Chat & Messaging

Real-time team communication with threaded conversations, file sharing, and mentions

Stay connected with your team using Verk's real-time chat system. Communicate across projects, share files, and keep conversations organized with threaded messages.

Prerequisites

To use chat features, you need:

Active Verk account
Membership in at least one organization
WebSocket connection (enabled by default in modern browsers)
Optional: Notification permissions for desktop alerts

Access chat

Open the chat interface:

Click the Chat icon in the left sidebar
Or press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + C from anywhere
Or click the chat bubble on any task

Pin frequently used chat channels to the top of your sidebar for quick access.

Chat channels

Verk organizes conversations into different channel types:

Organization-wide channels

General channel:

Automatically created for every organization
All members have access
Great for announcements and team-wide updates

Custom channels:

Create topic-specific channels
Set visibility (public or private)
Manage member access

Create a channel:

Click + next to Channels
Enter channel name (e.g., "#marketing" or "#random")
Add description
Set visibility and permissions
Invite members
Click Create Channel

Project channels

Every project automatically gets a dedicated channel:

Discuss project-specific topics
Visible to all project members
Automatically syncs with project membership
Access from project sidebar or main chat view

Direct messages

Send private messages to team members:

Click New Message or press Cmd/Ctrl + N
Search for team member by name
Type your message
Press Enter to send

Group direct messages:

Add multiple people to one conversation
Maximum 8 people per group DM
Great for quick team discussions

Task threads

Every task has its own chat thread:

Access from task detail panel
Keeps conversations focused
Automatically notifies task watchers
Links messages to task context

Send messages

Basic messaging

Type and send messages quickly:

Click in the message input box
Type your message
Press Enter to send
Or Shift + Enter for new line

Message formatting:

Use markdown for rich text formatting:

**bold** for bold text
*italic* for italic text
`code` for inline code
Triple backticks for code blocks
> quote for block quotes
- item for bullet lists

Example:

**Project Update**

Progress on new feature:
- Design complete
- Development in progress
- ⏳ Testing pending

Next steps: `Deploy to staging`

Mentions

Notify specific people or groups:

@mention individuals:

Type @ and start typing a name
Select from autocomplete suggestions
Person receives notification

@mention everyone:

@channel notifies all channel members
@here notifies currently online members
Use sparingly for important announcements

@mention teams:

@developers notifies all members of that team
@project-managers reaches all PMs
Configure custom team mentions in Settings

Use @channel and @everyone sparingly. Frequent notifications can be disruptive, especially in large teams.

Reactions

React to messages with emoji:

Hover over message
Click the emoji icon
Select emoji from picker
Or use emoji shortcode (:thumbsup:, :fire:, :tada:)

Common reactions:

Agreement or acknowledgment
Appreciation
Celebration
I'm looking at this
Task complete
Launch or deploy

Share files directly in chat:

Upload methods:

Drag and drop files into chat
Click paperclip icon and browse files
Paste images from clipboard
Copy/paste files directly

Supported file types:

Images: JPG, PNG, GIF, SVG, WEBP
Documents: PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX
Code: All text-based files with syntax highlighting
Videos: MP4, MOV, WEBM
Archives: ZIP, RAR, TAR

File previews:

Images display inline
PDFs open in preview panel
Documents show thumbnail
Videos play inline

File limits:

Free: 5MB per file
Pro: 50MB per file
Enterprise: 500MB per file

Link previews

Paste URLs to generate rich previews:

Supported links:

Verk tasks and projects
GitHub issues and PRs
Figma designs
Google Docs
YouTube videos
Twitter posts
Most websites with OpenGraph tags

Links automatically unfurl with:

Title and description
Preview image
Metadata

Threaded conversations

Keep discussions organized with threads:

Create a thread

Reply to a message in a thread:

Hover over a message
Click Reply in thread
Type your response
Conversations stay nested

Thread benefits:

Keeps main channel clean
Groups related messages
Easier to follow specific topics
Reduces notification noise

View threads

Access threads from multiple places:

Click thread count under message
View Threads tab in sidebar
Filter by threads you're in
See unread thread count

Thread notifications

Control thread notification preferences:

Auto-follow threads you start
Get notified on new replies
Mute specific threads
Customize in Settings → Notifications

Search messages

Find past conversations quickly:

Click search bar or press Cmd/Ctrl + K
Type search query
Filter by:

Channel
Date range
Sender
Has attachments
Contains mentions

Search operators:

from:@username - Messages from specific user
in:#channel - Messages in specific channel
has:file - Messages with attachments
before:2024-01-01 - Messages before date
after:2024-01-01 - Messages after date

Jump to message

Navigate directly to messages:

Click search result to jump to message
Use timestamp links to share specific messages
Highlight appears around target message
Auto-scrolls to position

Message history

Access complete message history:

Scroll up to load older messages
Jump to first unread with notification badge
View all attachments in channel
Export channel history (Admin only)

Chat features

Message actions

Perform actions on messages:

Hover menu options:

Reply in thread - Start threaded conversation
React - Add emoji reaction
Share - Copy message link
Pin - Pin important messages
Edit - Modify your own messages
Delete - Remove your messages
Report - Flag inappropriate content

Edit messages:

Hover over your message
Click three dots → Edit
Make changes
Press Enter to save
Message shows "edited" indicator

Delete messages:

Only delete your own messages
Admins can delete any message
Deletion is permanent
Shows "message deleted" placeholder

Pinned messages

Pin important information:

Hover over message
Click Pin message
Pinned messages appear in channel header
Click pins icon to view all pinned messages

