Slack reminders are the closest thing Slack has to a built-in assistant. Type /remind me to send the invoice tomorrow at 9am and Slackbot taps you on the shoulder at 9am tomorrow. Point the same command at a channel and you have a recurring team prompt that never forgets and never needs a calendar invite.
This guide covers the /remind grammar, times Slack understands, recurring and channel reminders, listing and deleting, the alternatives, eight paste-ready recipes, and the five gotchas that trip up almost everyone. One caveat: Slack moves menus and labels around, so if a button isn't exactly where we say, it's nearby.
The /remind Grammar
Every reminder follows the same three-part shape:
/remind [who] [what] [when]
- Who is
me, a person (@sam), or a channel (#team-support). Leave it out and Slack assumesme. - What is the text of the reminder. Wrap it in quotes if it contains a time-like word ("call about Friday's demo") so the parser doesn't eat it.
- When is a time, a date, or a recurrence, in plain English.
A few valid examples:
/remind me to review the launch doc in 2 hours/remind @sam to approve the expense report on Thursday/remind #design "Post your weekly design review slot" every Monday at 10am
A user group handle in the "who" slot is treated as plain text at the time of writing, so for group reminders use a channel. (Our Slack user groups guide covers what handles are good at.)
Times Slack Understands
Slack's parser is forgiving. It accepts relative times, absolute times, dates, and recurrences.
| Type | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Relative | in 20 minutes, in 3 hours, in 2 days | Counts from the moment you hit Enter |
| Absolute | at 3pm, tomorrow at 9am, on Friday | No time given? Slack picks a morning default, 9am at the time of writing |
| Dated | on March 3, on 11/14 at 2pm, next Tuesday | Month/day order follows your language setting |
| Recurring | every weekday at 9am, every Monday, every other Friday, every month on the 1st | Runs until you delete it |
If Slack can't parse the time, it says so immediately rather than silently setting the wrong thing, so experiment freely. The one phrasing that reliably fails is a recurrence with a delayed start ("every day starting in 2 weeks"); set it on the day you want it to begin.
Recurring Slack Reminders
Recurring reminders are where /remind earns its keep. Put every in the "when" slot:
every weekday at 9:15amfor a standup prompt.every Friday at 4pmfor timesheets.every month on the 15thfor invoicing.every other Wednesday at 11amfor a fortnightly retro.
Each firing is a fresh Slackbot message that can be completed or snoozed on its own. There's no end date; a recurring reminder runs until you remove it from /remind list.
Channel Reminders and Who Can Set Them
A channel reminder posts as Slackbot in the channel at the given time, visible to everyone there. Any member can set one; you don't need to be an admin, but you do need to have joined the channel. There's no "mark complete" on a channel reminder, since it's a broadcast rather than a task, but people can react or thread under it like any other message.
Slackbot prefixes the post with "Reminder:" and the setter's name, so the team knows who owns the prompt. If that person leaves the workspace, the reminder may stop firing, so when a ritual depends on one, have the channel owner set it rather than whoever thought of it first.
Viewing, Completing and Deleting Reminders
Type /remind list in any message box. Slackbot replies, only to you, with every reminder you've created: upcoming, recurring, past-due and completed, each with a delete button. Channel reminders you own appear here too, and it's the only place to see them before they fire.
There is no edit. If a time or wording is wrong, delete it and set a new one. It's faster than it sounds: press the up arrow in the message box to recall your last message, fix the typo, and resend. (More keystrokes like that in our Slack keyboard shortcuts post.)
"Remind Me About This" on a Message
The fastest reminder isn't typed at all. Hover any message, open its ⋯ More actions menu, and choose Remind me about this. Pick a preset (in 20 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours, tomorrow, next week) or a custom time, and Slackbot DMs you a link straight back to the message, thread and all. It's the correct answer to "I'll deal with that after this call."
Alternatives: Later, Scheduled Messages and Workflow Builder
Reminders aren't the only way to make Slack remember something.
| Tool | What happens | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| /remind | Slackbot posts a nudge to you, a person, or a channel | Tasks, recurring team prompts |
| Later (saved items) | Message lands in your Later list, optionally with a reminder time | A personal queue of messages to act on |
| Scheduled message | Your own message posts at a set time, as you | Off-hours sends, announcements you want in your voice |
| Workflow Builder schedule | A workflow runs on a cadence: posts, forms, buttons | Richer recurring rituals; paid plans only |
Rule of thumb: a reminder comes from Slackbot and reads as a nudge; a scheduled message comes from you and reads as a message. If the post should be yours (a Friday wrap-up, a launch note), schedule it. If it's a prompt for action, remind. When the prompt needs a form or a button, that's a Workflow Builder job, as in our Slack polls guide and automating birthdays and anniversaries.
