Channels

A channel is a shared room for one topic, like #general or #production.

Public and private

Guests cannot browse or join public channels. They only see channels they were added to. See Guests.

Admins can see that a private channel exists, who is in it, and manage it, but this does not let them read it in the chat app unless they are a member. Admin actions are recorded in the audit log.

Find and join a public channel

1. In the left sidebar, click Browse channels (or the plus next to Channels, then Browse channels).
2. Find the channel. Use the search box to narrow the list.
3. Click Join.

Create a channel

Members and admins can create channels. Guests cannot.

1. In the left sidebar, click the plus next to Channels (Add channels).
2. Click Create a channel.
3. Type a Name. Use 1 to 80 lowercase letters, numbers, dashes or underscores, such as client-updates. The name must be unique among active channels.
4. Optionally add a Topic (marked optional), a short line about what the channel is for.
5. Under Visibility, choose Public (anyone in the workspace can join) or Private (only people you add can see it).
6. Optionally pick people to add now.
7. Click Create.

Add people

Open the channel, click Members at the top right, and choose Add people. In a private channel, any member can add others. Only an admin can add a guest.

Leave a channel

1. Open the channel.
2. Click Details at the top right.
3. Click Leave channel.

You can rejoin a public channel any time. To rejoin a private channel, someone must add you again.

Mute a channel

Muting quiets the channel for you. You will still see a badge when someone mentions you.

1. Open the channel.
2. Click Details at the top right.
3. Turn on the switch Mute this channel.

To unmute, turn the switch off. Muting also quiets desktop notifications. See Unread messages and mentions.

Changing a channel

The person who owns a channel, or a workspace admin, can change its name and topic, or archive it. An archived channel is read-only and tucked away. Only an admin can delete a channel for good; see Admin: Channels.