Set up your first on-call rotation in Slack

Step 1: Install OnCallManager

1. Click "Add to Slack and Start Setup"
2. Review the permissions and authorize the app for your workspace
3. Once installed, find OnCallManager in your Slack apps

Step 2: Access the App Home

Open Slack and click on "OnCallManager" in your apps list. The app home is where you'll create and manage all your on-call rotations.

Publishing Your First Rotation

1. Open OnCallManager’s Home tab and click “Publish first schedule”
2. Start with yourself or use “Edit Users” to add teammates
3. Choose the rotation cadence, handoff days, and time
4. Enter the group name your team will use to contact the on-call responder
5. Check the responders, handoff times, and timezone in the preview
6. Click “Publish” and confirm your schedule appears on the Home tab

Already have a schedule? Click “New Schedule” and finish with “Submit.” Notification channels are optional. You can add Google Calendar and AI features after publishing.

Editing or Deleting Rotations

To modify an existing rotation:

1. Find the rotation on the app home page
2. Click the overflow menu (three dots)
3. Select "Edit" to modify settings or "Delete" to remove

Overriding Shifts

When team members need to swap shifts:

1. Open the rotation's overflow menu
2. Select "Override on-call"
3. Choose the shifts you want to override
4. Select the replacement team member
5. Click "Apply" to confirm

Learn more about managing fair rotations in our rotation scheduling guide.

Creating the Shared Calendar

1. Open the rotation’s "Google Calendar" action in Slack and select "Create shared calendar"
2. Sign in with the Google account that will own the shared calendar
3. Grant permission to create and manage app-created calendars. In Google Calendar sharing settings, add people or Google groups with "See all event details" access.

Subscribing to Rotations

1. Open a rotation's overflow menu
2. Select "Google Calendar" and ask the owner to share access with you
3. Click "Subscribe" on the rotation page to add the shared calendar to Google Calendar

How it works

• Someone mentions the rotation handle in Slack with a question
• OnCallManager searches that rotation's linked docs and prior conversations
• The app replies in the same thread so responders can confirm or refine the answer

How to set it up well

1. Create the rotation first so the handle exists in Slack
2. Click Manage Knowledge Base on that rotation
3. Link the runbooks, SOPs, and incident notes responders actually use
4. Keep the docs concise and operational so the AI can retrieve the right steps quickly

Automatic Group Updates

OnCallManager automatically updates the Slack user group associated with your rotation when shifts change. This ensures that @mentioning your on-call group always reaches the current on-call person.

Channel Notifications

If you've set a notification channel for your rotation:

• A message is sent when a new rotation is created
• Shift change notifications are posted when the on-call person changes
• Override notifications announce temporary coverage changes