8 Slack Reminder Recipes
Paste, adjust channel and time, done.
- Async standup.
/remind #team-platform "Standup thread: yesterday, today, blockers" every weekday at 9:15am - Friday props nudge.
/remind #general "Who made your week easier? Give them /props before you log off" every Friday at 2pm - Timesheets.
/remind me to submit my timesheet every Friday at 4pm - 1:1 prep.
/remind me to add agenda items for my 1:1 with Sam every Tuesday at 9am - On-call handover.
/remind #ops "Update the on-call rota and pin it" every month on the 1st - Delegate with a deadline.
/remind @sam to review the launch doc at 3pm - Weekly wins thread.
/remind #team-support "Wins thread: one thing that went well this week" every Friday at 11am - Inbox zero for Slack.
/remind me to clear my Later list every weekday at 5pm
Recipes 2 and 7 are the ones we'd set first; recognition habits die when nobody prompts them. Our guide to Slack rituals for distributed teams has more cadences worth automating.
5 Gotchas With Slack Reminders
1. The timezone is the setter's, not the reader's
A channel reminder for every weekday at 9am fires at 9am in the timezone of whoever set it. If your London colleague sets the standup prompt, New York gets it at 4am. Have someone in the target timezone set channel reminders, and keep profile timezones accurate.
2. You must be in the channel
Slack won't set a reminder for a channel you haven't joined, and if you leave later, the reminder may go with you. Join first; have the channel owner set long-lived prompts.
3. There's no edit
Delete and recreate. Recall the original with the up arrow, fix it, resend, then remove the old one from /remind list.
4. Reminders set in a DM don't go to the other person
Typing /remind me inside a DM reminds you, not them, and you can't target a DM conversation the way you can a channel. To nudge someone else, name them: /remind @sam .... They get a Slackbot DM with your name on it.
5. Slackbot is easy to mute
Personal reminders arrive as Slackbot DMs, and plenty of people have muted Slackbot after one nudge too many. For anything that must be seen, use a channel reminder, where the post sits somewhere people already read, or a scheduled message from you.
Using Reminders to Keep Recognition Alive
Here's where we should disclose that Propsly is ours. Propsly is a peer recognition app for Slack: /props +5 @sam for the midnight hotfix #ownership sends points, DMs the recipient, and posts to a feed channel. It's free for unlimited users, with 200 props per person per month.
Even when thanks is a one-liner, teams forget. The fix is recipe 2: one channel reminder, Friday at 2pm, pointed at the channel people are already in. It costs nothing, takes thirty seconds, and keeps the recognition channel warm week after week. If you don't have one yet, start with our guide to setting up an employee recognition channel in Slack.
Common Questions About Slack Reminders
Do Slack reminders work on the free plan?
Yes. /remind, channel reminders, and "Remind me about this" are all available on the free plan at the time of writing. Workflow Builder's scheduled triggers are the paid-plan piece.
Can I set a reminder for someone else?
Yes: /remind @name [what] [when]. They get a Slackbot DM naming you as the sender. Use it sparingly; a reminder from a colleague reads as a task assignment.
How do I see reminders I've set?
Type /remind list. It shows your upcoming, recurring and completed reminders, including channel ones you set, each with a delete option.
Can I edit a reminder?
No. Delete it from /remind list and set a new one with the corrected text or time.
Why didn't my channel reminder fire for my teammate?
Usually one of three things: it fired in your timezone, not theirs; they've muted the channel; or the setter left the channel or workspace. Check /remind list to confirm it still exists.
The Short Version
/remind [who] [what] [when] handles most of what people want from Slack reminders. Use every for recurring prompts, point them at a channel when the team should see them, and manage everything through /remind list. The timezone belongs to whoever set it, there's no edit, and Slackbot DMs are easy to miss. If you only set one recurring reminder this week, make it the Friday "give someone props" nudge.