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Managing Slack Desktop App Installations and Updates for IT Administrators

As an IT administrator, you can exert greater control over Slack desktop app installations and updates by selecting the installation location and disabling automatic updates. When you install the Slack app on your employees’ machines, it will install to the /Applications folder and update automatically whenever a new version is released.

As an IT administrator, you can gain greater control over Slack desktop app installations and updates by:

1. Choosing the installation location
2. Disabling automatic updates

By default, the Slack app installs to the /Applications folder and updates automatically when new versions are released.

Note: If you disable automatic updates, regularly update the app manually to ensure you’re running the most secure version with access to new features.

Installing Slack on Shared Machines

Slack can be used by multiple users on the same machine. You can install Slack to a user’s /Applications or ~/Applications folder. Compare the two methods below to determine which installation suits your organization best:

Slack supports multi-user installations on shared machines. Choose between two installation methods:

1. /Applications Installation

• All users share one Slack installation
• Updates apply to all users
• Users need administrator privileges to update

2. ~/Applications Installation

• Each user has their own Slack installation
• Updates are user-specific
• Users don’t need administrator privileges to update

Distributing Slack

Once you’ve selected an installation type, download a build of the Slack desktop app. There are three possible builds: the Intel (x64) build, the Apple Silicon (arm64) build, and the Universal build (x64 or arm64). When distributing Slack, ensure that you’re using the correct version of the Slack app for your employees’ machines.

Note: The Universal build works on Intel and Apple Silicon machines, but the installation file is much larger than the other builds.

After choosing an installation type, download the appropriate Slack desktop app build:

• Intel (x64) build
• Apple Silicon (arm64) build
• Universal build (works on both, but larger file size)

Ensure you use the correct version for your employees’ machines.

Disabling Automatic Updates

You can disable automatic updates on a per-user basis, which is helpful for testing new versions of the Slack app before releasing them or for gradually rolling out app updates. To maintain app reliability and security, it’s recommended to update Slack whenever a new app version is released.

To prevent Slack from automatically checking for updates, run the following terminal command as each user who will be running Slack:

1. Run this terminal command for each Slack user:

defaults write /Users/$USER/Library/Preferences/com.tinyspeck.slackmacgap SlackNoAutoUpdates -bool YES

2. To re-enable updates, use:

defaults write /Users/$USER/Library/Preferences/com.tinyspeck.slackmacgap SlackNoAutoUpdates -bool NO

Note: Consider using desktop app configurations for managing updates at scale.

Allowing Users to Update Slack

• For ~/Applications installations: Users can update without special permissions
• For /Applications installations: Users need administrator privileges and write access

If Slack is installed to ~/Applications, users can update the app without special permissions. If Slack is installed to /Applications, users must be administrators of their Mac machines and have write access to /Applications, slack.app, and all files beneath it to update the app.

On a shared machine, it’s recommended to create a permissions group for all Slack users and install Slack to a subfolder of /Applications. You can then grant ownership and write access to that permissions group using the following terminal command (replace group with the name of your permissions group and subfolder with the name of your subfolder):

For shared machines, create a permissions group for Slack users and install to a subfolder of /Applications. Grant access using:

chown -R :group /Applications/subfolder && chmod -R 775 /Applications/subfolder

Pro Tip: Use our RSS feed to stay informed about Slack desktop app updates for Mac.

By following these guidelines, IT administrators can effectively manage Slack installations and updates across their organization, balancing security needs with user convenience.