How to use Slack: your quick start guide

Welcome to Slack! We’re happy to have you. Slack is the place where people, productivity tools and communication come together so that teams can get their best work done. To get started, download the desktop app and check out the guide below for a quick tour.

Heads up: Some of the features mentioned here require a paid subscription. If you’d like, read about feature limitations on the free version of Slack or consider upgrading your workspace.

Tip: To access our Help Centre and educational resources, click on the   question mark icon in the top-right corner of the desktop app, or the bottom-left corner in a browser.

Sidebar

From the sidebar, you can access the channels that 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 that you’re part of by joining and leaving channels, and keep them organised with custom sections.

  DMs is a list of all of 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 colleague to have a quick audio or video chat.

  Activity is a single view of everything that might need your attention. See messages that you’ve been mentioned in, threads that you’re part of and reactions to messages that you’ve sent.

  Later is where you’ll find messages and files that you’ve saved for later and reminders that you’ve set. Prioritise tasks and enjoy the satisfaction of marking items as complete.

Tip: Tailor what you see in your sidebar by adjusting your preferences.

Channels

Channels are fundamental to working in Slack – they bring the right people, information and tools together in one place, and make it possible to organise work around a common purpose.

5. Channel header

6. Messages & bookmarks

7. Emoji reactions

Click on 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 on   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 on 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 on 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 that 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 on the   search bar to search Slack for the messages, files, channels or people that you need to get work done.

Use the   plus button to quickly create messages, channels, huddles, canvases, lists and workflows.

Click on your profile picture to set your status, pause your notifications, manage your preferences and more.

Productivity tools

Click on   More to find productivity tools built directly into Slack – automate processes with workflows, create and share content with canvases, and track and organise tasks with lists.

15. Automations

16. Canvases

17. Lists

Click on   Automations to create and find workflows and apps that automate routine tasks and connect with other software that 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 that you’re working on, like a project brief or meeting agenda. 

Click on   Lists to organise and keep track of work happening in Slack. Choose a template to get started quickly or create your own from scratch. 

Ready to learn even more? Check out our Slack tutorials.