Welcome to Slack! We’re happy to have you. Slack is the place where people, productivity tools, and communication come together so teams can get their best work done. To get started, download the desktop app and check out the guide below for a quick tour.
Tip: To access our Help Center and educational resources, click the question mark icon in the top-right corner of the desktop app, or the bottom left in a browser.
Sidebar
From the sidebar, you can access the channels you've joined, open your direct messages, view activity that might need your attention, and see a list of your saved items and reminders.
1. Home
2. DMs
3. Activity
4. Later
Home is where you'll access your conversations, including channels. Choose the conversations you're a part of by joining and leaving channels, and keep them organized with custom sections. DMs is a list of all your direct messages (DMs) to individuals or small groups of people that you can search and filter. Use DMs for one-off conversations that don’t require an entire channel of people to weigh in, or to start a huddle with a coworker to have a quick audio or video chat. Activity is a single view of everything that might need your attention. See messages you’ve been mentioned in, threads you’re part of, and reactions to messages you’ve sent. Later is where you’ll find messages and files you’ve saved for later and reminders you’ve set. Prioritize tasks and enjoy the satisfaction of marking items as complete.
Channels are fundamental to working in Slack — they bring the right people, information, and tools together in one place, and make it possible to organize work around a common purpose.
5. Channel header
6. Messages & bookmarks
7. Emoji reactions
Click the channel name to see details about the channel, like the topic and description. Click on the tabs in the conversation header to read messages, browse files shared in the channel, or open the channel canvas. You can also start a huddle to meet with your team on a voice or video call.Channels provide a dedicated space to send messages and share resources. With everything related to a particular topic, project, or team in a channel, you can scroll or search to find what you need and bookmark important links to keep them handy. Emoji reactions are a quick way to respond to any message in Slack. They're both fun and helpful for getting work done — a simple reaction can often replace the need for a follow-up message.
Tip: You can create channels from scratch, or set them up with a template. From Slack on desktop, click More in your sidebar and select Templates to browse available templates.
Message field
You have a variety of options available from the message field in Slack to help you communicate and work with your team.
8. Files
9. Formatting
10. Mentions
11. More actions
Click the plus icon to add a recent file or upload a file from your computer to share important information in conversations with your team. To quickly upload a file, double-click the plus icon.Format your messages to add a little clarity or pizzazz — bold the most important items, break out thoughts with bullet points, and more.Mention specific people in a conversation to get their attention, whether you need to ask for feedback or follow up on action items. You can also create user groups to notify groups of people at once rather than mentioning each person individually. From the More actions menu, you can edit or delete a message you’ve already sent.
Search, create, and profile
Use the search bar to find something in Slack, the plus button to create something new, and click your profile picture to manage your profile and preferences.
12. Search bar
13. Create
14. Your profile
Click the search bar to search Slack for the messages, files, channels, or people you need to get work done.Use the plus button to quickly create messages, channels, huddles, canvases, lists, and workflows.Click your profile picture to set your status, pause your notifications, manage your preferences, and more.
Productivity tools
Click More to find productivity tools built right into Slack — automate processes with workflows, create and share content with canvases, and track and organize tasks with lists.
15. Automations
16. Canvases
17. Lists
Click Automations to create and find workflows and apps that automate routine tasks and connect with other software you use. Try using a workflow template to collect information from your team, or connect your calendar to view and manage your schedule right from Slack. Select Canvases to find and create a canvas for anything you’re working on, like a project brief or meeting agenda. Click Lists to organize and keep track of work happening in Slack. Choose a template to get started quickly, or create your own from scratch.
