Chat and calls

Chat is first-party, not a Slack plugin. Conversations stay in the hive. Public project channels can become knowledge (archived incrementally). Private rooms do not.

Plan: chat and calls are Studio, Team, and Enterprise (and the trial). Without an active plan or trial, Chat is not a working room.

Open chat

Chat in the left rail, or jump in from a project. Unread shows as a badge on the rail, and next to each conversation while you are in another room.

Channel types

Kind	What it is
Project channel	Created with the project. The default room for that engagement. The conversation title opens the project.
Sub-channel	Nested under a project channel. Can be private; membership is then gated like a DM. The project name next to the title opens the project.
Org channel	Hive-wide, no single project. Managers create these. Use for weeklies that cover many clients. See Meetings.
DM	One other person. Opening a DM is get-or-create. You cannot DM yourself. The conversation bar shows their profile photo when they have one.

Every hive member can read public org channels. Private subs are invite-only; you cannot remove the last member.

Ask sits under each project channel, and org Ask sits under Team channels for shared procedures. See Knowledge.

Messages

Type, mention @Name or @Team. Enter sends; Shift+Enter starts a new line. Several messages in a row from the same person share one name and avatar. Posted time is relative (five minutes ago) and appears next to the name when you hover the first message in that run.
Use the code control in the composer (same row as the paperclip and emoji) to wrap selected text, or to start an empty block. Paste several lines of code and you can also choose Format as code. The block stays monospace, with a copy control. Short spans can be marked with `inline`.
Paste or drop an image into the composer, or use the paperclip. Up to four images per message, 10MB each. Click a thumbnail in the thread to see it larger. Images in private rooms and DMs stay in that room — they are not added to project knowledge.
React or insert from curated emoji packs (frequent, smileys, gestures, work, objects, nature, symbols). Search the picker; you cannot add custom emoji.
Edit or delete your own messages. Delete is a tombstone; history stays coherent for everyone else.
Unread is per channel. While you are in another room, the count sits next to that conversation and updates as messages arrive. Marking a room read is automatic as you catch up. A DM or @mention can also raise a system banner when you are not in the InHive tab — Notifications.

Teams as mention targets are set on People. They are not permissions.

Calls

From a DM or a channel, start a call. Microphone is on when you join; turn the camera on from the call window if you want video.

1:1 rings the other person. A missed ring becomes a notification, and the conversation keeps a Missed call line. A connected call leaves Call and the duration.
Channel conferences are join-when-ready. When the call ends, the room keeps a Call line with the duration — there is no missed state for a group.
Open Devices in the call window to choose your microphone, camera, and speakers. Successful choices are remembered in this browser. If your headset or camera is missing next time, the call uses the browser default and keeps your saved choice for later. Some browsers do not support choosing speakers. Turn your camera on to grant access if camera names are not available yet.
Share screen gives the shared content the main stage. Use Full screen for a larger view; device controls remain available. Stop sharing returns to the participants.
The window shows when it is joining or reconnecting. If your browser blocks sound, click Enable audio. A failed device change shows a message so you can try another device.
Use Minimize to keep working while the call continues. Expand the small call bar to bring back the window and controls.

Transcription and meeting AI actions are optional on the call. A manager or the person who started the call can turn Send to transcripts on (project and team channels). On a team (org) channel, spoken lines and messages typed in that room both land on the project you are Now discussing. Afterward, see Meetings.

From a task with other assignees, you can also start the project conference and ring them.

Invite a guest

On a project channel (or a public sub-channel), the guest icon in the conversation bar lets you copy a join link or email someone before you start the call. If the project has a client with contacts, you can pick one of those contacts instead of typing an email. They wait in a lobby until someone on the call admits them. A copied link lets them type their own name. If the link leaks, reset it from the same menu — the old URL stops working immediately. An emailed invite still works for that one call only.

If transcription is on, the guest sees that and must agree before they join. Their speech lands on the transcript by name. Guests do not get chat or a hive account. They cannot share their own screen; while someone on the call is sharing, they can open Full screen so the share fills their display.

Team (org) channels and private rooms cannot take guests — those rooms cover more than one client.

What is not here

Group DMs (deliberately out of scope).
Slack import as the daily driver (chat is in-tenant so it can become memory).
Call recording as a downloadable file (transcripts and ingest are the path).

Meetings · Knowledge · Notifications · Plans