Setup · 5 min read

Vacation responder in Slack and Teams.

Slack has no built-in auto-reply, so set a status (the preset Vacationing works), choose Clear after your return date, and pause notifications. Microsoft Teams does auto-reply: open Settings → General → Out of office (or your profile picture → Set status message → Schedule out of office), turn on automatic replies and set the dates. Teams and Outlook share that setting.

Updated 2026 · Checked against Slack Help Center and Microsoft Support

Quick answer

Slack: profile picture → Update your status → Vacationing (or custom text with your return date) → Clear after: your return date; then profile picture → Pause notifications → Custom. Teams: Settings → General → Out of office → Schedule → turn on automatic replies, write the message, set dates, Save.

Slack vs Teams while you are away
Feature	Slack	Microsoft Teams
Auto-reply to messages	No, status only (or a third-party app)	Yes, out of office message shown to people who message you
Status with an end date	Yes, "Clear after"	Yes, scheduled out of office dates
Silence notifications	Pause notifications (custom length)	Do not disturb, quiet hours on mobile
Syncs with email	No	Yes, same setting as Outlook automatic replies

Slack: setting your vacation status

Step 1: Set custom status

Click your profile photo → 'Update your status.' Choose a vacation emoji (🏝, 🌴, 🌊). Status text: 'Vacation through [date], back [return date].' Set 'Clear after' to your return date.

Step 2: Enable DND

Click your profile photo → 'Pause notifications.' Set custom duration to your trip dates. This silences all notifications during the window.

Step 3: Optional, set Slack to away mode

Profile menu → 'Set yourself as away.' This shows you as inactive in everyone's view, even if Slack is technically open.

Slack: auto-replying to DMs (with apps)

Native Slack doesn't auto-reply to DMs. Two workarounds:

Use a Slack app like Vacation Tracker or Polly that posts to threads.
Set your status text to include the routing URL: 'Vacation, for urgent matters: [URL].'

Microsoft Teams: out-of-office setup

Step 1: Set Out of Office reply

Profile picture → 'Set status message' → 'Schedule out of office,' or Settings → General → Out of office → Schedule. Toggle on automatic replies, type your message, select the date range, and save.

Step 2: Enable Outlook integration

Teams pulls from your Outlook out-of-office settings if connected. Setting OOO in Outlook automatically sets it in Teams.

Step 3: Set quiet hours

Settings → Notifications → 'Quiet hours.' Set during your trip dates to silence after-hours pings.

Sample status text

Slack: '🏝 Vacation through [date]. For urgent: [URL]'
Teams: 'Out of office through [date], returning [date]. Urgent matters: [URL]. I'll respond to non-urgent on return.'

Setting email too? Follow how to set up out of office in Outlook (it also sets Teams) or in Gmail.

Common questions

How do I let people know I am on vacation in Slack?

Set your status to Vacationing or custom text with your return date, set Clear after to that date, and pause notifications. People see the status when they open a DM with you.

Does Slack have an out of office auto reply?

Not natively. Your status shows to anyone who messages you; true auto-replies need a third-party app.

If I set out of office in Teams, does it also set Outlook?

Yes, for work or school accounts. Teams and Outlook use the same automatic replies setting.

Sources.

Slack Help Center, "Set your Slack status and availability" and "Pause notifications"
Microsoft Support, "Schedule an out of office status in Microsoft Teams"

General information, researched from the sources above; not legal, HR or tax advice.

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