Manage Team Channels in Rocket Chat

This guide explains how to view, create, and manage team channels in Rocket.Chat. Team channels allow teams to organize discussions and projects efficiently while maintaining access control.

Key details about team channels

Here are some important things to know about team channels:

Teams can have their own channels, but not all channels necessarily belong to a team.
Teams can include both public and private channels.
Teams can also have auto-join channels, where new members are automatically added upon joining the team.
You can add all team members to a specific channel.
You can also add users outside the team to a team’s channels.

A team can have a maximum of 100 channels.

View the list of team channels

To view all channels within a team:

Open the desired Team from the sidebar.
Click the Team Channels icon.
The Team Channels panel opens, displaying all channels associated with the team.
- Use the Search bar to filter channels by name.
- Use the filter drop-down menu on the right to view channels by type (e.g., public, private, or auto-join).

If the team doesn’t have any channels, you’ll see the message “No Channels on this Team.”

Create a new channel for a team

Team owners and users with the appropriate permissions can create new channels within a team.

Creating private channels in a team requires the Create group within team permission.
Creating public channels in a team requires the Create channel within team permission.

To create a new team channel:

Click the Team Channels icon at the top-right of the team page.
Select Create New at the bottom of the panel.
In the Create Channel form:
- Enter a Name (required).
- Optionally, add a Topic to display next to the channel name.
- Under Members, add people to the channel.
- Toggle Private on or off:
  - On: Only invited users can join.
  - Off: Anyone in the team can join.
(Optional) Expand Advanced settings to configure additional options:
- Federated: Enable federation if supported in your workspace.
- Encrypted: Enable end-to-end encryption if available.
- Read-only: Restrict message sending to admins only.
- Broadcast: Allow only admins to post, while others can read messages.
Click Create to finalize the new channel.

Once created, the new channel appears under the Team Channels list and is visible to members based on its privacy settings.

Add an existing channel to a team

You can add an existing channel to a team if you are the channel owner or have the appropriate permissions in the team.

Starting from version 7.0, the Move Room within team permission is required.
For workspaces running versions below 7.0, the Add Team Channel permission is required.

When an existing channel is added to a team, the team owner gains ownership rights over that channel, including the ability to delete it.

To add an existing channel to a team:

Open the desired Team from the sidebar and click the Team Channels icon.
At the bottom of the Team Channels panel, click Add Existing.
Use the search bar to find the channel(s) you want to add.
Select the channels from the list and click Add to confirm.

The selected channels will now appear under the Team Channels list, and their membership and permissions will be updated according to the team’s configuration.

Team auto-join channels

Teams can have auto-join channels, channels that automatically add all team members. This feature simplifies user management and onboarding, especially for teams that use multiple channels for communication and coordination.

For example, you can enable auto-join on onboarding or company announcement channels so new team members automatically gain access when they join the team. Auto-join channels help ensure everyone stays informed without requiring manual invitations.

Mark a Channel as Auto-Join

To mark a channel as auto-join, follow these steps:

Open the desired Team from the sidebar and click the Team Channels icon.
In the Team Channels panel, locate the channel you want to set as auto-join.
Click the kebab menu (⋮) next to the channel name.
Select the Auto-join checkbox.

Once enabled, all current and future team members will automatically be added to that channel when they join the team.

Tip: You can use auto-join channels for company-wide updates, team announcements, or onboarding discussions.

Remove a channel from a team

As a team owner, you can remove channels from a team. When a channel is removed, it moves out of the team and back into the main workspace.

If a public channel is removed from a private team, the channel becomes public in the workspace after removal.

Follow these steps to remove a channel from a team:

Open the Team from the sidebar and click the Team Channels icon.
Locate the channel you want to remove and click the kebab menu (⋮) next to the channel name.
Select Remove from Team.

The channel will now appear as an independent workspace channel.

Delete a team channel

As a team owner, you can delete channels that belong to a team. When deleted, all messages and files within that channel are permanently removed.

Permissions required:
To delete private channels, you need the Delete group within team and Delete Private Channels permissions.
To delete public channels, you need the Delete channel within team and Delete Public Channels permissions.

To delete a channel within a team:

Open the Team from the sidebar and click the Team Channels icon.
Locate the channel you want to delete and click the kebab menu (⋮) next to the channel name.
Select Delete and confirm the action when prompted.

Once confirmed, the channel and its content will be permanently deleted from both the team and the workspace.

Convert a channel into a team

A channel owner can convert an existing channel into a team at any time. The channel must not already belong to a team, it must exist independently in the workspace. Once converted, the original channel becomes the team’s main discussion channel, and all existing members remain part of the new team.

A private channel converts into a private team.
A public channel converts into a public team.

This action cannot be reversed. Please proceed with caution when converting a channel into a team.

Follow these steps to convert a channel into a team:

Open the channel you want to convert and click the Room information icon.
In the Channel info panel, click the kebab menu (⋮) and select Convert to Team.
In the confirmation dialog, review the message: “You are converting this Channel to a Team. All members will be kept.”
Click Convert to proceed, or Cancel to abort.

Once the conversion is complete:

The channel becomes the main team channel.
All members of the original channel are automatically added to the new team.
The team inherits the channel’s privacy settings (public or private).