# Chat

> Use internal channels, direct messages and group direct messages with threads, rich messages, pods, AI coworkers, Fox cards, search, and notifications.

Chat is for internal team communication. Use channels for shared topics, direct messages for one-to-one conversations, and [group direct messages](#group-direct-messages) for a quick conversation with a few people. Customer conversations belong in [Inbox](https://workstation.repzo.com/docs/operations/inbox), not Chat.

## Find your conversations

Open **Chat** from the Operations section. **Home** greets you with your unread count, a **Catch up** shortcut, and your recent channels and direct messages. The sidebar lists channels and direct messages; direct messages can be shown as a flat list or grouped **By department**.

Above the conversation lists:

- **Activity** collects mentions, thread replies, reactions to your messages, and direct messages, with tabs for **All**, **DMs**, **Mentions**, **Threads**, and **Reactions**. Turn on **Unreads** to hide what you have already seen, or use **Mark all as read**.
- **Saved items** lists messages you saved with **Save for later**.
- **Scheduled** lists messages waiting to be sent.

Unread counts, typing indicators, read receipts, and presence update as teammates work. Drafts are saved per user and conversation, and a conversation reopens at the message you left it on.

The **Messaging** dock keeps recent direct messages open as small chat windows while you work elsewhere in Workstation.

## Channels

Channels can be:

- **Public** — anyone in the workspace can find and join
- **Private** — invite only

Create a channel with **New channel**, then give it a short name such as `support`, `sales`, or `project-acme`, plus an optional topic and description. Anyone can read a public channel, but must **Join** before posting.

Each channel has two tabs:

| Tab | Shows |
|---|---|
| **Messages** | The conversation |
| **Files & links** | Everything shared in the channel, filterable by **Files**, **Media**, and **Links** |

Open **Channel details** to see the topic, description, and members, edit the channel, or leave it. Authorized members can also archive or delete a channel. Pinned messages appear in the channel's **Pinned** list for everyone.

Use **Jump to…** to move to last week, last month, the very beginning, or a specific date.

## Group direct messages

A group direct message is a conversation with two to eight other people — up to nine people in all — without creating a channel. Use one for a quick back-and-forth, such as checking a quote with a sales rep and someone from finance.

To start one on the web, select **New message**, pick each person in the **To** field, and select **Start conversation**. On the phone, select **New message**, then **New group**. Picking one person opens your direct message with them instead.

A group is defined by its people: starting a conversation with the same people again opens the existing group rather than a new one, so its history stays in one place.

Group direct messages work like direct messages:

- They are listed under **Direct messages**, and every message notifies everyone in the group unless they muted it.
- You can **Close conversation** to take a group out of your sidebar; it comes back when someone writes in it, joins, leaves, or renames it.
- **Start pod** calls everyone in the group.

Select the group's name at the top of the conversation to open its details, where you can:

| Action | What happens |
|---|---|
| **Rename** | Gives the group a name everyone sees. Clear the name to go back to showing the members' names. |
| **Add people** | Adds people to the same conversation, up to nine in all. They can read the earlier messages. |
| **Leave conversation** | Removes you from the group. Anyone still in it can add you back. |

Changes to the group appear in the conversation as short notes, such as "Lina added Omar". For a bigger or longer-lived group, [create a channel](#channels) instead.

## Write messages

The composer supports:

- bold, italic, underline, strike-through, lists, links, inline code, and code blocks
- emoji, including custom **Team emoji** your workspace adds
- @mentions of people, plus `@here`, `@channel`, and department mentions (Chat asks you to confirm before notifying a large group)
- file attachments, with drawing on photos before sending
- text snippets
- voice messages and recorded video clips (camera, screen, or both)
- polls in channels and group direct messages
- **Rewrite** to have AI tidy a plain-text draft before you send it

Use the arrow next to **Send** to schedule a message for later, such as **In 1 hour**, **Tomorrow morning**, or a custom time. When you write outside work hours, Chat can suggest sending at the next opening instead. If you are offline, messages wait in an outbox and send automatically when you reconnect.

Polls can show who voted, allow multiple answers, let people add options, allow revoting, mark correct answers, close after a set duration, and hide results until they close. Polls are available in channels and group direct messages, but not in one-to-one direct messages or thread replies.

## Threads and message actions

Reply in a thread when a discussion belongs to one message and should not interrupt the main channel.

