Messaging in HQ

The HQ desktop app has built-in messaging: direct messages, channels, threads, and file sharing. It's where you talk with teammates and bots about HQ work, next to the files and projects that work is about. For a tour of the rest of the app, see A Tour of the HQ Desktop App.

Shortcuts on this page use Cmd for Mac. On Windows, use Ctrl.

Direct messages#

Press Cmd+N (New chat) and search for a person or bot. Pick one and the conversation opens right away. You can also press Cmd+Shift+K (New message).

You can message people outside your company too:

• Someone already on HQ: search for them, or open their profile and click Message.
• Someone by email: type their email address and choose Message followed by their email. If they're not on HQ yet, they'll get an email invite.

If you're not connected with that person yet, your message is sent as a request and held until they accept. When someone outside your companies wants to message you, their request shows up under Connection requests in your Home list (click Home at the top of the left rail), where you can Accept, Decline, or Block it.

Channels#

Channels are for conversations with more than one person. To create one, press Cmd+Shift+N (New channel). You can also press Cmd+N, type a name, and choose to create a channel. There are two kinds:

• Channel: a shared channel everyone in the company can find.
• Project channel: one home for a project: its work, files, and people. It's invite-only.

Give it a Name, and optionally a description, which is posted as the first message. Use the With field to add people or bots, then click Create channel (or press Cmd+Return).

Adding people later: @mention them in the channel (see below). Only the channel owner can add people.

Seeing who's in a channel: click the members button at the top of the channel. From there you can Leave channel, or, if you own the channel, Remove someone.

Deleting a channel: the owner can choose Delete channel. This permanently deletes the channel and its messages for everyone, and it can't be undone.

Mentions#

Type @ and start typing a name to mention someone. They'll get a notification.

• @here notifies everyone in a channel. It only reaches people, not bots. To get a bot's attention, type its handle, like @scout.
• Mentioning someone who isn't in the channel adds them to that channel.
• Mentioning someone from outside your company adds them as a guest. HQ asks you to confirm first. Guests can read and post in that one channel and nothing else.

If two people have the same name, the list shows their company or email so you can pick the right one.

Threads, reactions, and copying#

Move your pointer over a message to see its options:

• Reply in thread opens a side panel so you can reply without cluttering the main conversation. The message shows how many replies it has.
• Reactions: click the thumbs-up or party quick reaction, or Add a reaction for more.
• Copy message copies the text.

When a bot answers you in a direct message, its reply is threaded under the message it's answering.

You can't edit or delete a message after it's sent, so check it before you press Return.

Sharing files#

Click Attach a file to share a file in any conversation. Shared files show up as preview cards you can open without leaving the conversation.

Every channel has a Files tab that lists everything shared there. You can Reveal in Finder or Open in Claude Code from it.

Links that start with hq:// open straight to a conversation, message, file, or meeting in the HQ app.

Keeping your Home list tidy#

Your conversations live in the Home list, which opens when you click Home at the top of the left rail (or press Cmd+1). Right-click a conversation there for:

• Pin conversation, to keep it at the top
• Archive conversation, to hide it from your list. Only your view changes. Nothing is deleted, and it comes back if there's something new. To see archived conversations, turn on Show archived.

Unread conversations show a count, or a dot. The Dock icon and the menu bar icon show your total unread count too.

Notifications and muting#

For one channel: click the speaker icon at the top of the channel to choose how much you hear from it:

Everywhere: go to Settings → Notifications → Notify me about. To open Settings, click your picture at the bottom of the left rail and choose Settings, or press Cmd+,. You can turn on or off:

• Direct messages
• Mentions (unless the channel is muted)
• Files shared
• All activity
• Added to a channel

These settings are saved to your HQ account, so they apply on every device.

Taking a break: Pause notifications silences everything for 1 hour, 8 hours, Until tomorrow 8am, or Indefinitely. Turn on Let DMs through while paused if you still want direct messages to reach you.

Click the Notifications bell in the top bar to see all your notifications in one list, filter to Unread, or Mark all read.

Finding messages#

• Cmd+F searches your message history. You can search across all your companies or just one.
• Cmd+Shift+F jumps to a conversation by name.

Sending messages from HQ sessions#

You can also send a message from inside Claude Code or Codex with /dm, including scheduled messages and ready-to-run prompts for a teammate's HQ. See Sharing Your Work.

If you get stuck#

See The "I'm Stuck" Guide, or report it with /hq-bug. It packages the details for the team automatically.