Capture from Slack

Slack is where most decisions get made and explained, so it's the fastest way to feed knowledge into Docpipe. Once your workspace is connected, anyone can capture something worth keeping with a single command — no need to open the app or write formal documentation.

If Slack isn't connected yet, see Connecting Slack. Connecting it is the highest-impact step you can take to keep Docpipe current, because it puts capture where your team already works.

Capture with /docpipe

You can capture in two places:

• In any channel — type /docpipe followed by what you want to keep.
• In a direct message to the Docpipe bot — send the text on its own; no command needed.

For example, in a channel:

/docpipe We deploy to production on Tuesdays and Thursdays only.

Docpipe replies "On it — Docpipe is processing your message and will reply here shortly," and quotes your message back so you can confirm what it received. A few moments later it follows up with the result — either a proposed documentation change to approve, or, for a question, a cited answer.

Running /docpipe with no text shows a reminder of how to use it: "Add a question or some documentation: /docpipe <text>. Docpipe auto-detects whether to answer or capture."

Capturing vs. asking

You don't tell Docpipe whether you're documenting something or asking a question — it decides from what you wrote:

• A statement ("We standardized on Postgres for all new services") is treated as documentation and becomes a proposal.
• A question ("Which database do we use for new services?") gets a cited answer from your existing docs.

The same /docpipe command handles both. For more on the question side, see Ask in Slack.

What makes a good capture

Docpipe works best with a clear, self-contained statement of what's true or what changed. You don't need to write polished documentation — Docpipe cleans up shorthand and conversational phrasing — but the substance should stand on its own without the surrounding thread.

Captures that work well:

• A decision — "We standardized on Postgres for all new services."
• A process or rule — "Refunds over $500 need a manager's approval."
• An explanation — "The nightly sync retries three times before it pages on-call."
• A correction — "The staging URL moved to staging.example.com."

Less useful on their own:

• A reaction or aside with no standalone meaning ("nice, that works").
• A message that only makes sense with the thread above it — fold the key detail into your capture.

What happens after you capture

Docpipe turns your capture into a proposal: it identifies the claim, finds the document — down to the specific block — where it belongs, and drafts the smallest useful change. Nothing is written to your documentation until a reviewer approves it.

• Follow the full lifecycle in How proposals work.
• Approve, edit, or reject the change in Reviewing proposals.

Capture without a command

To capture documentation-worthy messages automatically — without anyone running /docpipe — set up Watched channels. It's the most hands-off way to keep your knowledge base current.