Depending on authorship and permissions, message actions include:

- reacting with emoji
- **Reply in thread**
- **Save for later**
- pinning to the channel or conversation
- copying text or a link
- **Forward** to other conversations
- **Translate to** another language
- editing and deleting your own messages
- **Create** a **Task**, **Ticket**, **Contact**, or **Deal** from the message — the new record is linked back to the message

Files shared in Chat get thumbnails and open in an in-app viewer, so teammates can read them without downloading. Previews cover PDFs, Word and PowerPoint files, spreadsheets and CSVs, Apple Pages, Numbers, and Keynote files, HEIC and TIFF photos, saved emails (`.eml`), Markdown, code, images, audio, and video. Long documents show a page strip, and **Find in file** searches the text. Archives and installers don't preview; download them instead.

## Pods

A pod is a live audio or video call inside Chat. Select **Start pod** in a channel or direct message to start one. Teammates you call see a ringing prompt; others can join from the pod card posted in the conversation.

In a pod you can mute, turn on video, share your screen, raise your hand, react, invite more people, and see who is in the call. The pod card shows who is in the call while it runs and when it ended.

## Fox, AI coworkers, and your Secretary

Chat also hosts Workstation's AI helpers. Each appears as a bot in the sidebar.

| Bot | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Fox** | The built-in AI coworker. Message Fox directly or @mention it in a channel to ask about or act on CRM data. Fox also sends you interactive cards — approvals, mentions, tickets, inbox conversations, invoices, low stock, and daily summaries — with buttons such as **Approve**, **Reject**, or **Reply** that act without leaving Chat. |
| **AI coworkers** | AI agents an admin has deployed to Chat. They answer in the channels they are allowed in and, if enabled, in direct messages. See [AI Agents](https://workstation.repzo.com/docs/operations/ai-agents). |
| **Secretary** | Your own private assistant. Select **Create your secretary** in the sidebar to set its name, picture, schedule, and what it watches. |

Fox and AI coworkers act with the permissions of the teammate who asked. Actions that need approval show approval cards before anything changes.

When anyone decides a card's request — in Chat, on the record's page, or through the API — every copy of the card updates, so nobody is left with buttons for something already handled.

### Secretary

The Secretary sends a **Morning briefing**, an **End-of-day wrap-up**, and **Urgent nudges** between them. It can also prepare you before meetings, follow up after them, read your connected mailbox (opt-in), and take messages from teammates who @mention it.

The Secretary runs on your own Claude Code or Codex subscription through the Repzo desktop app, so it does not use workspace AI credits. Only you can talk to it, and you can pause or remove it from its settings.

## Search

Search covers messages, channels, and people, either across Chat or inside the current conversation. Filter by channel (**In**), author (**From**), **Date**, and **Has** (file, link, in thread), and sort by **Most relevant** or **Most recent**. You can also type filters such as `in:`, `from:`, `before:`, `after:`, `has:file`, `has:link`, and `is:thread`. Recent searches are kept for quick reuse.

## Notifications

Each channel can notify you about:

- **All new messages**
- **Just mentions** — `@you` and `@channel`
- nothing, by muting the channel

Channels and direct messages can be muted for 30 minutes, 1 hour, 8 hours, 24 hours, or until you turn them back on. Under **This device**, choose whether to play a sound for mentions and direct messages.

With web push or the Repzo desktop app, Chat shows native notifications and updates the app badge.

## Apps and bots

Apps can post rich messages in Chat — cards, tables, charts, buttons and menus — and open forms when you click them. A bot's own conversation can also have a **Home** tab with a personal dashboard. Messages only you can see are marked **Only visible to you** and disappear when you reload.

[Workflows](https://workstation.repzo.com/docs/administration/workflows) can also post to a channel or direct message with the **Send Chat Message** action.

To build an app, see [Chat apps](https://workstation.repzo.com/docs/developers/chat-apps).

## Permissions

Chat access is controlled by the `chat.view`, `chat.send`, `chat.create_channel`, and `chat.manage_channels` permissions.

## Related pages

- [Inbox](https://workstation.repzo.com/docs/operations/inbox)
- [AI Agents](https://workstation.repzo.com/docs/operations/ai-agents)
- [Approvals](https://workstation.repzo.com/docs/operations/approvals)
- [Chat apps](https://workstation.repzo.com/docs/developers/chat-apps)
- [Team](https://workstation.repzo.com/docs/administration/team)
- [Departments](https://workstation.repzo.com/docs/administration/departments)