Channels

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What are Channels?

• Voice and video communication
• Shared notes for documentation
• Project sharing capabilities
• Member management and permissions
• Hierarchical organization with sub-channels

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Channel Types

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Public Channels

• Visible in channel listings
• Anyone can join without invitation
• Great for open-source projects or community spaces

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Private Channels

• Only visible to members
• Requires invitation from an admin or member
• Ideal for private team collaboration

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Creating a Channel

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Creating a Root Channel

1. Open the collaboration panel
2. Navigate to the Channels section
3. Click the ”+” or “Create Channel” button
4. Enter the channel name (without the # prefix)
5. Select visibility (public or private)
6. Click “Create”

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Creating Sub-channels

1. Right-click on a parent channel
2. Select “Create Sub-channel”
3. Enter the sub-channel name
4. The sub-channel inherits the parent’s visibility setting

• Project-specific rooms within a team channel
• Feature-specific discussions
• Separating topics within a larger workspace

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Channel Naming

• Use descriptive, clear names
• Avoid special characters (converted to hyphens)
• Use lowercase for consistency
• Keep names concise but meaningful

# project-team
  # frontend
  # backend
  # design-review

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Joining Channels

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Joining from the Panel

1. Open the collaboration panel
2. Browse the Channels section
3. Click on a channel to join the call
4. You’ll enter the voice/video call automatically

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Joining via Link

https://zed.dev/channel/project-team-123

1. Opens Zed (if not already open)
2. Prompts you to join the channel
3. Adds you to the channel members (if joining for the first time)

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Accepting Channel Invitations

1. You’ll receive a notification
2. The channel appears in “Channel Invites” section
3. Click to accept or decline the invitation
4. Accepted channels move to your Channels section

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Managing Channel Members

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Viewing Members

1. Right-click the channel in the collaboration panel
2. Select “View Members”
3. A member list appears showing:
   • Username and avatar
   • Role (Admin, Member, Talker, Guest, Banned)
   • Online/offline status

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Inviting Members

1. Right-click the channel
2. Select “Invite Members”
3. Search for users by username
4. Select the user
5. Choose their role:
   • Admin: Full management permissions
   • Member: Can invite others and edit shared content
   • Talker: Voice access, limited editing
   • Guest: Restricted access
6. Click “Invite”

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Managing Member Roles

1. Open the member list
2. Right-click a member
3. Select “Change Role”
4. Choose the new role

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Removing Members

1. Open the member list
2. Right-click the member to remove
3. Select “Remove from Channel”
4. Confirm the action

• Lose access to private channels
• Can rejoin public channels
• Can be re-invited by admins

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Channel Permissions by Role

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Admin Permissions

• Create/delete channels and sub-channels
• Invite and remove members
• Change member roles
• Edit channel settings (name, visibility)
• Share and edit projects
• Access voice and video
• Edit channel notes

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Member Permissions

• Invite new members
• Share and edit projects
• Access voice and video
• Edit channel notes
• Cannot remove members or change roles

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Talker Permissions

• Access voice communication
• View shared projects (read-only)
• Cannot edit projects or notes

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Guest Permissions

• View only access
• No voice access (until granted)
• Cannot share projects
• Cannot edit channel notes

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Channel Settings

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Renaming Channels

1. Right-click the channel
2. Select “Rename Channel”
3. Enter the new name
4. Press Enter to save

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Changing Visibility

1. Right-click the channel (must be admin)
2. Select “Channel Settings”
3. Toggle “Public Channel”
4. Confirm the change

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Deleting Channels

1. Right-click the channel (must be admin)
2. Select “Delete Channel”
3. Confirm the deletion

• Deletion is permanent
• All sub-channels are also deleted
• Channel notes and history are lost
• Members are notified

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Channel Organization

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Collapsing Channels

• Click the arrow icon next to a channel to collapse/expand
• Collapsed channels hide sub-channels
• Useful for large channel hierarchies

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Reordering Channels

1. Right-click a channel
2. Select “Move Channel Up” or “Move Channel Down”
3. The channel reorders within its parent

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Moving Channels

1. Right-click a channel
2. Select “Start Move Channel”
3. Navigate to the destination parent channel
4. Right-click the destination
5. Select “Move Selected Here”

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Channel Notes

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Accessing Notes

1. Expand a channel in the collaboration panel
2. Click the “notes” item (file icon)
3. The channel buffer opens in your editor

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Editing Notes

• Edit like any text buffer
• Changes sync in real-time to all members
• Changes persist even when offline
• Conflicts are automatically resolved

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Notes Features

• Full Markdown support
• Collaborative editing with multiple cursors
• Version tracking
• Link to specific headings in notes

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Linking to Notes

https://zed.dev/channel/project-team-123/notes#getting-started

• Jump directly to a heading
• Great for sharing meeting notes or documentation
• Automatically generated from heading text

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Channel Participants

• The collaboration panel shows who’s currently in each channel
• Avatars appear next to active channels
• Participant count displays for larger channels

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Participant Indicator

• Green dot: User is actively in the channel call
• No indicator: Channel is empty
• Multiple avatars: Shows first few participants

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Best Practices

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Channel Structure

1. Use hierarchies: Organize with parent/child channels
2. Limit top-level channels: Prevents clutter
3. Clear naming conventions: Make channels easy to find
4. Archive inactive channels: Delete or clearly mark unused channels

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Member Management

1. Start with fewer permissions: Promote members as needed
2. Multiple admins: Distribute management responsibilities
3. Regular cleanup: Remove inactive members periodically
4. Document roles: Use channel notes to clarify permissions

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Channel Usage

1. Channel notes for context: Document channel purpose and guidelines
2. Sub-channels for focus: Separate conversations by topic
3. Public for open source: Make community channels public
4. Private for teams: Keep internal work in private channels

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Advanced Features

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Channel Search

1. Focus the collaboration panel filter (top of panel)
2. Type to search channel names
3. Results update in real-time
4. Press Enter to jump to the first result

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Filtering Active Channels

1. Enable the “Show active only” filter
2. Empty channels hide from view
3. Great for large channel lists

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Channel Links

1. Right-click a channel
2. Select “Copy Channel Link”
3. Share the link with team members
4. Recipients can click to join

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Troubleshooting

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Cannot Create Channel

• Verify you’re signed in
• Check your internet connection
• Ensure you have permissions (some orgs restrict channel creation)

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Channel Not Appearing

• Refresh the collaboration panel
• Check if the channel was deleted
• Verify your membership status

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Cannot Invite Members

• Ensure you have Member or Admin role
• Check that the user exists and is not banned
• Verify you’re connected to the server

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Changes Not Syncing

• Check your connection status
• Wait for automatic reconnection
• Verify other members can see changes (may be a local issue)

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Next Steps

• Screen Sharing Guide - Share your screen in channels
• Collaboration Overview - Learn more about collaboration features