Use channel management tools

Slack’s channel management tools allow owners and admins with permission to view a list of channels in their workspace or Enterprise Grid organization and take action on them from a central dashboard.

Note: The Workspace Primary Owner (Business+) and the Org Primary Owner (Enterprise Grid) can set permissions for their workspace or org to allow additional owners and admins to use channel management tools.

What to expect

Owners and admins with permission can view the following information and take the following actions with channel management tools:

Available information

• The workspaces the channel is in*
• The number of members and guests in the channel
• The member who created the channel
• External organizations in the channel

• The date of the most recent channel activity
• The date the channel was created
• The email address for the channel
• The member who created the email address for the channel

Available actions

• Add members
• Edit workspaces*
• Edit posting permissions
• Manage permissions for external organizations
• Edit message retention**

• Rename a channel
• Convert a channel to private or public
• Archive or unarchive a channel
• Delete a channel
• Assign Channel Managers

*Only available on the Enterprise Grid plan. 

**A Workspace Owner or Org Owner will first need to adjust retention settings for their workspace or org to allow admins to edit message retention. On the Enterprise Grid plan, retention settings are only available with channel management tools at the org level.

Note: Messages and files from private channels are not viewable with channel management tools, but they may be visible using other tools.

View and manage channels

Business+ plan

Enterprise Grid plan

Note: On the Business+ plan, you can only take action on private channels if a request to export data from all channels and conversations has been approved for your workspace.

Workspace Owners and Admins can use channel management tools to take action on public channels. The Workspace Primary Owner, and owners and admins with permission, can also take action on private channels.

Manage channels in your workspace

1. From your desktop, click your workspace name in the sidebar.
2. Select Tools & settings from the menu, then click Workspace settings.
3. Below Administration in the left sidebar, select  Manage channels. If you don’t see the left sidebar, click  Menu in the top-left corner to find it.
4. Search for a channel name, or filter channels by channel type. If you have permission to manage private channels, you can check the box next to Show all private channels.
5. To take action on a channel, click the  three dots icon to the right of the channel name and select an option.
6. Make and save your changes.

Slack will post a message to the channel to let members know what action was taken by which owner or admin.

Org level

The Org Primary Owner, and any Org Owners or Org Admins with permission, can use the steps below to view and take action on channels in their org:

1. From your desktop, click your workspace name in the sidebar.
2. Select Tools & settings from the menu, then click Organization settings.
3. Click  Channels in the left sidebar.
4. Search for a channel name, or filter channels by channel type or workspace. If you have permission to manage private channels, you can check the box next to Show all private channels.
5. To take action on a channel, click the  three dots icon to the right of the channel name and select an option.
6. Make and save your changes.

Slack will post a message to the channel to let members know what action was taken by which owner or admin.

Workspace level

Workspace Owners and Admins can use the steps below to view and take action on channels in workspaces they manage:

1. From your desktop, click your workspace name in the sidebar.
2. Select Tools & settings, then click Workspace settings. (If you manage more than one workspace, choose one from the drop-down menu.)
3. Below Administration in the left sidebar, select  Manage channels. If you don’t see the left sidebar, click  Menu in the top-left corner to find it.
4. Search for a channel name, or filter channels by channel type. If you have permission to manage private channels, you can check the box next to Show all private channels.
5. To take action on a channel, click the  three dots icon to the right of the channel name and select an option.
6. Make and save your changes.

Slack will post a message to the channel to let members know what action was taken by which owner or admin.

Export a list of channels

Owners and admins with access to channel management tools can export a list of channels in CSV format. The export file will include the following information for each channel:

• The channel name and ID
• Whether the channel is private, archived, or includes external organizations
• The workspaces the channel is in*
• IDs for all organizations in the channel
• The number of members in the channel
• The date the channel was created
• The member ID for the person who created the channel
• The date of the most recent channel activity
• The channel's email address
• The member ID for the person who created the channel email address

*Only available on the Enterprise Grid plan. 

Export channel information

Business+ plan

Enterprise Grid plan

1. From your desktop, click your workspace name in the top left.
2. Select Tools & settings from the menu, then click Workspace settings.
3. Below Administration in the left sidebar, select  Manage channels. If you don’t see the left sidebar, click  Menu in the top-left corner to find it.
4. Click Export CSV in the top-left corner.
5. When your export is complete, you’ll receive your CSV file in a direct message from Slackbot.

Org level

1. From your desktop, click your workspace name in the top left.
2. Select Tools & settings from the menu, then click Organization settings.
3. Click  Channels in the left sidebar.
4. Click Export CSV in the top-left corner.
5. When your export is complete, you’ll receive your CSV file in a direct message from Slackbot.

Workspace level

1. From your desktop, click your workspace name in the top left.
2. Select Tools & settings, then click Workspace settings. (If you manage more than one workspace, choose one from the drop-down menu.)
3. Below Administration in the left sidebar, select  Manage channels. If you don’t see the left sidebar, click  Menu in the top-left corner to find it.
4. Click Export CSV in the top-left corner.
5. When your export is complete, you’ll receive your CSV file in a direct message from Slackbot.

Note: The contents of the channel will not be included in exported lists of channels. To learn more about exporting channel contents, like messages and files, visit our Guide to Slack import and export tools.

Who can use this feature?

• By default, Workspace Owners/Admins (Business+) and the Org Primary Owner (Enterprise Grid)
• Business+ and Enterprise Grid plans