Channels and threads

Channels are where your team talks in the open: one per team, topic or project. Every message can start a thread, so side conversations don’t bury the main one. This page covers finding and creating channels, managing them, and everything you can do with a message.

Find and join channels#

Your channels are listed under Channels. A public channel shows a # before its name, and a private one a lock. A channel with unread messages is bold, with the number of unread messages beside it.

• Browse channels, at the end of the list, shows the public channels you aren’t in yet. Its Active tab lists them with their descriptions; select Join to join one. Its Archived tab lists archived public channels, which you can read but not join.
• A channel shown as Everyone is for the whole org: everyone is in it, and new members join it automatically. Nobody can leave it.
• Private channels never show in Browse channels. Someone in the channel has to add you.

Sort and pin your channels#

• The Sort button at the top of the list switches between A–Z (the default for channels) and Recent activity. Your choice applies in every org you’re in.
• Pin to sidebar keeps up to 10 channels at the top, in a Pinned group. On desktop, right-click a channel in the list; on a phone, press and hold it. Drag a pinned row’s handle to reorder pins on desktop, or use Move up and Move down. On a phone, Reorder pins opens a page where you drag them.
• Archived channels you’re in collect in a collapsed Archived group at the end of the list.

Create a channel#

1. Select + next to Channels, the Create a channel button.
2. Give it a Name (up to 100 characters) and, if you like, a Description (optional).
3. Turn on Private if only the people you add should find and read it.
4. Select Create.

You become the channel’s first manager. Creating a channel needs a connection.

The channel details#

Select the channel’s name at the top of the chat, or the members button beside it (it shows a few faces and the count), to open Channel details. On a wide window it opens beside the chat; on a phone it opens as its own page.

About#

The channel’s name, whether it’s a Public channel or Private channel, its description, and who created it and when. Quick actions let you change Notifications, Pin to sidebar, Search in the channel and Copy link. The newest pinned messages show here too.

Members#

Everyone in the channel, with their presence and labels such as Manager, Guest and Admin. Managers come first, then people who are online.

• Add people adds org members, up to 100 at a time. If you pick a guest, you’re warned that they’ll see the channel’s messages and pages. Any member who isn’t a guest can add people.
• Each member’s menu has Message to start a direct message with them. Channel managers, org owners and admins also see Make manager, Remove as manager and Remove from channel.
• Leave channel is at the bottom. If you’re the only manager, you’re asked to name another one first (Make manager and leave). If you’re the last member of a private channel, you’re offered to archive it instead, so it’s never left with nobody in it.

Settings#

What you see here depends on your role:

An archived channel is read-only: nobody can post, and its pages and project can’t change. Members keep its history and can still search it.

Changes like joins, adds, renames and archiving show in the chat as a short centred line, such as “Kelly added Ana, Ben and 3 others”. Select the line to open the details. These lines are never unread and never notify anyone.

Notifications and muting#

Each channel and direct message has its own notification level. Pick it from the bell button at the top of the chat, or Notifications in the details:

• All messages: notify me about every new message. This is where every conversation starts.
• Mentions and replies: only when someone mentions me or replies in my threads.
• Nothing: never notify me, not even for mentions. Calls still ring.

Mute in a channel’s row menu sets Nothing, and Unmute sets All messages again. A muted channel is dimmed, shows a bell with a line through it, moves to the bottom of the list (unless it’s pinned), and isn’t counted in the Channels badge. An @ number still shows when someone mentions you there.

Your account-wide notification settings, such as Do not disturb, are in your settings.

Write and send messages#

Type in the message box at the bottom of the chat.

• On desktop and the web, Enter sends and Shift+Enter starts a new line.
• On phones, the keyboard’s Enter key starts a new line, and the send button sends.
• Typing indicators show by the message box while someone is writing, such as “Ana is typing…”.
• The + button holds Photos and videos, Camera (on phones and tablets), Attach a file, Code block and GIF. See Files for attachments.
• Drafts are kept. Leave a conversation halfway through a message and it’s still there when you come back. A conversation with a draft shows Draft in the list, and the draft follows you to your other devices. A draft in a thread stays on the device you wrote it on.

Mentions#

Type @ and pick a person, an app or an agent from the list. The mention shows as a tinted badge in the message box, and Backspace or the arrow keys treat it as one piece. The person you mention is notified, and your message shows @ in their list.

Formatting#

Messages use Markdown, much like Discord:

Wrap text in two vertical bars on each side, such as ||spoiler||, to hide it until someone taps or clicks it. The formatting shows as you type, with the markers dimmed.

• On desktop and the web, select text to get a toolbar with Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, Spoiler, Code, Quote and Link. Shortcuts: Ctrl/Cmd+B, Ctrl/Cmd+I, Ctrl/Cmd+U, Ctrl/Cmd+E (code) and Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+X (strikethrough).
• On phones, select text and use the selection menu, or Format… for more.

