# Collaborating with Cleric Cleric works alongside your team in Slack and through the web interface. This guide explains the mechanics of how to interact with Cleric across different platforms. > **Looking for investigation examples?** See the [Quick Start Guide](/meet-cleric/quick-start.md) or [Common Use Cases](/investigation/common-use-cases.md) for example prompts and workflows. ## Starting Investigations ### From Alerts (Automatic) Configure Cleric to automatically investigate specific alerts when they fire. See [Configuring Agents and Triggers](/setup/agents-and-triggers.md) to set up triggers for your alert channels. When a new alert looks like the same problem as a recent issue in the same channel, Cleric attaches it to that issue instead of starting a new one. See [Alert Grouping](/investigation/how-investigations-work.md#alert-grouping). ### On-Demand (Slack) Start an investigation anytime by mentioning `@Cleric` in any channel where Cleric is present: 1. Type `@Cleric` followed by your question or issue description 2. Cleric responds with a 👀 emoji to acknowledge 3. Investigation results appear in a thread 4. Continue the conversation in the thread **Where to ask:** * Incident channels - during active issues * Team channels - for general questions * Alert channels - to supplement automatic investigations ### On-Demand (Web) From the Cleric web interface: 1. Navigate to `.app.cleric.ai` 2. Click **New issue** in the sidebar 3. Describe the issue or select an example prompt 4. Click send to start the investigation ### Deep Investigations with `!investigate` By default, on-demand investigations (from Slack or web) use a conversational mode that asks clarifying questions as it goes. If you want Cleric to run a full deep investigation instead, include `!investigate` in your message: ``` @Cleric !investigate checkout latency is spiking on the payments service ``` This triggers the same thorough investigation that alert-triggered issues receive, with extended analysis and evidence gathering. Works in both Slack and the web UI, including follow-up messages in an existing thread. The `/new` page shows example prompts for common scenarios like investigating errors, building incident timelines, or checking service health. Click any prompt to auto-fill the input and edit as needed. You can view investigation progress, reasoning, and tool execution in the web interface. ## Continuing Investigations ### In Slack Threads Cleric maintains context throughout a thread, so you can continue the conversation naturally. When Cleric's most recent message is nearby in the thread, you can reply conversationally and Cleric will respond automatically. To always get a response, mention `@Cleric` in your reply. **What you can do in threads:** * Ask follow-up questions without repeating context * Request additional analysis or evidence * Ask Cleric to check earlier time windows * Verify that fixes resolved issues * Explore alternative hypotheses * Request deeper investigation into specific findings ### Contextual Responses Contextual responses allow Cleric to respond to thread replies without an explicit `@Cleric` mention. When you reply in a thread where Cleric recently sent a message, Cleric reads the conversation context and determines whether your reply expects a response. **When Cleric responds without a mention:** * Your reply is in a thread (not a top-level channel message) * Cleric sent a message recently in the thread (within the last few messages) * No other users have joined the conversation since Cleric's last message * Your message is not directed at another person (no `@user` mentions to non-Cleric users) * Contextual responses are not muted for the thread **When Cleric does not respond:** * Your message is a top-level channel message (not a thread reply) * Cleric's last message is too far back in the thread * Another user replied after Cleric, shifting the conversation away * Your message mentions another user * Your reply is an acknowledgment, thanks, or casual remark that does not need a response {% hint style="info" %} When in doubt, Cleric errs on the side of responding. If Cleric responds when you did not need it to, you can mute contextual responses for that thread. {% endhint %} ### Thread Commands Use these commands in any Slack thread where Cleric is active. Mention `@Cleric` followed by the command: | Command | What it does | | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `@Cleric mute` | Turns off contextual responses for this thread. Cleric will only respond when directly mentioned. | | `@Cleric unmute` | Turns contextual responses back on for this thread. | | `@Cleric stop` | Interrupts the active investigation in this thread. | Cleric confirms each command with a checkmark emoji. If the command cannot be executed (for example, `stop` when no investigation is running), Cleric reacts with a failure emoji instead. {% hint style="info" %} Muting and unmuting apply per thread. Muting one thread does not affect other threads. {% endhint %} ### Scheduled Follow-ups You can ask Cleric to check back on an issue after a delay. This is useful when you've deployed a fix and want to verify it worked, or when you're waiting for a change to propagate. In any Slack thread or web chat, tell Cleric when to follow up: {% code overflow="wrap" %} ``` @Cleric check the error logs again in 30 minutes and see if the errors have stopped ``` {% endcode %} {% code overflow="wrap" %} ``` @Cleric follow up in an hour and let me know if the pod restarts again ``` {% endcode %} Cleric will wait the specified time, then run the requested check and report back in the same thread. You can continue using the thread normally in the meantime. Cleric is able to change or cancel a scheduled follow-up when requested. ### Via Web Interface From the Issue Details page (`.app.cleric.ai/issues/{id}`): 1. View full investigation history and reasoning 2. See all tool executions and evidence gathered 3. Continue the conversation in the chat interface 4. Share the investigation URL with team members The web interface provides more detailed visibility into Cleric's reasoning process and tool usage compared to Slack. ### Responding to Cleric's Questions For user-initiated investigations (started via `@Cleric` or the web app), Cleric may ask clarifying questions when it needs additional context to proceed, such as which environment to check or which service to prioritize. When this happens: 1. Reply in the same Slack thread or web chat 2. Cleric incorporates your answer and continues investigating For alert-triggered investigations, Cleric does not ask questions. It completes the investigation with available data and reports any gaps in its findings. ## Sharing Files with Cleric You can attach files directly to your Slack messages when working with Cleric. This is useful for sharing: * Log files or error outputs * Configuration files * Screenshots of dashboards or errors * Code snippets or stack traces Simply attach the file to your Slack message when mentioning Cleric. You can attach multiple files in a single message. Cleric will process all file contents alongside your message. {% hint style="info" %} File attachments are currently only supported in Slack. Adding and viewing attachments in the web interface is not yet available. {% endhint %} --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.cleric.ai/investigation/collaborating-with-cleric.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.