How to Set Reminders in Slack (2026 Guide)

Need to set a reminder in Slack? You have several options: the built-in /remind command for quick personal reminders, message-based reminders for flagging specific conversations, Workflow Builder for automated recurring notifications, and dedicated task management apps for structured team workflows. This guide covers all four approaches so you can pick the right one for your situation.

Using the /remind command

The fastest way to set a reminder in Slack is with the /remind slash command. Type it directly into any message field followed by who should be reminded, what to remember, and when.

The basic format is:

/remind [who] [what] [when]

Here are some examples:

• /remind me to review the proposal tomorrow at 9am
• /remind #marketing to post the weekly update every Monday at 10am
• /remind me to follow up with Lisa on Friday at 5pm

The who can be me (yourself) or #channel (an entire channel). Note that Slack removed the ability to set reminders for other individual users. If you need to remind a specific person, set a channel reminder and mention them, or send them a direct message. The what is a free-text description. The when accepts natural language, which we cover in detail below.

Once set, Slack notifies you at the designated time. Channel reminders are posted as a Slackbot message visible to everyone in the channel. Personal reminders send you a notification that you can act on or snooze.

Slack reminder syntax reference

Slack's /remind command accepts a wide range of time formats. Here is a quick reference for the most common ones:

All times are based on your Slack timezone setting. If your reminders are arriving at unexpected times, check your timezone in your Slack profile settings.

Setting recurring reminders in Slack

The /remind command supports repeating reminders for both yourself and channels. Add a recurring phrase at the end:

• /remind me to test every day at 3pm
• /remind #standup to post updates every weekday at 9am
• /remind #team to check the backlog every other Monday
• /remind #marketing to review metrics every month on the 1st at 10am

Recurring reminders keep firing until you delete them. For channel reminders, use /remind list in that channel to manage them. They are useful for routine nudges, but there is no way to track whether anyone acted on them. If you need recurring tasks with accountability, a task management app is a better fit.

Setting a reminder on a Slack message

Sometimes you see a message in Slack and want to come back to it later. Instead of creating a reminder from scratch, you can set a reminder directly on the message:

1. Hover over the message you want to be reminded about
2. Click the three-dot menu
3. Select "Remind me" and pick a time
4. Choose a preset time (20 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours, tomorrow, next week) or set a custom date and time

At the scheduled time, Slack sends you a notification with a link back to the original message. This is useful for messages that need a response but not right now, or for flagging decisions you want to revisit.

Managing your Slack reminders

To manage channel reminders, type /remind list in the channel. This shows all recurring reminders you have set for that channel, with options to delete them.

Each occurrence of a recurring channel reminder is posted as a Slackbot message in the channel. To stop them, delete the reminder from the list above.

For message-based reminders (set via the three-dot menu), Slack sends you a notification at the scheduled time with a link back to the original message. You can snooze it or mark it as done.

Using Workflow Builder for automated reminders

For more sophisticated reminder workflows, Slack's Workflow Builder lets you create automated sequences that trigger on a schedule or in response to events.

Workflow Builder is available on paid Slack plans (Pro and above). It is useful when you need reminders that go beyond simple notifications. For example:

• Posting a weekly status update prompt to a channel every Monday at 9 AM, with a form for team members to fill out
• Sending an onboarding checklist to new channel members when they join
• Triggering a reminder when a specific emoji reaction is added to a message

The tradeoff is complexity. Setting up a workflow takes more effort than a quick /remind command, and you need a paid Slack plan to use it.

Limitations of built-in Slack reminders

Slack's /remind command is great for personal nudges and quick notes, but it has some real limitations when it comes to managing work across a team:

• No assignments or ownership — You can remind someone, but there is no way to assign a task or track who is responsible for what
• No team overview — There is no dashboard showing all reminders across a team. Each person sees only their own.
• Easy to dismiss and forget — Reminders disappear once you interact with them. If you snooze and forget again, they are gone.
• No structure — No due dates, descriptions, subtasks, or priority levels. Just a text string and a time.
• No completion tracking — There is no way to see if a reminder was acted on or if the work got done.
• No collaboration — You cannot discuss a reminder with your team, attach files, or add context beyond the initial text.

For quick personal reminders, the built-in feature works well. But if you need to manage tasks across a team with clear assignments, due dates, and accountability, these limitations start to matter. For a deeper look at what to do when /remind is not enough, see our guide to Slack reminder alternatives.

When to use a task management app instead

When your needs go beyond simple reminders, a Slack-native task management app like Let's Do turns Slack into a structured workspace for getting things done. Instead of isolated reminders that each person manages on their own, you get shared visibility into what needs to happen.

With Let's Do, you get:

• Shared to-do lists organized by Slack channel, with assignments and due dates
• Automatic daily reminders for tasks that are due or overdue (configurable per person)
• Recurring tasks that automatically recreate on a schedule, with subtasks and assignments carried over
• Dedicated Slack threads per task for focused discussion and updates
• Personal to-do lists visible only to you
• A team overview showing all tasks, assignments, and deadlines across channels
• Weekly check-in posts summarizing progress for each channel

Unlike basic reminders, tasks stay visible and trackable until they are completed. Team members get notified about new assignments and reminded about approaching deadlines, all without leaving Slack. And because everything is organized by channel, tasks naturally live where the relevant conversations happen.

Which approach should you use?

The best approach depends on what you are trying to accomplish:

Many teams use a combination: /remind for personal nudges, message reminders for flagging conversations, and a task management app like Let's Do for team-wide work tracking. This keeps simple things simple while adding structure where it matters.

If you are looking for a more complete approach to managing tasks in Slack, check out our guide on setting up a task management workflow that works alongside Slack's built-in features.