Organizing channels into categories
How to group channels into categories, reorder them, and keep the channel list navigable as your team grows.
On this page
Categories are admin-defined groupings that divide your Channels sidebar into labeled sections. Instead of one long flat list, your team sees channels sorted into named buckets: "Field Ops," "Fundraising," "Leadership," or whatever reflects how your org works.
What a category is
A category is a named section header in the channel list sidebar. Every channel belongs to at most one category. Channels that have not been assigned to any category appear under an Uncategorized grouping. The same category structure is visible to all members of your workspace.
Creating and renaming categories
Open Channels in your workspace sidebar, then open the Manage Categories dialog (available to channel admins). Inside the dialog:
- Click Add category and type a name to create a new one.
- To rename an existing category, click its name directly in the dialog: the name becomes an inline text field. Edit and confirm.
Names should be short enough to scan quickly in the sidebar.
Assigning a channel to a category
You can set or change a channel's category from the channel's Settings dialog. Open the channel, click Settings in the channel header (visible to channel admins), and choose a category from the dropdown. Save to apply, and the channel moves to its new section in the channel list.
A channel can only belong to one category at a time. To leave a channel uncategorized, clear the category field in Settings.
Reordering categories
Inside the Manage Categories dialog, drag and drop categories into the order you want. The order you set persists for the entire workspace: every team member sees the same sequence the next time they open the channel list. Put the sections your team opens most often toward the top.
Deleting a category
You can delete a category from the Manage Categories dialog once it is empty. Reassign or clear the category on any channels still in it first, using each channel's Settings.
Why this matters
A flat list of twenty channels is hard to scan. Categories give your team a reliable mental map: organizers know where to find field coordination channels, and finance staff do not have to scroll past channels they never use. As your organization grows and adds more channels, categories keep the sidebar navigable without requiring everyone to memorize channel names.