Channels overview
Learn how channels bring teammates, the Endstack agent, scheduled tasks, and external conversations together.
Channels are shared conversation spaces where people and the Endstack agent work together. Use them for everyday team discussions, direct messages, scheduled agent work, and conversations that begin in Email, Messaging, or Slack.
The channel dock can hold more than one channel panel at a time. The channel sidebar organizes groups, channels, direct messages, tasks, and external threads so you can move among conversations without leaving your desktop.
Channel types
Every conversation has a channel type that determines its purpose and available controls.
| Type | Purpose |
|---|---|
| channel | A standard public or private workspace conversation |
| dm | A direct message between people, with an immutable privacy and membership model |
| task | Scheduled or automated agent work with its own channel thread |
| external | A conversation that began in Email, Messaging, or Slack |
Direct messages do not expose the privacy, post permission, archive, delete, or member-management controls available to standard channels. Task and external channels add source-specific information to their channel details.
Where to work with channels
| Surface | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Dock → Channels | Open or close the channel strip and arrange multiple channel panels |
| Channel sidebar | Browse groups, channels, direct messages, tasks, and external threads; create a channel or group; or open workspace settings |
| Channel panel | Read and send messages, follow threads, add attachments and mentions, and use reactions |
| Channel details | Review or manage context, privacy, members, notifications, posting access, and agent behavior |
| Spotlight | Search channels, people, and messages |
| Files → Create Channel | Start a channel from a filesystem selection |
Per-channel configuration lives in the channel details pane, not in the Settings app. See Channel settings for the controls available to channel managers and members.
Messages and shared files
The channel composer supports Markdown, file attachments, and mentions such as @people and @endstack. Messages can come from a user, the agent, the system, or an external participant.
Files shared into a channel can be shared automatically with its members. Shared channel files also appear under Shared with me in the desktop Files app, making them available outside the conversation. Learn more in Team Drive & sharing.
Working with the agent
Agent runs stream into the channel alongside other messages. If a run needs approval to use a tool, the approval request appears as a card in the conversation.
In channels that allow proactive responses, Endstack can contribute when the conversation makes a response useful; an explicit @endstack mention is not required every time. Channel managers can instead turn on Disable Proactive Agent Responses, which limits replies to messages that explicitly mention @endstack. See Channel settings for the exact behavior and permissions.
Task channels use this same conversation model for scheduled or on-demand work. External channels bring conversations from Email, Messaging, and Slack into the channel dock.
Next steps
- Configure privacy, posting access, context, members, and agent behavior in Channel settings.
- Schedule or run agent work with Tasks.
- Continue conversations from connected services with External channels.
- Control workspace-wide alerts in Notifications.
- Learn how the agent works in Agent overview.