Chat

Chat is where your team talks in real time: channels for a topic or a team, groups for a few people, and direct messages between two. Messages arrive as they are sent, you can see when someone is typing, and you can react, pin, attach files, search and archive. Each person decides how much each conversation notifies them.

Key concepts#

Channel

A named conversation about a topic or for a team. Channels need a name, can have a description and a visibility, and can be archived.

Group

A conversation between you and one or more chosen people. A name is optional.

Direct message

A private conversation between exactly two people. It is listed as “Direct message”.

Conversation roles

Whoever creates a conversation is its owner; everyone else is a member. Owners and moderators can add people and archive or reopen a channel. Roles are shown next to names under In this conversation.

Pin

A message pinned to the top of a conversation for everyone in it, such as a decision or a link people keep asking for.

Who can use chat#

You only ever see conversations you are a current member of. Belonging to the organization doesn’t let you read, search or listen to a conversation you aren’t in.

Start a conversation#

1. Open the dialog

   In Chat, click New conversation.

2. Choose the type

   Under Type, pick Channel, Group or Direct.

3. Name and describe it

   For a channel or group, enter a Name (required for a channel) and an optional Description. For a channel, also choose a Visibility: Public, Private or Restricted.

4. Choose who’s in it

   Tick people under Participants. A group needs at least one other person. For a direct message, pick exactly one person under Who with (exactly one).

5. Create it

   Click Create. The conversation opens.

Send and manage messages#

Pick a conversation on the left. Type in Write a message… and click Send. New messages from others appear without refreshing. Under each message you can:

• React with 👍 ❤️ 😂 🎯 👀 or ✅. Each reaction shows how many people used it; click your highlighted reaction again to remove it.
• Copy link to get an address that opens the conversation scrolled to that message.
• Pin or Unpin the message.
• Edit your own message: change the text and click Save, or Cancel. Edited messages show (edited).
• Delete your own message. It is replaced by a placeholder so the conversation still reads in order.

Only the sender can edit or delete a message. Messages are shown as plain text. A message that was written as a reply shows a Replying to line with the start of the original.

Attach files#

After sending a message, click Attach a file under it to upload one. Only the sender can add or remove attachments, and only while the conversation isn’t archived. Everyone in the conversation can download them. Attached files also follow the rules on the Files page.

Typing and live updates#

While someone writes, you see Ada Park is typing…, or 3 people are typing…. The indicator clears when they send, empty the box, or stop for a few seconds, so it never sticks if someone closes their laptop mid-sentence.

• Nothing is lost if your connection drops. Messages are stored, so reopening the conversation shows everything you missed.
• Live delivery can occasionally repeat a message for a moment after a reconnect. The list settles on the stored history.
• Opening a conversation marks it as read.

See and add people#

In this conversation lists everyone in the conversation, with their role if they are an owner or moderator. To add someone to a channel or group, choose them under Add someone and click Add. Only the conversation’s owners and moderators can add people. You can’t add people to a direct message; start a group instead.

Choose how much a conversation notifies you#

These settings are yours alone. Nobody else’s view of the conversation changes, and you can still read everything whatever you choose.

Notification level#

Next to the conversation name, Notify me about offers:

Mute for a while#

1. Choose a duration

   From Mute for…, pick for 1 hour, for 8 hours or for 1 day.

2. Carry on

   A Muted until … badge shows when it ends. When it expires, your usual level comes back on its own.

3. End it early

   Click Unmute now.

Pinned messages#

Pinned messages appear in a panel at the top of the conversation, one line each, with who sent them. A pin belongs to the conversation, not to you, so everyone in it sees the same panel. Use Unpin on the message to remove it. There is no private bookmark for a single message; to keep a conversation handy, see Starred and recent.

Search messages#

The search box above the conversations searches every conversation you are a member of. Type words and click Search. Results show newest first; click one to open the conversation at that message. Older matches loads more, and Clear resets the search.

Combine filters with words, for example from:ada in:general has:link roadmap. Anything the search doesn’t recognise as a filter is treated as words to look for.

• Leaving a conversation removes its messages from your results.
• A deleted message can’t be found by what it said.

Archive a channel#

When a channel has done its job, an owner or moderator clicks Archive next to its name. The channel stays in the list with an Archived badge. Its history, pins and attachments stay readable and searchable, but nobody can send, edit or attach anything.

If the work comes back, an owner or moderator clicks Reopen and writing resumes. Archiving never deletes anything. Only channels can be archived: groups and direct messages can’t.

FAQ#

Related pages#

• Notifications
• Notification preferences
• Comments and mentions
• Files