gesture. Type your message, then tap and hold the paper plane icon instead of tapping it. Choose a preset time or Custom time, then confirm.

The long press is the part people miss, because tapping the icon sends the message straight away.

To see what you have queued on your phone, tap Drafts & Sent at the top of the Home tab, then open the Scheduled tab. From there, tap and hold a message to change or cancel it.

Channels, DMs, threads and Slack Connect: what works where

Channels and DMs

Scheduling works the same in both. Each scheduled message goes to one destination, so a post meant for three channels needs three scheduled messages. Give them all the same time so the update lands everywhere at once, and nobody in one channel hears the news secondhand from another. If you also message customers one to one, the same steps apply to Slack Connect direct messages.

Thread replies

You can schedule a reply in a thread, which some older guides say is impossible. Slack's help article tells you to open the channel, DM or thread before you write. You then use the same arrow to schedule, so a thread works like any other destination. That is handy for a follow-up in a customer thread at the start of their next working day.

Shared channels with customers

In a shared channel, a scheduled message is a normal message from your profile, so external members see it like any other post. If you haven't set one up yet, read how to create an external Slack channel. If a customer can't join because the invite failed, see what to do when you are unable to accept Slack Connect invitations.

Find, edit, reschedule or delete a scheduled message

Scheduled messages live under Drafts & sent at the top of your sidebar, in the Scheduled tab. Slack's help article says to click Drafts & sent, then select the Scheduled tab. Only you see a scheduled message until it posts.

• On desktop, hover over a scheduled message to see options such as editing and deleting.
• On mobile, tap and hold the message to edit, reschedule, send, cancel, or delete it.
• If a time no longer fits, reschedule it. If the message no longer applies, delete it.

We checked these labels against Slack's help article on sending and reading messages on 13 October 2026.

How to schedule a recurring message in Slack

The scheduling option has no repeat setting, so every scheduled message posts once. For a repeating post, you have two native choices, compared below.

Which one to pick comes down to how often the message goes out and how much it says. A message that goes out once, such as a launch note for a customer's morning, belongs in the normal schedule option. A short line that repeats on the same day each week is quickest with /remind. A longer, formatted post is better as a workflow.

Use /remind for a simple weekly post

Slack documents the format as /remind, then a channel, what and when. Reminders can repeat by the day but not by the hour. A weekly check-in in a customer channel looks like this:

/remind #customer-acme "Weekly check-in: anything blocking you this week?" every Monday at 9am

For anything longer, Slack recommends a workflow built from the scheduled message template rather than a channel reminder.

Use Workflow Builder for a recurring message from a workflow

Workflow Builder is available on paid plans. Choose the schedule trigger, then specify a date, time and cadence and add a step that sends a message to a channel. The outline:

Trigger: On a schedule  Set the date, time and cadenceStep: Send a message to #customer-acme  Message: Weekly check-in: anything blocking you this week?Publish

Limits and troubleshooting

• You can schedule a message up to 120 days ahead, according to Slack's API documentation.
• You can't schedule more than 30 messages within a 5-minute window to the same channel.
• You can't schedule a message in the past, so pick a time later than now.
• If the schedule option is missing, update the Slack app first, then ask a workspace admin.

Limits checked on 13 October 2026 against Slack's scheduleMessage method documentation.

A scheduled message is not a reply

Scheduling makes sure your message lands on time. It does nothing when the customer's answer sits unanswered in a Slack Connect channel. Scheduling controls when you speak; it does nothing about whether anyone answers.

That gap is where alerts for unanswered Slack Connect messages help. Follow Up Bot sends one quiet alert when a customer message passes your response target, and it doesn't need a helpdesk.

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