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Guides · 3 of 10

Slack, Gmail, Outlook and Teams

One section for each. Add one bee per workspace or address, so a work Slack and a personal Gmail are two separate bees.

Work accounts. Many organisations only allow apps their administrators have approved. Waggle only connects work accounts in the official, approved way. If your organisation says no, that’s the answer: please don’t try to get round it. Keep using the service’s own app, or ask your IT team. Check your employer’s policy before you connect.

Jump to: Slack · Gmail · Outlook · Teams

Slack

A personal or community workspace

  1. Click the hexagon in the menu bar → Add a Bee → Slack.
  2. Click Sign in…. A Slack sign-in window opens.
  3. Sign in to the workspace you want in this bee, with your email and password, a magic link, or single sign-on. “Sign in with Google” may be blocked inside this window.

What success looks like: the bee shows your direct messages, group messages and the channels you’ve joined.

This sign-in uses your own Slack web session. It isn’t an official Slack route. See Is the Slack bee official?

A work workspace (with your admins’ approval)

For a work workspace, use the Slack app route. Your workspace’s admins see the request and decide. Nothing connects until they approve it.

  1. Add a Slack bee as above, then click Workspace only allows approved apps? Connect with a Slack app…
  2. Create the app. Click Open api.slack.com/apps, then Create New App → From a manifest. Pick your workspace, click Next, choose the YAML tab, delete what’s there and paste the manifest (click Copy manifest in Waggle first). Click Next, then Create.
  3. Make the app-level token. In Basic Information, under App-Level Tokens, click Generate Token and Scopes. Name it (for example Waggle), click Add Scope, choose connections:write and click Generate. Copy the token (it starts xapp-).
  4. Install, with approval. Go to OAuth & Permissions and click Install to Workspace (or Request to Install). If approval is needed, Slack sends the request to your admins. Come back once it’s approved and installed.
  5. Copy the User OAuth Token (it starts xoxp-).
  6. Paste both tokens into Waggle and click Connect.

What success looks like: the bee shows your conversations. With this route, unread counts start from when Waggle connects.

If your admins decline the request, don’t connect that workspace.

Choosing channels

Click the filter button in the bee’s header (or right-click the bee → Choose Channels…) to show all your channels, only chosen ones, or none (direct messages only). Channels you join later start hidden until you tick them. Hidden channels don’t count as unread or wiggle the bee.

Gmail

A Gmail bee connects with an app password: Google’s own way to connect a mail app. The account needs 2-Step Verification. About 3 minutes.

  1. Click the hexagon in the menu bar → Add a Bee → Gmail.
  2. If 2-Step Verification isn’t on yet, click Open 2-Step Verification in the bee and follow Google’s steps.
  3. Click Open App passwords. Type Waggle as the app name, click Create, and copy the 16 letters Google shows. You can paste them with or without the spaces.
  4. Back in the bee, enter your Gmail address (for example maya@example.com), paste the app password and click Connect.

What success looks like: the bee says “Syncing your chats…”, then shows your inbox as conversations within about half a minute.

The app password stays in this Mac’s Keychain and never syncs. On your other Macs, the bee asks for one there: make one per Mac, or paste the same one.

If the bee says:

A work Google account? Your administrator may have turned app passwords or IMAP off. Ask them to allow it. If they won’t, read that account in Gmail on the web.

To stop Waggle using your Gmail: go to myaccount.google.com/apppasswords and click the bin next to “Waggle”. The bee stops straight away.

Outlook

For Outlook.com, Hotmail and Microsoft 365. Outlook bees use Microsoft’s official sign-in.

  1. Click the hexagon in the menu bar → Add a Bee → Outlook.
  2. Click Sign in with Microsoft…. Microsoft’s sign-in opens in your browser.
  3. Choose the account for this bee and sign in. When Microsoft asks whether Waggle may use your account, read the list and accept.
  4. Go back to Waggle. Opened the wrong browser or profile? Click Copy sign-in link in the bee and paste it into the right one.

What success looks like: the bee shows your inbox as conversations, with your profile picture.

A work or school account? It may need your IT administrator to approve Waggle first. If Microsoft says it needs admin approval, ask your IT team, and wait for them.

Address lookup. When you write a new email, To and Cc suggest people from that Microsoft account. If your organisation hasn’t approved that part, Microsoft shows “Need admin approval”. Click Back to app (or “Return to the application without granting consent”), then sign in again: the bee works without the lookup, and suggests people from your email in that bee. Once IT approves it, right-click the bee → Sign Out and sign in again.

Teams

Work or school accounts only. Microsoft doesn’t offer chats to apps for personal accounts.

  1. Click the hexagon in the menu bar → Add a Bee → Teams.
  2. Click Sign in with Microsoft… and choose your work or school account in the browser.
  3. Go back to Waggle.

What success looks like: the bee shows your one-to-one, group and meeting chats. New messages arrive within about 15 seconds.

If your organisation only allows approved apps, the sign-in says an administrator needs to approve Waggle first. Ask your IT team. The bee shows chats only, not channels.

AI replies in work bees

Slack, Teams and Outlook bees start with AI replies off, because many employers don’t allow work messages in outside AI services. Check your company’s policy before turning them on (right-click the bee → AI Replies). See guide 6.

If something’s not right

Next: iMessage, and sharing it with another Mac