The Slack SDK family patches connection handling and adds agent session APIs

Slack SDKs stabilize connections and restore compatibility

The Slack Node SDK saw its most substantial activity this week across three packages. The socket-mode fix in @slack/socket-mode@3.0.1 addresses a serious regression from the 3.0.0 release: the switch from ws to undici's WebSocket had dropped the force-close mechanism, causing leaked TCP sockets that accumulated toward Slack's per-app connection cap. The patch adds a 30-second close-handshake timeout, preventing sockets from hanging in a CLOSING state indefinitely. Alongside this, both @slack/web-api@8.1.1 and @slack/webhook@8.0.2 reverted a change that had made internal packages require ESM loading, restoring backward compatibility for CommonJS consumers—a critical fix for teams still on older module systems.

The web-api@8.1.0 release that preceded these patches introduced new functionality: support for admin.users.getExpiration, agents.sessions.rename, and agents.sessions.setStatus, along with a session_status field for chat.stopStream. These additions pair with @slack/types@3.1.0, which adds TypeScript types for the agent_session_stopped and agent_session_title_changed events and optional min_lines/max_lines properties on RichTextInput elements—useful for constraining AI-generated content in rich text fields.

On the Python side, slack-sdk v3.44.0 brings the equivalent StatelessOAuthStateStore using JWT, plus min_lines/max_lines on RichTextInputElement and typed model classes for TableBlock cells and column_settings. This mirrors the Node SDK's move toward stateless OAuth, which simplifies multi-instance deployments by removing the need for a shared state store.

Desktop apps get minor conveniences

Figma's desktop app now lets users pop the agent chat panel into its own window on macOS and Windows. The panel stays visible while working in other tools or switching tabs—a small but welcome ergonomic win for multitaskers. Notion shipped two maintenance releases, v1.7.332 and v1.7.331, both described as bug fixes and performance improvements, with no user-visible changes highlighted. Slack's main client also had a quiet week with no notable fixes to call out.

The takeaway

The Slack SDK updates are the week's real story: the socket-mode regression was actively hurting users with connection caps, and the ESM revert prevents a broader compatibility break. The new agent-session APIs signal Slack's continued investment in AI-assisted workflows. For developers, the key action is updating the Node SDK packages together—socket-mode 3.0.1, web-api 8.1.1, and webhook 8.0.2—to get both the leak fix and the compatibility restoration. Python developers should grab 3.44.0 for the new OAuth store and block-kit types.