Spoilers stay hidden in notifications, quotes and search results. A link with its own text shows its real address when you hover over it (or press and hold on a phone), and the first time you open a link to another site the app asks before leaving, with Trust links to that site.

Code blocks#

Choose Code block in the + menu and pick a language, or type three backticks (```) on their own line, optionally followed by the language. Code blocks get syntax highlighting for common languages, a Copy code button and sideways scrolling. Long blocks fold after 15 lines, with Show all to open them.

Emoji, custom emoji and GIFs#

• Emoji: on desktop and the web, the emoji button beside the message box opens the picker, with search. On phones, use your keyboard’s emoji. On every device, type : and two letters to get a list of matching emoji.
• Custom emoji: your org’s own emoji are in the picker’s Custom tab, and in the : list first. Your org adds them in Settings → Emoji (see org settings). A message that’s only emoji shows them large.
• GIFs: choose GIF in the + menu, or on a computer the small GIF button beside the emoji button in a channel or direct message. Search with Search KLIPY, or pick from Trending, Recent and Favorites. Pick one, add a caption if you like, and send. Star a GIF (or use Add to favorites in its message’s menu) to keep it in Favorites.

How GIFs play is your choice: Autoplay GIFs in Settings → Preferences offers Automatic, Always and Tap to play. GIFs need a connection, and org owners and admins can turn them off for the org.

Link previews#

When your message has links, cards for them show above the message box before you send. Select ✕ on a card you don’t want. Up to 5 cards go with a message.

• Ordinary web pages get a card with their title and picture.
• YouTube, Vimeo, Loom and TikTok videos play in their card after a tap. Posts from Reddit, Threads, Instagram, Facebook and X show in their card after Load post.
• Links to work items, pages and messages in buildIt.social show live cards, but only to people allowed to see them.

The sender, org owners and admins can take a card off a sent message with Remove preview in its menu. To stop seeing previews yourself, turn off Show link previews in Settings → Preferences.

Act on a message#

• On desktop and the web, point at a message for a small toolbar: React, Quote in reply, Reply in thread, Forward, and More actions (⋯) for the full menu. Right-clicking a message opens the same menu.
• On phones, press and hold a message for its actions. Swipe a message toward the right (toward the left in right-to-left languages) to quote it.

What’s in the menu depends on the message and your role:

• React: pick one of the quick reactions or More reactions…. Tap a reaction under a message to add yours or take it back. Point at it (or press and hold on a phone) to see who reacted.
• Quote in reply: your next message shows the original above it. Select the quote to jump to the original.
• Reply in thread: opens the message’s thread. See Threads.
• Forward: pick a channel or direct message you’re in, add a note if you like, and select Forward. The copy says “Forwarded from” and who wrote it. Forwarding needs a connection.
• Pin message: keeps the message in the conversation’s Pinned messages, for everyone in it. The pin button at the top of the chat shows how many there are and opens the list, where each pin has Jump to go to the message. A conversation holds up to 100 pins. Guests can’t pin, and in some channels only managers can.
• Edit: change your own message. Press Esc to stop editing. Edited messages show Edited.
• Delete: removes your message; it shows as “message deleted” for everyone. Org owners and admins can delete anyone’s message.
• Copy text and, on phones, Select text to copy part of it. On desktop you can also select text across several messages and copy it.
• Create work item: turns the message into a work item in a project. See Projects.

Threads#

A thread keeps replies to one message together. Under a message with replies, a summary shows who replied, how many replies there are, when the last one came, and how many are new to you. Select it to open the thread: beside the chat on a wide window, or as its own page on a phone.

• Reply in thread from a message’s actions starts a thread.
• Also send to #channel, under the thread’s message box, posts your reply in the channel too, so everyone sees it.
• Thread replies don’t make the channel unread. Instead, a dot shows beside the channel’s time while a thread you follow has new replies.

Following threads#

You follow a thread when you start it, reply in it, or someone mentions or quotes you in it. Followed threads notify you about new replies. Use the Follow or Following button at the top of a thread, or Follow thread and Unfollow thread in the message’s menu. After you unfollow, a mention still notifies you.

The Threads inbox#

Threads, at the top of the Channels list, collects every thread you follow, with the newest activity first. Each one shows its latest replies, and you can Reply right there or open it with Open in channel. Use Mark as read on one thread, or Mark all read for all of them.

Unread messages and marking read#

• A conversation is marked read when you open it and its chat is on screen, and again when you click or type in its message box.
• In the list, a bold name and a number mean unread messages. A number with @ means someone mentioned you.
• Threads have their own Mark as read, in the thread’s summary and in the Threads inbox.

Tips#

• Search in one channel with Search in its details, or search everything from the top bar. See Search.
• Each channel also has its own pages for longer notes. See Pages.
• Start a meeting from the channel’s header. See Calls and meetings.
• Messages you write offline wait and send when you’re back. See Offline.
• Direct messages work like channels, with a few differences. See Direct messages.