Use lists in Slack
Lists are designed to help you organise and collaborate on work happening in Slack. Use them to track projects, manage tasks and more. You can create a new list from scratch or choose a customisable template to get started, then add tasks and work with others directly on list items.
Tip: Lists are included in most templates, pre-configured bundles of tools that you can use to quickly set channels up for a specific purpose, such as managing a project. If you aren’t using templates, you can learn more about ways to use lists.
Components of a list
Before you get started, it’s helpful to take some time to familiarise yourself with the components of a list and how you might customise them to help you stay organised. Review the chart below for a description of each component.
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Component |
Definition |
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1. Items |
Items are tasks that you’re working on or keeping track of in a list. You can click on an item to add or view additional task details, like fields and comments in the item's thread. |
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2. Fields |
Fields contain the information you’d like displayed alongside each item. They’re customisable, and the data you add to each field can be entered in a variety of ways, like text, a selection from a drop-down menu, tick boxes, and more. |
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3. Views |
You can save your filtering, sorting and layout preferences as a view. Saving a view will allow anyone with access to the list to quickly switch between different visualisations for the data in a list. |
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4. Filters and layouts |
Sort, filter, hide and group items to narrow down a list to tasks that are most relevant to you. You can filter the items by certain fields in the list, and apply different layout options:
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5. Threads |
You can use threads in lists to organise discussions around specific items. Mention other people in a thread to let them know that a list item requires their attention. |
Create a list
To create a list in Slack, you can either start from scratch or use a template.
Start from scratch
Desktop
Mobile
- From your desktop, hover over More, then select Lists.
- In the top right-hand corner, click on New, then select List.
- From your mobile device, tap the More tab.
- Tap Lists, then tap Create.
- Give the list a name, choose an emoji and add a description if you like, then tap Done.
- When you're ready, tap Done to create the list.
Tip: You can import a .CSV file into a list. Click on New, then select Import a CSV. To export a list to a CSV file, open a list, click on the three dots icon, then select Download CSV.
Use a template
On desktop, you can choose a template when creating a list to save time on formatting.
- From your desktop, hover over More, then select Lists.
- In the top right-hand corner, click on New, then select List.
- Choose a template from the column on the left, then click Use Template.
Tip: To reuse a list that you’ve already created, click on the three dots icon and select Make a copy.
Customise fields
Add or edit fields to track specific details, like due dates, assignees, priority and more.
Desktop
Mobile
- Click a field in the top row of the list, then select Edit field.
- Edit the name of the field, and select a Field type to change the format of the data.
- Click on Save.
- To add more fields, click the plus icon at the end of the top row.
Note: You can also add more fields by opening an item. From the table or board layout, click any item to open it, then click Add field in the panel on the right.
- From a list, tap the Filters icon.
- Tap Manage fields, then select a field to customise it.
- Edit the name, field type or other details, then tap Done.
- To add more fields, tap Add field.
Add items
Each row in a list is a separate item. Items are the individual tasks that you need to complete or deliverables that you’d like to keep track of.
Desktop
Mobile
- Click Untitled item and enter a description.
- For each item, click the field cells to enter the relevant data. The data will be formatted according to the field type.
- To add more items, click Add item at the bottom of the list.
- Tap a blank item, then enter a title.
- Tap each field to input your data. The data will be formatted according to the field type.
- To add more items, return to the list, then tap Add.
Tip: On desktop, right click any item and select Delete item to delete it.
Add messages to a list
Add any Slack message to a list without navigating away from the conversation.
Desktop
Mobile
- Hover over the message that you’d like to add to a list.
- Click on the three dots icon, then select Add to list.
- Search for and select a list (or select Create new list) from the drop-down menu, then click on Add.
- A detailed view of the item will open. Click any field to update it, or click X to close.
- Tap and hold a message that you’d like to add to a list.
- Select Add to list.
- Search for and select a list (or tap Create new list), then click on Add.
- A detailed view of the item will open. Tap any field to update it.
Visualise list data
Whether you created a list or you’re viewing someone else’s, you can adjust how list data appears to make it easier to find what’s most relevant to you. You can group, sort and filter items by field, and choose if items are displayed in a table or a board view.
Change list layout
Desktop
Mobile
- From a list, click on the filters icon.
- Under Layout, select either the Board or Table layout.
- From a list, tap the filters icon.
- Tap Board, choose how items should be grouped, then tap Done.
- To switch back to the table view, tap the filters icon, then tap List.
Sort and filter
You can sort and filter a list to easily surface the items that are most relevant to you.
Desktop
Mobile
- From a list, click on the filters icon.
- Choose how you’d like to sort, filter, hide and group the items in the list.
- From a list, tap the filters icon.
- Choose how you’d like to sort, filter, hide and group the items in the list, then tap Done.
