# Slack

Application: Slack Technologies, LLC

Also called slack desktop, slack app

Slack Technologies, LLC, Productivity

A workplace chat client. The Windows desktop app is slack.exe and uses Electron.

## What you need to know

Slack is a chat client. Teams is a different vendor and a different exe.

Slack's Windows app is Electron. Extra slack.exe rows are helpers. The browser tab is an alternative if you do not want a resident tray.

- **What is it?**: Workplace chat

  **Heavy?**: Many workspaces can be

  **Same as Teams?**: No

Feex says

If you only need Slack twice a week, I would use the site and skip the desktop tray. The process list is honest about how chat apps live now.

## What is Slack?

Slack is the Slack desktop application from Slack Technologies, now part of Salesforce. It is not Discord and it is not Teams.

## If you have never used it

If your job said "we use Slack", it is workplace chat in channels. You can use it in a browser. The Windows app is for notifications and huddles. Download it from slack.com/downloads/windows. You join a workspace with a work email. It is not Discord servers and not Microsoft Teams.

## What is it used for?

**Channels and DMs**

The message list. This is why slack.exe stays resident during the workday.

**Huddles**

Light voice next to a channel. Heavier than text, lighter than a full Zoom meeting.

**Workspace apps**

Bots and shortcuts the admin enabled. Those are Slack apps, not Windows services.

## Who is it for?

- People whose company lives in Slack workspaces
- Users who want notifications outside the browser
- Anyone comparing RAM with Teams by product, not by "chat app" as a blob

## Current status

Actively developed. This article is the Windows desktop client, not Slack Enterprise Grid admin.

## How old is it?

Slack launched in 2013 out of a failed game studio. Salesforce acquired it in 2021. The desktop client is still Electron. It is not IRC, not HipChat, and not the 2010s Campfire product those teams left.

## Versions

Major channels first. Exact build numbers are not all verified here.

Desktop stable

## System requirements

Values follow the publisher's public guidance. Workload still changes the real need.

### Minimum

| RAM              | Slack asks for a current 64-bit Windows PC. Extra workspaces want more RAM |
| ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Operating system | A current supported Windows 10 or Windows 11 release, per Slack            |

## Resource profile

- **CPU demand**: Huddles and video

  **RAM demand**: Workspace count

  **Network demand**: Always-on messaging

## Installed processes

These executables belong to this product when it is installed.

| slack.exe | Electron main and helpers |
| --------- | ------------------------- |

## Startup components

Slack can launch at logon into the tray. That is a Slack preference.

## File locations

| Typical install | C:\Users\\\<you>\AppData\Local\slack\\ |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------- |

## File formats

files you drop in channels

## Common problems

### Cache growth

Slack documents a cache reset. Do not delete AppData while the app is running.

### Two chat clients

Slack plus Teams is an org problem. Ending one exe does not migrate the other workspace.

## Getting unstuck

### Reset the cache from Slack help, not a folder delete while running

Slack documents a cache reset. Killing AppData mid-sync corrupts the local index.

### Use the website if you only need it twice a week

slack.com in a browser skips the tray. The workspace is the same.

### Install from slack.com/downloads/windows

A "Slack desktop" MSI from a search ad is the wrong file.

## Alternatives

Teams, Discord, and the Slack website overlap. Choose them for the org graph, not a filename risk percent.

## Official help and downloads

Start with the vendor. Random exe sites are not a support channel.

| Download            | [slack.com/downloads/windows ](https://slack.com/downloads/windows)Official Windows client                        |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Help Center         | [slack.com/help ](https://slack.com/help)Workspace, notifications, and desktop issues                             |
| System requirements | [slack.com/help/articles/115002037526 ](https://slack.com/help/articles/115002037526)What Slack lists for Windows |
| Status              | [slack-status.com/ ](https://slack-status.com/)When Slack itself is down                                          |
| Account / workspace | [slack.com/signin ](https://slack.com/signin)Join or switch workspaces                                            |

## Related hardware

RAM is the usual limit. A GPU helps huddle video, not the message list.

## Technical details

Technical details

Per-version file hashes and volume-license paths are not verified in this preview.

## Related

These entities connect to this article. Type is shown on every link.

[slack.exe: Application Process](https://feex.it/wiki/process/slack.exe)[ms-teams.exe: Application Process](https://feex.it/wiki/process/ms-teams.exe)[Discord: Application](https://feex.it/wiki/software/discord)

## Sources and verification

Reviewed by Feex editorial. Last verified August 2026 Status: Feex Reviewed. [How we research](https://feex.it/wiki/research).

- [Slack: desktop app ](https://slack.com/downloads/windows)· Official client
- [Slack Help: system requirements ](https://slack.com/help/articles/115002037526)· Windows client
- [Foxhole process map ](https://foxhole.feex.it/)· First-party samples on Windows PCs. Not a lab benchmark.

## Was this article useful?

A yes or no is enough. Pick a reason if you want, or add a short note.

Quick facts

The short identity of this page. Specs, sources, and the full story stay in the article.

- **Developer**: Slack Technologies, LLC

  **Category**: Chat

  **Process**: [slack.exe](https://feex.it/wiki/process/slack.exe)

  **First released**: 2013

  **Official site**: [slack.com](https://slack.com/)

  **Mapped by Feex**: Seen on Windows PCs in Foxhole

Feex Reviewed: Last verified August 2026

---

Source: [Canonical Feex Wiki page](https://feex.it/wiki/software/slack/)

[Developer guide](https://feex.it/wiki/developers/) | [API policy](https://feex.it/developers/api-policy/) | [Agent guidance](https://feex.it/wiki/llms.txt)