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Messaging

Scoriet's built-in Messaging system enables seamless team communication within the application. Instead of switching between multiple apps, your team can discuss projects, share ideas, ask questions, and collaborate—all without leaving Scoriet.

Understanding the Messaging System​

The messaging system provides multiple ways to communicate:

  • Direct Messages: One-to-one conversations with team members
  • Channels: Group discussions organized by topic or project
  • Threads: Organized conversations within channels
  • Notifications: Stay updated without checking constantly
  • Search: Find past conversations instantly

Opening Messaging​

To access the Messaging panel:

  1. Click the Messaging icon in the dock
  2. The Messaging panel opens on the right or bottom
  3. View conversations list on the left
  4. Chat area on the right
  5. Start a new conversation
Screenshot: Messaging panel showing conversations and chat area — messaging-main.png

Direct Messages​

Send private messages to individual team members.

Starting a Direct Message​

  1. Click "New Message" or "+"
  2. Select team member from list
  3. Type your message
  4. Press Enter to send

Message Features​

  • Text messages: Plain text, emoji support
  • Mentions: @mention team members to get their attention
  • Rich text: Bold, italic, code formatting using markdown
  • File sharing: Attach files (documents, images, screenshots)
  • Links: Share URLs with preview cards
  • Reactions: React with emoji to messages (thumbs up, celebrate, etc.)

Example Direct Message​

You: Hey John, can you review the user schema I created?

John: Sure! When did you push it?

You: Just now. It's in the database/schemas branch.
     I added the users table with all fields we discussed.

John: 👍 I'll check it out this afternoon.

Channels​

Organize group conversations by project, topic, or team.

Creating Channels​

  1. Click "Create Channel"
  2. Enter channel name (e.g., #backend, #design, #q1-planning)
  3. Add description (what the channel is for)
  4. Set privacy:
    • Public: Anyone can see and join
    • Private: Invite-only, hidden from directory
  5. Click Create

Channel Types​

Project Channels: Dedicated to a specific project

#scoriet-dev - Development discussions for Scoriet project
#scoriet-design - Design decisions and mockups
#scoriet-marketing - Marketing campaign planning

Topic Channels: Organized by subject

#backend - Backend development discussion
#frontend - Frontend and UI/UX
#database - Database design and SQL
#security - Security concerns and best practices

Team Channels: Specific to departments

#engineering - Engineering team announcements
#marketing - Marketing department discussions
#sales - Sales team updates

Social Channels: Non-work related

#random - Off-topic conversations
#wins - Celebrate team victories
#wellness - Health and work-life balance

Joining Channels​

  1. Click "Browse Channels"
  2. See available public channels
  3. Click channel to view details
  4. Click "Join" to participate
  5. Conversations appear in your list

Channel Settings​

As a channel creator, configure:

  • Channel name: Topic/purpose
  • Description: What the channel is about
  • Privacy: Public/Private
  • Notifications: Mute, all messages, mentions only
  • Members: See who's in the channel
  • Pinned messages: Keep important info visible
Screenshot: Channel creation dialog with privacy and topic settings — channel-creation.png

Threads​

Keep conversations organized within channels using threads.

Creating a Thread​

  1. Hover over a message in a channel
  2. Click "Reply in thread"
  3. A thread panel opens
  4. Type your response
  5. Send - response appears in thread, not main channel

Why Use Threads?​

Threads prevent channel clutter:

Main Channel (What people see):
├─ Alice: "Should we add a cache layer?"
│  └─ 5 replies in thread
├─ Bob: "The API response time is too slow"
│  └─ 12 replies in thread
└─ Carol: "New deployment schedule posted"
   └─ 3 replies in thread

Without threads, 20 messages would clutter the channel. With threads, it's clean and organized.

Thread Example​

Main message:
Bob: The API response time is too slow

Thread responses:
├─ Alice: Have you profiled it? Where's the bottleneck?
├─ Bob: Yeah, it's the database queries. N+1 problem.
├─ Carol: Easy fix. Let me review your code.
├─ Bob: Here's the PR: github.com/...
└─ Alice: Looks good, merged! 🚀

Message Formatting​

Write expressive, clear messages using formatting:

