Marking Incidents as Duplicate via Slack

Mark incidents as duplicates from Slack incident channels using the /rootly dup command to consolidate response efforts and avoid scattered chats.

You can mark an incident as a duplicate directly from Slack using a simple slash command. This helps consolidate related incidents quickly and keep responders aligned in a single source of truth.

This operation links the current incident to a canonical incident via duplicate_incident_id.
This is separate from sub-incidents, which use parent_incident_id.

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Mark a Duplicate in Slack

In any incident Slack channel, type:

/rootly dup

or

/rootly duplicate

A modal opens allowing you to select the original incident and configure cancellation options.

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Modal Fields

The Slack modal includes:

Assign to Incident · string · required

Search for the canonical incident.

Auto Cancel Current Incident · boolean · default: "true"

Optional toggle (on by default).

Summary (reason for cancellation) · string

Optional free text, added to the timeline.

Slack enforces the same permissions as the web interface.
You must be able to update the incident to mark it as a duplicate.

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What Happens After Submission

When you confirm the duplicate:

• The current incident is linked to the selected original incident
• A non-editable timeline entry is created
• Slack posts a confirmation message in the duplicate’s channel (if applicable)
• If Auto Cancel is enabled:
  • The duplicate is cancelled
  • Alerts attached to the duplicate are resolved automatically
  • Slack posts a “Duplicate incident detected” message

Rootly also updates Slack summaries and workflows that rely on incident lifecycle changes.

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Best Practices

• Run the command from the incident channel
  Slack automatically associates the action with the incident the channel is tied to.

• Use the canonical incident with the most context
  Choose the incident that contains the most accurate investigation details or customer-facing messaging.

• Provide a clear cancellation summary
  This helps responders understand why context moved and assists retrospectives.

• Auto-cancel when appropriate
  This prevents duplicate incidents from remaining open and triggering unnecessary automations.

• Avoid marking scheduled maintenance as duplicates
  Slack prevents this automatically, since maintenance incidents follow different lifecycle rules.

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Troubleshooting

“This command cannot be used here”

You must run /rootly dup inside a Rootly incident Slack channel.
The command will not work in normal or private Slack channels.

The modal does not open

Possible reasons:

• You do not have update permissions on the incident
• The incident is a scheduled maintenance incident (duplicates are disallowed)
• The incident is already marked as a duplicate

The original incident doesn’t appear in the dropdown

Slack only shows incidents you have permission to view.
Private or restricted incidents may not appear unless you have the required access.

The incident did not auto-cancel

Common causes:

• Auto-cancel was toggled off
• The incident was already cancelled
• Slack permissions prevented cancellation
• Workflow or feature flags restricting cancellation were active

Slack did not post a confirmation message

This can occur when:

• Slack is not integrated or connected for your team
• The duplicate incident has no Slack channel
• Notifications are suppressed by workspace settings