Channels

Channels are the foundation of organization in Hazel Chat. They provide structured spaces for conversations with flexible privacy and access controls.

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Channel Types

Hazel Chat supports five distinct channel types, each designed for specific use cases:

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Creating Channels

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Public and Private Channels

Create a new channel:

1. Click the + button next to “Channels” in the sidebar (or press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+N)
2. Enter a channel name (e.g., “engineering” or “marketing”)
3. Select channel type: Public or Private
4. Optionally add an icon emoji
5. Optionally assign to a channel section
6. Choose whether to add all organization members automatically
7. Click Create Channel

The current user is automatically added as a channel member.

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Direct Messages

Start a direct message conversation:

1. Click New Message in the sidebar (or press Cmd/Ctrl+K then select a user)
2. Select a user from the organization
3. The system checks if a DM already exists:
   • If yes, navigate to the existing conversation
   • If no, create a new single DM channel

Direct messages are automatically named with the participants’ names and use the single channel type.

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Group Direct Messages

Create a group conversation:

1. Click New Message and select multiple users
2. Optionally provide a group name
3. A direct type channel is created with all participants

Group DMs function like private channels but are specifically for direct conversations between specific users.

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Thread Channels

Thread channels are created automatically when you start a thread on a message. See Messaging - Message Threads for details.

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Channel Management

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Channel Settings

Access channel settings by clicking the channel name in the header: General Settings:

• Edit channel name
• Change channel icon
• Update channel description
• Delete the channel (admins only)

Member Management:

• View all channel members
• Add new members to private channels
• Remove members from channels
• Manage member permissions

Integrations:

• Create webhooks for incoming messages
• Configure bot access
• Set up external integrations (GitHub, RSS)

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Channel Sections

Organize channels into sections for better navigation:

1. Create a section in the sidebar (e.g., “Projects”, “Teams”)
2. Assign channels to sections when creating them
3. Drag and drop channels between sections
4. Collapse/expand sections to manage sidebar space

Sections help organize large workspaces with many channels.

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Channel Membership

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Joining Channels

Public Channels:

• Browse discoverable channels in the sidebar
• Click Join to become a member
• Automatically added to your channel list

Private Channels:

• Must be invited by an existing member
• Accept invitation to join
• Cannot see private channels you’re not a member of

Auto-Join:

• When creating a channel, optionally add all organization members
• New organization members don’t auto-join existing channels

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Leaving Channels

1. Open channel settings
2. Click Leave Channel
3. Confirm your choice

Leaving a channel removes you from the member list. You won’t receive notifications or see new messages.

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Channel Features

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Favorites

Mark important channels as favorites:

1. Right-click a channel in the sidebar
2. Select Add to Favorites
3. Favorited channels appear in a dedicated section at the top

Favorites provide quick access to your most-used channels.

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Muting Channels

Reduce noise from busy channels:

1. Right-click a channel or open settings
2. Toggle Mute Channel
3. You’ll still see new messages but won’t receive notifications

Unread counts still increment for muted channels.

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Hiding Channels

Temporarily hide channels from your sidebar:

1. Right-click a channel
2. Select Hide Channel
3. The channel disappears from your list but you remain a member
4. Unhide via channel settings or search

Hidden channels are useful for seasonal projects or archived discussions.

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Pinned Messages

Pin important messages in any channel:

1. Hover over a message and click Pin
2. Pinned messages appear in the channel sidebar
3. Quick access to important information

See Messaging for more about pinned messages.

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Channel Notifications

Each channel member has an individual notification counter:

• Increments with each new message
• Decrements when messages are viewed
• Resets to zero when you scroll to the latest message
• Appears as a badge on the channel in the sidebar

Notifications respect channel mute settings. See Notifications for more details.

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Discoverable Channels

Public channels appear in the Browse Channels section:

• Shows all public channels in the organization
• Displays member count and description
• One-click join functionality
• Search to find specific channels

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Parent and Child Channels

Channels can have a parent-child relationship:

• Set parentChannelId when creating a channel
• Child channels appear nested under parents
• Thread channels automatically set their parent
• Useful for organizing related topics

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Technical Details

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Channel Data Model

Each channel includes:

• id - Unique channel identifier
• name - Channel display name
• icon - Optional emoji icon
• type - Channel type (public/private/thread/direct/single)
• organizationId - Parent organization
• parentChannelId - Optional parent channel
• sectionId - Optional section assignment
• createdAt - Creation timestamp
• updatedAt - Last update timestamp
• deletedAt - Soft delete timestamp

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Channel Member Data

Channel membership tracks:

• id - Membership record ID
• channelId - Associated channel
• userId - Member user ID
• isHidden - Hidden from sidebar
• isMuted - Notifications suppressed
• isFavorite - Favorited status
• lastSeenMessageId - Last viewed message
• notificationCount - Unread message count
• joinedAt - Membership timestamp

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Permissions

Channel operations require appropriate permissions:

• Create channels - Organization member
• Update channels - Channel member or admin
• Delete channels - Organization admin/owner
• Add members - Channel members (for private channels)
• Remove members - Admin or the member themselves

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AI Thread Naming

Thread channels can generate intelligent names:

• Uses the ThreadNamingWorkflow via Effect Cluster
• Analyzes original message and thread context
• Generates descriptive 3-6 word names
• Handles AI provider errors gracefully
• Falls back to generic names if AI unavailable