How to use Slack channels

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

If you're working from home, you'll probably use Slack more than if you were at work. It is useful for conversing with friends and family, and is usually used for work. Anyone can sign up for the free version of Slack and create a workspace, a virtual space where they can set up different conversations and projects.

Each of those conversations and projects is called a channel. These channels are similar to chat rooms or group chats. There is no limit to the number of channels you can use to make or send private messages, but the free version only allows you to see the last 10,000 messages sent in your workspace.

This is an introduction to the basics of using a channel.

Create a channel

• Hover your cursor over the “Channels” subhead in the left column until you see a + sign. Hover on that, and you’ll see a pop-up label “Add channels.” Click on that button.
• Select “Create a channel.”
• You’ll get a “Create a channel” pop-up. First, type in a name for your channel. Most Slack channels have two-part names divided by a dash: the first part describes the channel’s general function, and the second is more specific. (For example, “proj-dollhouse” might involve building a new dollhouse.) When you start typing into the name field, Slack may offer some suggestions on how to categorize your name — you can use its suggestions or come up with your own name.
• Add a description if you like.
• You have the option to make the channel private, which means others can only see or join it if you invite them. Users designated as owners or admins can make any channel they’re part of (other than the #general channel) private at any time, but once you make it private, you can’t make it public again.

• Click “Create”
• A window will pop up allowing you to add members to your channel. You can add everyone in your workspace, a few select people, or you can skip adding people for now. You can also set up the channel so that anyone who joins your workspace is automatically added to the channel. Make your selections and click the “Done” button in the lower right corner of the window. You can also click the “X” in the top right corner of the window to skip this step.

Join a channel

You can join via the channel browser.

• Click on the + sign next to the Channels label in the left column and then select “Browse channels” from the drop-down menu.
• If you’re using the Slack desktop app, you can also open the channel browser by clicking Ctrl + Shift + L on a Windows computer or Command + Shift + L on a Mac.
• If you’re using Slack on the web, you can click on “Browse Slack” (which should be above the left-hand “Channels” subhead) and then select “Channel Browser.”

• Whatever method you use, the channel browser will appear at the top of the left column. Clicked to see a list of the available channels in the main window; the channels you already belong to will be labeled “Joined.” You can filter the channels by typing in what you’re looking for in the search bar at the top. Click on a channel name to open the channel, then click “Join Channel” at the bottom of the page to join it.
• If you already know the name of the channel you want to join, you can type that channel’s name in the search bar located at the top of Slack’s main screen. As you type, a list of channels will come up. Click on the channel you want to join and then click on the “Join Channel” button at the bottom of the page to join it.
• You can also type “/join [channel name]” (without the quotation marks) in the message box at the bottom of the main screen to join a channel without previewing it first.

Add someone to an existing channel

Anyone can join a public channel in a workspace, but they have to be added by a current member in order to join a private channel. If you are a member of a public or private channel, you can add a new member.

• Open the channel and click on the button that indicates the people who already belong in the channel on the upper right (you’ll see their icons).
• Click “Add people.”

• If you’re adding new members to a private channel, you can choose to either “Add to [channel name],” which gives the new members access to the channel’s history, or “Create a new channel,” which creates a new private channel with the members from that channel in it. Make your selection, then click “Continue.”
• You’ll then be taken to the “Add people” window. (If you’re adding people to a public channel, you’ll be taken straight to the “Add people” pop-up without seeing that previous window.)

• In the “Add people” window, type the name of whomever you want to add into the bar. As you type, names of people in the workspace will appear below the bar. Click on the names you’d like to add and then click “Done.”

• If you created a public channel and you’re adding people to it, the “Add people” pop-up window will also let you toggle on the ability to automatically add anyone who joins your workspace. When you’re finished, click “Done.”

Set a channel topic

The topic of the channel is at the top of the screen. Keeping people up to date on the conversation or the channel's goals can be done with topics.

Adding a channel description lets others know what the channel is for. The topic will appear under the channel name, but the description will appear when you browse the channels.

You can change the channel topic or description at any time.

The topic should be set.

• Open a channel.
• Click the down arrow next to the channel name.
• Create or edit the topic or description in the appropriate boxes and click “Save” when you’re done .
• It’s worth it to look around; you can also do things here such as enable notifications, start a call, or (if you click on the “Settings” tab) archive or delete the channel.

Mute channels

Being a part of several channels on Slack can be overwhelming at times, especially when you are constantly getting notifications about unread messages from every channel you are in. The channel name on the left-hand side won't become bold when someone sends a message if you mute channels that you're less interested in. Here is how to do that.

• Right-click on the name of the channel in the left-hand column.
• Click “Mute channel.”

The article was originally published on April 2nd, 2020 and has been updated to account for changes in the chat interface.