Organize your sidebar with custom sections
If you use Slack on a paid plan, you can organize your channels, direct messages (DMs), and apps into custom sections within your sidebar. Your custom sections are only visible to you and won't affect what your coworkers see, so set them up however you’d like.
Note: If you’re using the free version of Slack, read about ways to manage what's in your sidebar or start a free trial to use custom sections.
Create custom sections
Desktop
Mobile
- From the Home tab, hover over the Channels section in your sidebar.
- Click the three dots icon.
- Click Channel section.
- Enter a name for your custom section, or choose one of the suggestions.
- Click the smiley face icon to select an emoji to display next to your section.
- Click Create.
- Open a channel or DM you'd like to create a new section for.
- Tap the channel or member name(s) in the conversation header.
- Tap the Star (if you have no existing sections) or Move button (if you have sections).
- Tap New Section.
- Enter a name for your custom section, or choose one of the suggestions.
- Tap the smiley face icon to select an emoji to display next to your section.
- Tap Create.
Tip: Share a sidebar section with others to invite them to multiple channels at once.
Organize your conversations
Move a conversation to a section
Desktop
Mobile
You can drag and drop any conversation to a section from your sidebar, or follow the steps below to move a conversation you're viewing to a section:
- Open a channel or DM.
- Click the star icon (or the emoji associated with the custom section) at the top of the conversation.
- Select a custom section from the list, or click Create new section to create a new one.
- Open the channel or DM you'd like to move.
- Tap the channel or member name(s) in the conversation header.
- Tap Star (if you have no existing sections) or Move (if you have sections).
- Select a custom section from the list, or tap New Section to create a new one.
Bulk manage conversations
Move multiple channels or DMs into a section at once. Add them to an existing section or create a new one.
- From the top of the Home tab on desktop, click the Manage my sidebar icon.
- Click Bulk manage conversations.
- Check or uncheck the boxes next to the conversations you want to move.
- Click Move to….
- Select a custom section. If you select the section the conversations are already in, it will remove them from that section.
- You can also click Create new section to move selected channels to a new custom section. Add a name and optional emoji, confirm your preferred sorting, then click Create and Add Channels.
- Click the checkmark icon when you are done making changes.
Browse or search a section
Find channels that have been filtered from view, including any inactive, muted, or read conversations.
Desktop
Mobile
- From the Home tab, hover over any custom section name in your sidebar.
- Click the search icon for more conversations.
- Type the name of the channel you are looking for, or scroll through the full list.
- Tap the Home tab at the bottom of your screen.
- Tap the custom section you want to browse.
- Scroll through the channels in that section.
Remove a conversation from a section
When you remove a conversation from a custom section, it’ll move back to the Channels or Direct messages section of your sidebar.
Desktop
Mobile
- Open a channel or DM.
- Click the star icon (or the emoji associated with the custom section) at the top of the conversation.
- Select Remove from [section name].
- Open the channel or DM you'd like to remove.
- Tap the channel or member name(s) in the conversation header.
- Tap Move.
- Tap Remove from [section name].
Note: In an Enterprise organization, a channel will only appear in a custom section in your sidebar if it’s been added to the workspace you’re viewing.
Rename or delete custom sections
You can rename a custom section or update the associated emoji at any time. If you no longer need a custom section, you can delete it.
Desktop
Mobile
- From the Home tab, select any custom section name in your sidebar.
- Click the three dots icon.
- Click Rename or Delete section.
- Tap the Home tab at the bottom of your screen.
- Tap a custom section name.
- Tap the three dots icon in the top right corner.
- Tap Rename [section name] or Delete [section name].
Manage conversation display
If you’d like, you can override the display and sorting preferences you’ve set for your entire sidebar by adjusting them for a specific custom section. Each section can have its own filters and sorting.
Filter a custom section
- From the Home tab, hover over any custom section name in your sidebar.
- Click the three dots icon.
- Hover over Filter to choose how you'd like to filter your conversations. By default, you'll see Active only, which will hide conversations with no new activity in the past 30 days.
Sort a custom section
- From the Home tab, hover over any custom section name in your sidebar.
- Click the three dots icon.
- Hover over Sort to choose how you’d like to sort your conversations: alphabetically (A-Z), by Recency, or by Priority.
Who can use this feature?
- All members and guests
- Available on paid plans