Good uses for pins:

Channel guidelines
Important announcements
Frequently referenced links
Team schedules

Status indicators

See who's online and active:

Green dot: Currently online
Yellow dot: Away (inactive 10+ minutes)
Gray dot: Offline
Typing indicator: Someone is typing

Read receipts

Know when messages are seen:

Checkmark appears when delivered
Double checkmark when read (DMs only)
See read count in threads
Hover to see who read the message

Notifications

Configure notifications

Control how you receive chat alerts:

Navigate to Settings → Notifications → Chat
Set notification preferences:

All messages - Notify on every message
Mentions only - Only when @mentioned
Nothing - No notifications
Custom - Configure per channel

Channel-specific settings:

Right-click channel name
Select Notification preferences
Override default settings
Mute channels temporarily

Notification types

Choose how you're notified:

Desktop notifications: System notifications
Email: Digest of missed messages
Mobile push: iOS/Android notifications
In-app badges: Unread count indicators

Do Not Disturb:

Click profile → Set status
Select Do Not Disturb
Choose duration (1 hour, 4 hours, until tomorrow)
Snooze all notifications during DND

Smart notifications

Verk learns your notification preferences:

Working hours: Only notify during set hours
Quiet time: Auto-DND outside work hours
Keyword alerts: Notify on specific words
Priority senders: Always notify for certain people

Advanced chat features

Slash commands

Use commands for quick actions:

Common slash commands:

/task [title] - Create task from chat
/remind me [time] [message] - Set reminder
/status [message] - Update your status
/shrug - Append ¯_(ツ)_/¯ to message
/giphy [search] - Send GIF (if enabled)

Code snippets

Share code with syntax highlighting:

Click code icon or press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + C
Select programming language
Paste code
Add optional title
Click Send snippet

Alternatively, use markdown code blocks:

```javascript
function hello() {
 console.log("Hello, Verk!");
}
```

Voice messages

Send voice recordings (mobile apps):

Tap microphone icon
Hold to record
Release to send
Swipe to cancel

Voice message features:

Auto-transcription
Playback speed control
Waveform visualization
Download audio file

Message scheduling

Schedule messages to send later:

Type your message
Click dropdown next to Send
Select Schedule message
Choose date and time
Click Schedule

View scheduled messages in Drafts & Scheduled.

Chat integrations

Bot integrations

Connect helpful bots to channels:

Notification bots:

GitHub bot for PR updates
Jira bot for issue notifications
Calendar bot for meeting reminders

Productivity bots:

Standup bot for daily check-ins
Poll bot for team decisions
Reminder bot for follow-ups

Add bots from Settings → Integrations → Chat Bots

Webhooks

Send messages via webhooks:

Create incoming webhook in channel settings
Copy webhook URL
POST JSON to URL:

curl -X POST YOUR_WEBHOOK_URL \
 -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
 -d '{
 "text": "Deployment successful!",
 "username": "Deploy Bot",
 "channel": "#engineering"
 }'

Mobile chat

Use chat on the go:

Mobile features

Push notifications
Share from other apps to chat
Voice messages
Camera photo sharing
Location sharing
Offline message queueing

Mobile shortcuts

Swipe right on message to reply in thread
Long press message for actions menu
Pull down to mark all as read
Swipe left to mute channel

Troubleshooting

Messages not sending

If messages won't send:

Check internet connection
Refresh the page
Check WebSocket connection status (Settings → Advanced)
Clear browser cache
Try different browser

Not receiving notifications

Fix notification issues:

Check browser notification permissions
Verify Settings → Notifications enabled
Disable Do Not Disturb mode
Check channel notification preferences
Review notification filters

Chat lagging or slow

Improve performance:

Close unused channels
Clear chat cache in Settings
Reduce message history loaded
Disable animated GIFs
Update to latest browser version

Missing messages

If messages disappear:

Check if message was deleted
Verify you're in correct channel
Look in thread view
Check if channel was archived
Contact admin if data loss suspected

Best practices

Effective communication

Write clear messages:

Use descriptive subject lines for threads
Break long messages into paragraphs
Use formatting for emphasis
Add context for links

Be respectful:

Use @mentions thoughtfully
Respect working hours
Keep messages professional
Use reactions instead of "thanks" messages

Channel organization

Keep channels focused:

One topic per channel
Clear channel names and descriptions
Archive inactive channels
Pin important information

Naming conventions:

#proj-name for projects
#team-name for departments
#topic-general for discussions
#location-office for office-specific

File management

Share files effectively:

Use descriptive filenames
Add context when sharing
Use threads for file discussions
Link to cloud storage for large files

Search efficiency

Make messages searchable:

Use consistent terminology
Tag with relevant keywords
Thread related discussions
Pin frequently referenced info

Common use cases

Daily standup

Run asynchronous standups in chat:

Setup:

Create #standup channel
Configure standup bot or use template
Team posts daily updates

Template:

 Standup for [Date]

 Yesterday:
- Completed task X
- Reviewed PR Y

 Today:
- Working on feature Z
- Meeting with design team

 Blockers:
- None

Project kickoff

Launch projects with focused chat:

Create dedicated project channel
Pin project brief and goals
Share relevant files and links
Set channel topic with deadline
Invite all project stakeholders

Quick decisions

Use polls for team decisions:

/poll "Which design?" "Option A" "Option B" "Option C"
Team votes with reactions
Decision made quickly
Results documented in chat

Share learnings with team:

Create knowledge threads:

Post TIL (Today I Learned) in #general
Share useful articles with context
Document solutions to common problems
Pin frequently asked questions