If you’re using Slack on the Standard, Plus, or Enterprise Grid plan, you can sort your channels, direct messages (DMs), and apps into custom sections within your sidebar. This allows you to organize your conversations in ways that are tailored to you — whether they’re sorted by projects, teams, or the type of work you’re doing.

What to expect

• Custom sections you create are only visible to you and won't affect what your teammates see in their sidebars.
• Custom sections can only be created in Slack from your desktop, but you can view and move conversations in and out of your custom sections from both your desktop and mobile devices.
• In an Enterprise Grid organization, your custom sections will apply to all your workspaces. You’ll only see channels in custom sections if the channels have been added to the workspace you’re viewing them in.

Note: If you’re using the free version of Slack, you won't be able to use custom sections. Instead, read about ways to manage your sidebar preferences, or learn how to upgrade your workspace.

Create custom sections

You can create custom sections from your sidebar.

Organize your conversations

Edit your sidebar

You can move multiple conversations to custom sections at once, allowing you to quickly and easily organize your sidebar.

Tip: You can also use the steps above to create new custom sections. After clicking Move to, select Move to new section, then follow the prompts to create a new custom section.

Move a conversation to a section

Once you’ve created custom sections, you can move individual conversations around.

Remove a conversation from a section

If you no longer need a conversation in a custom section, you can remove it. The conversation will still be accessible in the Channels or Direct messages section of your sidebar.

Rename or delete custom sections

You can change the name or emoji associated with a custom section at any time. If you no longer need a custom section, you can delete it. 

Manage conversation display

Display only unread conversations

You can choose to display all your conversations or only unread conversations within custom sections in your sidebar. You can adjust this preference for each of your custom sections.

Sort your conversations

You can adjust your sorting preference for each of your custom sections. You can choose to sort conversations by recent activity, alphabetically, or by priority:

• Recent activity: Conversations with recent activity will be listed at the top of the custom section.
• Alphabetically: Conversations will display in alphabetical order.
• Priority: Conversations you use most frequently will be listed at the top of a custom section.

Tip: Click the   or  arrow icons to collapse or expand individual sections. Press Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows/Linux) and click any custom section in your sidebar to collapse or expand all sections at once.