Welcome to Swivel! This guide walks you through everything you need to go from zero to your first spin in under 2 minutes. By the end, your team will be celebrating wins with a spinning prize wheel inside Slack.

Note

You need to be a Slack workspace admin (or have permission to install apps) to add Swivel to your workspace. Once installed, any member can use Swivel from their Slack account.

Step 1: Install Swivel in Slack

Click the Add to Slack button below to begin the OAuth flow. Swivel will request the following permissions:

  • channels:read — to let you choose which channels to post spins in
  • chat:write — to post spin results and celebration messages
  • users:read — to look up team member names for nominations and spin announcements
  • commands — to register the /spin slash command
Add Swivel to Slack

After clicking through the Slack auth screen, you'll be redirected to the Swivel dashboard at app.playswivel.com. Your workspace is now connected.

Step 2: Create your first spinner

Once installed, open the Swivel app in Slack (Apps → Swivel → Home tab), then click New Spinner. Give it a name — something like "Sales Team Wheel" or "Wins Wheel." You can have up to 2 active spinners on the Free plan, and unlimited on Premium. The Free plan also includes 5 spins per month.

1

Name your spinner

Choose a descriptive name. This shows up in the Slack message when a spin fires, so pick something that makes sense to your team ("Q2 Sales Spinner", "Engineering Wins", etc.).

2

Choose a default channel

Select the Slack channel where spin results should be posted by default. You can always override this per-spin later. Most teams use a #wins, #kudos, or #general channel.

Tip

Create a dedicated #wins channel for spins. This gives recognition its own space and builds a rolling history of celebrations your team can scroll through.

Step 3: Add prizes to your wheel

Now the fun part. You first create prizes from the Prizes screen, then assign them to wheel slices in your spinner. When adding a prize, choose from five prize types:

  • Custom Prize — define the name and winner instructions; you fulfill it manually
  • Swivel Points — built-in points winners accumulate (Free: earn only; Premium: earn & redeem)
  • Automated Gift Cards (Tango) — link sent to winner's email automatically (Premium)
  • HeyTaco Tacos — awarded via HeyTaco API automatically (Premium)
  • Bonusly Points — awarded via Bonusly API automatically (Premium)

For each slice on your spinner you set:

  • Prize — select from your prize library (or "No Prize" for a losing slice)
  • Win probability — the percentage chance of landing on this slice (all slices must sum to exactly 100%)
  • Emoji — displayed on the wheel face for this slice

Spinners support 6, 8, or 12 slices. Include "No Prize" slices to control how often people win.

Prize ideas

Popular prizes include: $25 gift card (Amazon, Starbucks, Visa), Extra PTO day, Lunch with the CEO, Team lunch, Swag pack, $50 Amazon, Half day off, Work from anywhere day, and donations to a charity of the winner's choice.

There's no right number of prizes — most teams start with 4–8. You can add, edit, or remove prizes at any time, even after the spinner is live.

Step 4: Trigger your first spin

You're ready to spin! There are five ways to trigger a spin:

Option A: Slash command

Type /swivel in any Slack channel. A modal opens where you select who to spin for, which spinner to use, which channel to post in, and a personal note (minimum 10 characters — the intentionality is the point).

Option B: Right-click a message

Right-click any message in Slack → Use Swivel. The modal pre-fills with the message author as the nominee and the current channel. Fastest way to recognize someone in the moment.

Option C: Swivel home tab

Open the Swivel app in Slack and click the ⚡ Trigger a Spin for a Teammate button on the home screen. Same modal, one tap.

Option D: Zapier (Premium)

Connect Swivel to 5,000+ apps. Auto-trigger spins on birthdays, work anniversaries, closed deals, resolved tickets, and more — zero manual effort required.

Option E: In-thread

Post a spin directly inside an existing Slack thread to keep the recognition tied to the conversation where it was earned.

Important

Make sure Swivel has been added to the channel you want to spin in. If the bot isn't in the channel, the spin won't post there. Invite it with /invite @Swivel.

Step 5: Watch the celebration

When you trigger a spin, Swivel posts an announcement in the Slack channel with a 🎡 Spin Now! button. The nominated teammate clicks it to set the animated wheel in motion — the whole team watches live. The wheel spins, slows down, and lands on a slice. If it's a winning slice, a 🎉 WINNER, WINNER! banner appears and a 🎁 Claim Your Prize button lets the winner claim their reward. Here's what the channel sees after the prize is claimed:

S
Swivel App

🎉 @kathy just landed on 🎁 $25 Gift Card!
Congrats! The whole team is cheering! 🎊

🎉 14 🔥 9 💜 7

The win is automatically logged in your activity history in the dashboard. You can mark prizes as fulfilled, track outstanding wins, and see a full record of every spin.

What's next

You're all set! Here are some things to explore next:

  • Set up a HeyTaco or Bonusly integration — automatically award prize points when someone wins (Premium). See Connecting to HeyTaco! or Connecting to Bonusly
  • Configure Zapier — auto-trigger spins when deals close in Salesforce, anniversaries fire from your HRIS, or any other event (Premium). See Setting up Zapier
  • Set up peer nominations — configure spinner permissions so teammates can trigger spins for each other. See Setting up nominations
  • Upgrade to Premium — unlock unlimited spins, unlimited spinners, Zapier, automated gift cards, HeyTaco, Bonusly, and 24-hour support. See Pricing

Questions? Email us at hello@playswivel.com — we're happy to help.