Conference calls must be set up on your workspace before you can use them. Contact your workspace administrator, or see the Conference Call Admin Guide.
You can start video and audio calls from any room in Rocket.Chat, using the conference call provider your workspace is set up with.
How calls work depends on your workspace. By default, calls open on the provider's own page in a new browser tab. If your administrator has turned on the call window, calls open in a separate Rocket.Chat call window instead. See Use the call window.
Start a call
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To start a call in a DM, follow these steps:
Select the video call icon in the room header.
In the Start a call pop-up, use the camera and microphone buttons to choose whether they're on.
Select Start call.
The pop-up changes to Calling, and the other person's device starts ringing. To stop, select Cancel.
In the room, the call message shows Calling and Waiting for answer while the other person is rung. If nobody answers, the ringing stops after 30 seconds, and you can select Call again.
In a room
You can also start calls in teams, channels, discussions, and group direct messages.
Select the video call icon in the room header.
Use the camera and microphone buttons to choose whether they're on.
Select Start call.
A call message is posted in the room. Other members join by selecting Join on that message.
The call message
The call message in the room shows the state of the call:
Calling: The call is ringing and no one has answered yet.
Call ongoing: The call is running. The message shows the avatars of the people who joined and a Join button.
Call ended: Everyone has left. Select Call again to start a new call.
You can use the call message like any other message, for example to react to it, reply in a thread, or pin it.
The call opens in a new browser tab. If your browser blocks it, Rocket.Chat shows an Open call in new tab dialog. Select Open call to continue. To stop seeing the dialog, allow pop-ups for your workspace in your browser settings.
Answer an incoming call
When someone calls you in a direct message:
A pop-up appears wherever you are in Rocket.Chat.
The ringer starts to ring.
The call is highlighted in the left sidebar.
You can then do one of the following:
Accept: Join the call.
Decline: Refuse the call.
Dismiss: Ignore the call without responding.
Use the call window
If your workspace administrator turns on Enable call window, conference calls open in a dedicated Rocket.Chat call window instead of on the provider's page in a separate browser tab. When the setting is off, the steps in the earlier sections of this guide apply.
The call window opens as a new browser window. If nothing happens when you start or join a call, allow pop-ups for your Rocket.Chat workspace in your browser.
Start a call
Select the video call icon in the room header. The call window opens on a preflight screen with a preview of your camera. In a DM, it's titled Start conference with <name>. In other rooms, it's titled Start a new conference.
Use the microphone and camera buttons under the preview to choose whether they're on when you join. You choose the specific microphone and camera inside the call.
If Ring people is shown, keep it selected to notify the other people when you start the call, or clear it to start without ringing anyone.
If you're starting a call in a room other than a DM, you can change the name in the Call name field. By default, it's Meeting in followed by the room name, for example
Meeting in "general".Select Call <name> in a DM, or Start call in other rooms. To close the window without starting the call, select Cancel.
The call is created only when you start it, so no call message is sent and nobody is rung until then. In a DM, the other person is rung. In other rooms, members of smaller rooms are rung, and members of larger rooms can find the call in the Ongoing calls list.
Join a call
Select Join on the call message in the room, or select the call in the Ongoing calls list.
The preflight screen, titled Join conference with <names>, shows who's already in the call under People in the call. Choose whether your microphone and camera are on.
Select Join call.
If you're already in a call, Rocket.Chat asks Leave the call you are in? first, because joining the new call leaves the current one.
Incoming calls and the Ongoing calls list
With the call window, an incoming call doesn't take over your screen with a pop-up. Instead:
You get a notification saying you were invited to a conference, and the ringer sounds.
The Ongoing calls button in the top navigation bar turns red. A number on the button shows how many calls are listed.
A call message appears in the room, where you can select Join.
Select the Ongoing calls button to open the list. Each call shows its name, how many people have joined, and either its start time or Ringing....
For a ringing call, you can:
Select the call to open the call window, then select Join call.
Select ✕ next to the call to decline it. Declining doesn't end the call for anyone else, and you can still join it later.
The list also shows calls that are running in your rooms, so you can join a call even after you missed its ring. A call you've joined stays in the list, so you can rejoin it if you leave by accident.
Inside the call window
The bar at the top of the call window shows how long the call has been running and the call's name. In a DM, the name is the people in the call. The buttons at the top right open the People panel and the Chat panel. Only one panel is open at a time, and the People panel opens by default.
The call itself, including the microphone, camera, and screen sharing controls, comes from your conference call provider. Some providers also have their own chat and participant list inside the call. These are separate from the Rocket.Chat People and Chat panels.
People panel: Lists everyone under In call and Not in the call. The number on the people button shows how many are in the call. People who aren't in the call show a status: Ringing, Waiting for answer, Declined, or Left. To ring someone again, select Ring <name> (the phone icon) next to them.
Chat panel: Shows the call's chat. Depending on your workspace's settings, this is a thread started from the call message, or the room's own chat. While the panel is closed, the Chat button shows a badge for unread messages. Links you open from the chat open in a new tab, so the call keeps running.
Add people to a call
In the People panel, select Add people.
In the People field, select the people to add. You can add up to 10 people at a time.
Select Ring people to ring them.
Select Add.
The people you add can join the call even if they aren't members of the room.
Give people access to the call chat
People added from outside the room can join the call but can't read its chat. They see This chat has not been shared with you in the chat panel. When someone like this joins, the people in the call who can read the chat see a notice such as 1 person can't see the chat. To resolve it:
Select Review on the notice.
Choose one of the following:
Add to room: The people are added to the room and can read its entire message history. This option isn't available for rooms that can't take new members, such as DMs.
Create a discussion: The chat moves to a new discussion with everyone in the call. People already in the chat keep access to the earlier messages by going back to the original room.
Leave a call
Close the call window to leave the call. You can rejoin from the Ongoing calls list while the call is running. When the last person leaves, the call ends after a short delay. The call message in the room changes to Call ended, with a Call again button.
If Rocket.Chat loses contact with you, for example because your browser crashes or your computer goes to sleep, you're marked as having left the call after a few minutes.
Conference logs
After a call ends, the room keeps a record of:
who started the call
when it started
the call's name
who attended