Design Slack
What is Slack?
Slack is a workplace communication platform that organizes conversations into channels, enabling teams to collaborate in real-time.
Unlike consumer messaging apps, Slack is built around workspaces (organizations) where team members communicate through public channels, private channels, and direct messages.
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Beyond plain messaging, Slack supports file sharing, search, integrations with third-party tools, and features like notifications and mentions that keep conversations organized.
The core idea is to replace scattered email threads with organized, searchable, real-time conversations. Users can create channels for projects, teams, or topics, share files, integrate with external tools, and search through their entire message history.
Other Popular Examples: Microsoft Teams, Discord (for communities),
In this chapter, we will walk through the high-level design of a platform like Slack.
This system design problem tests your understanding of real-time communication, multi-tenancy, search systems, and the complexities of building a platform that serves both small teams and large enterprises.
Let’s begin by clarifying the requirements.