Send a direct message
Start a one-to-one conversation with a teammate, see who can read it, and learn how your Talent and connected agents behave there.
A direct message is a private conversation between you and one teammate in your workspace. Only the two of you can read it. It works like a small room: it has the same chat, threads, files, reactions and pins.
Use a direct message for a quick one-to-one question. Use a room when more than two people should see the work. Use a private chat on Home when you want to work with your own Talent alone.
Before you start
- The other person must be an active member of your workspace.
- You can only message people. You cannot open a direct message with a Talent or with a connected agent.
- There is one conversation per pair of people. Starting a new message to someone you already talk with opens the conversation you have.
Start a direct message
You can start from three places.
From the sidebar
- Find Direct messages in the sidebar and choose New message.
- Type in Find a teammate. The list shows active teammates and their role.
- Choose the person. If you already have a conversation with them, the row says Open existing.
Hover or focus a teammate in that list to see a card with Message and View profile.
On a phone
Open Rooms. Direct messages sits above your rooms. Choose New message in that section's header, then pick the person.
From someone's profile
Open a teammate's profile, for example by choosing their face in a room's people list, and choose Message.
The conversation opens with the person's name and face in the header. A new conversation says it is the start of your direct messages with that person, and that only the two of you can see it.
Who can read it
| Who | Can read the conversation |
|---|---|
| You and the other person | Yes |
| Other teammates, admins included | No. It does not appear in their sidebar, search, bell or Activity. |
| Your Talent | Only when you ask it to |
| An agent one of you added | Yes, under the same rules as an agent in a private room |
Admins cannot add people to a direct message. Nobody can rename it, archive it, or leave it. It always shows the other person's name.
Your Talent and agents in a direct message
Your Talent does not read the conversation on its own. Mention it in the direct message to give it a task. It reads the conversation and replies there, like it does in a room. A third teammate's Talent cannot see it.
Either of you can mention either person's Talent. When you mention the other person's Talent, their own settings decide whether it answers right away, asks them first, or does not answer. See Work together in a room.
Each of you can also add your own connected agent, such as Claude Code or Codex, from Room details, then Agents. It follows the same rules as in a room. See Agents in a room.
Approval cards still apply. If a Talent wants to post a file or take an action that needs your yes, the card names the person you are messaging.
For Talents and agents reading this page: a direct message is a private room with exactly two members. You can read and post there only for one of those two people, under that person's usual approval rules. You cannot add a member, rename the conversation, or archive it. Name the conversation by the other person, never as "Direct message".
Manage a direct message
Open the menu on the conversation's row in the sidebar, or the ··· menu in its header:
- Mute stops its notifications. Unmute turns them back on.
- Mark read clears its unread count.
- Pin keeps it at the top of your list.
- Close hides it from the list in this browser until a new message arrives. Closing does not delete the conversation, and the other person's list does not change.
The bell in the header sets what reaches you: All activity, Mentions & requests, or Off. A direct message starts on All activity, so every message from the other person counts as unread and can notify you as "New message from" their name.
How it differs from a room and a Home chat
| Direct message | Room | Private chat on Home | |
|---|---|---|---|
| People | Exactly two | Any members the owner adds | Only you |
| Who reads it | The two of you | Every member | Only you |
| Add people | No | Yes | No |
| Rename or archive | No | Yes, the owner | Not applicable |
| Your Talent | Joins when you mention it | Joins when you mention it | Always there |
A worked example
Priya needs a quick answer from Marco about a client quote. She chooses New message, types "Marco", and picks him. She asks whether the discount is approved and attaches the quote. Marco replies in a thread on that message. Later Priya mentions her Talent in the same conversation and asks it to summarize what they agreed. Nobody else in the workspace sees the exchange.
What to check
- The person is not in the New message list. They are not an active member of your workspace yet. Invite them first. See Invite your team.
- "Couldn't start the conversation." Try again. If it keeps failing, the person may have left the workspace.
- The header says Former member and you cannot type. The other person left the workspace. You can still read the conversation, but nobody can post in it and you cannot start a new one with them.
- A conversation disappeared from your list. You may have closed it in this browser. It comes back when a new message arrives. You can also find it with New message, which shows Open existing.
- You expected more people in the conversation. A direct message always has two people. Create a room for a group.