Paging Command Reference

Page engineers, configure escalations, and integrate with PagerDuty—all from Slack. All commands start with /page

Key Features

Slack-Native Paging

Pages are sent as Slack DMs with an interactive 'Acknowledge' button. Engineers can respond without leaving Slack.

Optional PagerDuty Integration

If configured, pages go through PagerDuty for phone calls and SMS alerts in addition to Slack notifications.

Acknowledgment Tracking

Track who acknowledged via Slack button or PagerDuty webhook. Full visibility into response times.

Auto-Escalation

Background timer checks every 60 seconds and escalates unacknowledged pages to the next person in the chain.

Auto-Page on Incident

Automatically page the on-call engineer when incidents of configured severity levels are started.

PagerDuty Webhook

Receives acknowledgment and resolve events from PagerDuty, keeping everything in sync automatically.

All Commands

Page a Specific User

Send an urgent page to a specific team member. They'll receive a Slack DM with an interactive 'Acknowledge' button. If PagerDuty is configured, the page also goes through PD for phone/SMS alerts.

/page @user [message]

Example

/page @sarah Database is down, need immediate help
  • Sends Slack DM with Acknowledge button
  • Optional PagerDuty integration
  • Tracks acknowledgment status
  • Auto-escalates if unacknowledged

Page Current On-Call

Automatically page whoever is currently on-call. Uses your /oncall configuration to find the right person and sends them an urgent notification.

/page oncall [message]

Example

/page oncall Production API is returning 500 errors
  • Automatically finds on-call engineer
  • No need to know who's on-call
  • Works with your /oncall rotation
  • Includes PagerDuty if configured

Acknowledge Active Page

Acknowledge an active page in the incident channel. This stops escalation and marks the page as acknowledged. Can also be done via the interactive button in Slack or through PagerDuty.

/page ack

Example

/page ack
  • Stops escalation timer
  • Marks page as acknowledged
  • Works in incident channel
  • Syncs with PagerDuty webhook

Show Pending Pages

View all pending pages for the current incident. Shows who was paged, when, and whether they've acknowledged.

/page status

Example

/page status
  • Lists all active pages
  • Shows acknowledgment status
  • Displays time since paged
  • Helps track response

Configure PagerDuty

Pro

Set up PagerDuty integration by providing your routing key. When configured, pages will be sent through PagerDuty for phone calls and SMS in addition to Slack.

/page config pagerduty <key>

Example

/page config pagerduty abc123xyz789
  • Enable phone/SMS alerts
  • Uses PagerDuty Events API
  • One-time setup per workspace
  • Works alongside Slack pages

Set Escalation Timeout

Pro

Configure how long to wait before escalating an unacknowledged page. Value must be between 1 and 60 minutes. Default is 5 minutes.

/page config timeout <mins>

Example

/page config timeout 10
  • Set escalation window (1-60 mins)
  • Default is 5 minutes
  • Checked every 60 seconds
  • Escalates to next in chain

Set Escalation Chain

Pro

Define the escalation chain for when pages go unacknowledged. After the timeout, the next person in the chain is paged, and so on.

/page config escalation @user1 @user2...

Example

/page config escalation @lead @manager @director
  • Define backup responders
  • Escalates in order listed
  • Continues until acknowledged
  • Ensures incidents get attention

Configure Auto-Page Severities

Pro

Set which severity levels should automatically page the on-call engineer when an incident starts. Great for ensuring critical incidents get immediate attention.

/page config autopage <sev1,sev2,...>

Example

/page config autopage sev1,sev2
  • Auto-page on incident start
  • Configure by severity level
  • Pages on-call automatically
  • No manual paging needed

Quick Reference

Copy and paste these commands to get started.

$/page @user [message]
$/page oncall [message]
$/page ack
$/page status
$/page config pagerduty <key>Pro
$/page config timeout <mins>Pro
$/page config escalation @user1 @user2...Pro
$/page config autopage <sev1,sev2,...>Pro

Ready to try it out?

Add Incident/Ops to your Slack workspace and start paging engineers in seconds.