Getting help

At any point, you can request help from elvex in either a channel or a direct message via the help command /elvex help. This will respond with some short instructions on how you can use the elvex Slack app.

Listing available apps

You can see the apps you have available, as well as the aliases used to chat with that app, via the /elvex list command. This command will only show apps that you have access to based on the app's visibility and your role.

Using apps in channels

For apps that have their visibility set to public and their Slack settings set to "All Slack users" permission, you'll be able to use this app in Slack. There are two ways to use apps, via general ping or direct mention.

The easiest way to use elvex is to simply ask elvex to do something by mentioning @elvex. Try asking:

@elvex what is the meaning of life?

If elvex hasn't yet been invited to a channel, Slack will ask if you want to invite them. Click Invite Them.

Since we didn't specify a specific app, elvex responds with a list of apps and asks us which one we'd like to use to respond:

Select an app and click "Let's Chat".

You'll notice that elvex is a polite Slack member and always responds to your messages via a threaded reply. Just like within elvex, you'll see responses streaming into Slack.

elvex tries not to be nosy

Since we asked elvex a question in a channel, elvex kindly reminded us that it won't respond to further messages in this thread unless called upon via @elvex. It also reminded us that it'll remember the original app we used when we kicked off this conversation.

Chatting with an app via its alias

If you already know the app you want to chat with, you can talk to it directly via its alias.

To talk to a specific app in elvex, use @elvex !alias <your message>. For example, if there was an app with an alias of gpt4, you could ask it the same question as above via:

@elvex !gpt4 what is the meaning of life?

How do I find an app's alias?

There are two ways to find out the alias for an app:

Use /elvex list to list all available apps as well as their aliases.
Within elvex, view the app in question and expand Slack Settings and look for the Alias field.

At the moment, aliases are not editable but we may change this.

Chatting with private apps

elvex apps that have their visibility set to Private and have their Slack permissions set to "Match elvex permissions" will not be available in channels. You can still chat with these apps in elvex, but you must do so via direct message to the elvex app user in Slack.

To chat with elvex directly:

Click DMs in the Slack sidebar.
Click the New Message icon and type "elvex" in the To: field.
From here ask elvex a question (e.g. @elvex what is the meaning of life?). You can also use app aliases in private messages (e.g. @elvex !gpt4 what is the meaning of life?).

elvex will still respond with a threaded reply.

Unlike channels, in direct messages, elvex will automatically respond to your messages without needing to be mentioned.