Create and save views
You can save sorting and layout options as a view for anyone with access to the list to use.
Desktop
Mobile
- From a list, click on the filters icon and choose how you’d like to sort, filter, hide and group the items in the list.
- Click the filters icon to change the layout.
- Click Save View, then Save changes or Save as new view.
- To switch between your saved views, click on All items and select a view from the list.
- From a list, tap the filters icon and choose how you’d like to sort, filter, hide and group the items in the list.
- Tap the filters icon, then choose List or Board.
- Tap the filters icon, then tap Save to new view.
- Give the view a name if you’d like, then choose how items should be grouped.
- Tap Save.
- To switch between your saved views, tap All items and select a view from the list.
Note: You need edit access to save views on a list that you didn’t create.
Work with others
Collaborate on tasks where you're already working with your team. You can share lists anywhere in Slack, assign tasks to people and add comments to items in a thread, making it easy to bring the right people into the conversation.
Share a list
Share a list in a channel or directly with team members to start collaborating. You can also set general access permissions to decide if people who find your lists when searching in Slack can view or edit them.
Desktop
Mobile
- From a list, click on Share in the top right-hand corner.
- From the General tab, select if everyone in your workspace should have Restricted, Can view or Can edit access, then click Save.
- From the Channels or People tabs, add the names of people or channels who can collaborate on the list, then click on Share. The list will be sent as a message to the people or channels that you specified.
- From a list, tap the list’s name, then tap Share list.
- Select Editor or Viewer, add the names of people or channels who can collaborate on the list, then tap the send icon. The list will be sent as a message to the people or channels that you specified.
Note: It isn’t possible to set general permissions for lists on mobile.
Tip: Add a list as a tab in any conversation to make important lists easy to find.
Add assignees
Create a field to track who is working on each task, and set the field type to People. When you add an assignee, they’ll receive a notification in Activity when the item is updated.
Desktop
Mobile
- Click on the plus icon at the end of the top row of a list to create a new field. If your list already has a people field, skip to step 4.
- Add a name for the field, then select People from the Field type drop-down menu.
- Choose if you’d like to allow multiple selections and whether you’d like names to show in the list, then click Save.
- Click the people field on an item, then search for and select a member.
- From a list, tap the filters icon.
- Tap Manage fields, then tap Add field. If your list already has a people field, skip to step 5.
- Add a name for the field, then tap Type and select User.
- Choose if you’d like to allow multiple selections, and whether you’d like names to show in the list, then tap Save.
- Tap an item, then tap the people field to add an assignee.
Add comments to items
Each item in a list has a dedicated message thread that stays with it no matter where the item is shared – perfect for task-related conversations. Open an item to add questions, comments or updates in the item’s thread.
Desktop
Mobile
- Hover over an item, then click Add comment or View comment to continue a thread.
- Type your message, then press Send.
- Tap an item, then tap Add a comment.
- Tap the message field and type your message, then tap Send.
Note: If you mention someone in an item’s thread, they’ll receive a notification in their Activity feed as long as the list has been shared with them.
Automate lists with Workflow Builder
List automations are powered by Workflow Builder, a tool that you can use to automate any task or process in Slack. When you set up a form or enable alerts from a list, you can edit or further customise the automation in Workflow Builder.
Collect form responses
On desktop, you can create a form to share with members so they can add items to a list without requiring edit access. The information submitted to the form will be added to the list, where you can prioritise it, share status updates and communicate with the form’s submitter on the item’s thread.
- From a list, click on Forms in the top right-hand corner, then click on Set up a form or Add a form.
- Review your form questions, click the eye icon to exclude fields that shouldn’t appear on the form, then click Publish Workflow. When a member submits the form, a new item will be added to the list, and the field data will be filled in with the responses from the form.
- To edit your form, click Open in Workflow Builder. Otherwise, click Share Form or Done.
Enable alerts
To stay on top of the work being completed, you can configure a list to send a notification to a channel whenever a field is updated or changed.
- Click a field in the top row of the list, then select Alert when field changes.
- Choose whether the alert should be sent to a channel, or if you’d like a personal alert sent to your Activity feed.
- If you’re sending the alert to a channel, search for and select which channel you’d like to send the notification to.
- Click Publish workflow, then click Done.
Tip: Explore additional ways to automate lists by adding a list step to workflows that you create in Workflow Builder.
Delete a list
You can delete any list that you can edit, and restore them within 24 hours of deletion.
Delete a list
Restore a deleted list
- From a list, click the three dots icon, then select Delete list.
- Click Delete list.
- From your desktop, hover over More, then select Lists.
- Click Deleted in the sidebar.
- Find the list that you’d like to restore, then click on the restore list icon.
- Click Restore list.
Note: The option to delete and restore lists is only available on desktop.
- All members and guests
- Available on paid subscriptions