> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.paradime.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# customize-agent

When you mention **@Paradime** in a Slack channel or send it a direct message, DinoAI answers using a programmable agent. Out of the box this is a generic assistant — but you can fully customize its personality, goal, and available tools by defining an agent named `dinoai-slack-bot` in your repo. You can also give **any** agent a Slack presence, so runs triggered from the API or a schedule post their progress and results into a channel of your choice.

### How Slack Triggering Works

There are two ways a message in Slack starts an agent run:

| Trigger             | How                                                                                                                                                                  |
| ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Channel mention** | Mention `@Paradime` in any channel the bot has been invited to. Replying with a mention inside an existing agent thread resumes that same session with full context. |
| **Direct message**  | Send the bot a plain DM — no mention needed.                                                                                                                         |

When a run starts from Slack, DinoAI looks for `.dinoai/agents/dinoai-slack-bot.yml` in your repository:

* **File exists** → the Slack bot uses your custom role, goal, backstory, and tool restrictions.
* **File missing** → the bot falls back to the default general-purpose assistant with all tools available.

### Customizing the Default Slack Bot

Create `.dinoai/agents/dinoai-slack-bot.yml` — the name is the convention that binds it to Slack triggers:

```yaml theme={"system"}
name: dinoai-slack-bot   # this exact name makes it the Slack default
version: 1

role: >
  Analytics support bot for the data team. You answer questions about our
  dbt™ project, data models, and pipeline runs directly in Slack.

goal: >
  Give concise, accurate answers about models, lineage, and run status.
  Always post your final answer back to the Slack thread.

backstory: >
  You are the first line of support for analytics questions. You keep
  answers short and Slack-friendly, link to relevant files, and escalate
  anything requiring code changes to a human.

tools:
  mode: allowlist
  list:
    - read_file
    - search_files_and_directories
    - ripgrep_search
    - run_sql_query
```

### What Appears in the Thread

| Content          | Behavior                                                                          |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Setup checklist  | Animated during spin-up, removed once the agent starts working.                   |
| Tool activity    | A single status line updated in place — never a wall of messages.                 |
| Agent messages   | Posted via `post_slack_message`, rendered as Slack markdown.                      |
| Mermaid diagrams | Code blocks tagged `mermaid` are rendered to an image and uploaded to the thread. |
| GitHub PR links  | Extracted from messages and posted as a **View PR** action button.                |
| Errors           | Startup or configuration problems post as a warning block with guidance.          |

### Prerequisites

* The Paradime Slack integration must be configured for your workspace.
* The Paradime bot must be invited to any channel it posts to: `/invite @Paradime`.
* A data warehouse connection must be configured for the workspace.

#### Related

* [YAML Configuration — Full agent schema reference](/products/dino-ai/programmable-agents/yaml-configuration)
* [Tools Reference — All tool names for `tools.list`](/products/dino-ai/programmable-agents/tools-reference)


## Related topics

- [Using .dinorules to Tailor Your AI Experience](/guides/paradime-101/getting-started-with-the-paradime-ide/dinoai-accelerating-your-analytics-engineering-workflow/dinoai-agent/using-.dinorules-to-tailor-your-ai-experience/index.md)
- [Test Code Changes On Pull Requests](/products/bolt/creating-schedules/templates/ci-cd-templates/test-code-changes-on-pull-requests.md)
- [Sending Alerts](/integrations/elementary-data/sending-alerts/index.md)
- [Sequence Diagrams](/integrations/mermaid-js/sequence-diagrams.md)
- [XY Chart](/integrations/mermaid-js/xy-chart.md)