diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b491a90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+*.egg-info
+.tox
+.idea
+__pycache__
+.coverage
+.coverage.*
+htmlcov
+*.pyc
+docs/_build
+venv
+dist
+.pytest_cache
+.mypy_cache
+build
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index ee6587b..fd5a7e2 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 CHANGES
 =======
 
+v1.0.1
+------
+
 * remote the pinning of aprsd 1.0.0
 
 v1.0
diff --git a/aprsd_slack_plugin/aprsd_slack_plugin.py b/aprsd_slack_plugin/aprsd_slack_plugin.py
index 44805fa..a4e9015 100644
--- a/aprsd_slack_plugin/aprsd_slack_plugin.py
+++ b/aprsd_slack_plugin/aprsd_slack_plugin.py
@@ -48,15 +48,37 @@ class SlackCommandPlugin(plugin.APRSDPluginBase):
         """Create the slack require client from config."""
 
         # signing_secret = self.config["slack"]["signing_secret"]
-        bot_token = self.config["slack"]["bot_token"]
+        if "slack" not in self.config:
+            LOG.error("APRSD config is missing slack section")
+            return False
+
+        bot_token = self.config["slack"].get("bot_token", None)
+        if not bot_token:
+            LOG.error(
+                "APRSD config is missing slack: bot_token:<token>. "
+                "Please install the slack app and get the "
+                "Bot User OAth Access Token."
+            )
+            return False
+
         self.swc = WebClient(token=bot_token)
 
-        self.slack_channel = self.config["slack"]["channel"]
+        self.slack_channel = self.config["slack"].get("channel", None)
+        if not self.slack_channel:
+            LOG.error(
+                "APRSD config is missing slack: slack_channel: <name> "
+                "Please add a slack channel name to send messages."
+            )
+            return False
+
+        return True
 
     def command(self, fromcall, message, ack):
         LOG.info("SlackCommandPlugin")
 
-        self._setup_slack()
+        is_setup = self._setup_slack()
+        if not is_setup:
+            return
 
         # now call the location plugin to get the location info
         location_plugin = plugin.LocationPlugin(self.config)