Markdown Support​

**bold text** → bold text
*italic text* → italic text
`code snippet` → code snippet
```code
multi-line code

→ formatted code block

quoted text → indented quote

Heading → larger text

Subheading → medium text​


### Mentions

Get specific people's attention:

- **@username** - Notify individual person
- **@channel** - Notify all channel members (use sparingly!)
- **@here** - Notify active users (don't use in threads)

### Emoji

Add personality and quick reactions:

🎉 → 🎉 :thumbsup: → 👍 ❤️ → ❤️ 🤔 → 🤔 🔥 → 🔥 🚀 → 🚀


## Sharing and Media

### Sharing Files

1. **Click attachment icon** 📎
2. **Select file** from computer
3. **File uploads** and appears in chat
4. **Team can download** or preview (if supported)

Supported file types:
- Documents: PDF, Word, Excel
- Images: PNG, JPG, GIF
- Code: Any code file type
- Archives: ZIP, RAR

### Sharing Links

Paste a URL and it shows a preview:

You: Check out this article about databases https://example.com/database-design

[Preview Card] Database Design Best Practices Author: Jane Smith | 5 min read Learn how to design databases that scale... [Visit Article →]


### Sharing Code Snippets

Paste code and it highlights syntax:

SELECT users.name, COUNT(posts.id) as post_count
FROM users
LEFT JOIN posts ON users.id = posts.user_id
GROUP BY users.id;

## Notifications

Stay updated without constant checking:

### Notification Preferences

1. **Click your profile** → Settings
2. **Go to Notifications**
3. **For each channel, set**:
   - **All**: Every message
   - **Mentions**: Only @mentions
   - **Mute**: No notifications

### Notification Styles

- **Desktop**: Pop-up notifications
- **Badge**: Unread count indicator
- **Sound**: Optional alert sound
- **Email**: Digest of important messages (optional)

### Do Not Disturb

Temporarily silence notifications:

1. **Click status** (online/away indicator)
2. **Select "Do Not Disturb"**
3. **Choose duration**: 1 hour, until tomorrow, custom
4. **Notifications muted** temporarily

## Search and Archives

### Finding Messages

1. **Click search icon** 🔍
2. **Type keywords** or member name
3. **Results show**:
   - Matching messages
   - From which conversation
   - When posted
4. **Click result** to jump to message

### Advanced Search

```
from:john                    // Messages from John
in:backend                   // Messages in #backend channel
after:2026-04-01            // Sent after April 1
before:2026-04-15           // Sent before April 15
has:file                    // Messages with attachments
has:link                    // Messages with URLs

Example: from:john in:backend has:file
→ Shows files John shared in #backend channel
```

### Archiving Conversations

1. **Right-click conversation**
2. **Select "Archive"**
3. **Conversation hidden** from main list
4. **Still searchable** in archives
5. **Can restore** from archives if needed

## Collaboration Features

### Reactions

React to messages with emoji instead of lengthy replies:

```
Message: "The new design is ready!"

Reactions:
👍 5 people   🎉 3 people   ❤️ 2 people   🚀 1 person
```

Click reaction count to see who reacted.

### Message Editing

Fix typos after sending:

1. **Hover over your message**
2. **Click "Edit"**
3. **Change text**
4. **Click "Save"** (shows "(edited)" label)

### Message Deletion

Remove a message:

1. **Hover over your message**
2. **Click "Delete"**
3. **Confirm deletion**
4. **Message removed** (shows "(deleted)" for others)

### Pinned Messages

Keep important info visible in a channel:

1. **Hover over message**
2. **Click "Pin"**
3. **Message pinned** to channel top
4. **Click pin icon** to view pinned messages

Example pinned messages:
```
#backend channel pins:
├─ Database migration schedule
├─ API documentation link
├─ Security checklist
└─ Deployment instructions
```

## Integration with Projects

Messaging integrates with your Scoriet projects:

### Linking to Items

Reference database records, forms, or tasks:

```
Message: "Check out the user form we designed"
→ Creates link to Form Designer: User Form
```

Click link to jump directly to the item.

### Project Notifications

Get notified about project events in messaging:

```
#scoriet-dev channel:
🤖 System: John pushed code to backend
🤖 System: Jane created new form "User Registration"
🤖 System: Bob completed task in Kanban board
```

## Tips and Best Practices

:::tip
**Use channels wisely**: Create channels for ongoing topics, use DMs for one-off questions.
:::

:::tip
**Threads keep channels clean**: Use threads to keep long conversations organized.
:::

:::tip
**Search before asking**: Use search to see if your question was already answered.
:::

:::tip
**Respect @channel/@here**: Only use these for truly urgent, team-wide messages.
:::

:::tip
**Archive old conversations**: Regular cleanup keeps your message list manageable.
:::

:::tip
**Share context**: When asking questions, provide background so teammates understand the context.
:::

## Accessibility

Messaging is designed to be accessible:

- **Keyboard navigation**: Tab through conversations, Enter to send
- **Screen reader support**: Messages clearly labeled
- **High contrast**: Text readable with reduced vision
- **Emoji alternatives**: Text descriptions for emojis

## What's Next?

- Learn about [Template Store](./template-store.md) to share messaging features
- Explore [Deployment](./deployment.md) to make messaging available in your app
- Set up [Translations](./translations.md) for multi-language teams