How agent identity works changedclaude-tag/concepts/agent-identity
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## Group DMs
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99Claude Tag's identity depends on where you message it.
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11In Slack channels, Claude acts with its own service accounts, rather than as a specific user. An organization Owner [provisions this identity](/docs/claude-tag/admins/setup-overview#give-claude-access-to-your-tools), so Claude has its own account in each system it works in: the Claude app in Slack, the Claude GitHub App on GitHub, and a service account in every other connected tool. Actions it takes are attributed to those accounts; for example, posts come from the Claude app and pull requests show the Claude GitHub App as the author. Claude can also use your own claude.ai connectors for a task you hand it in a channel, after you allow it. See [Personal connectors in a channel](#personal-connectors-in-a-channel).
11In Slack channels, and in [group DMs](#group-dms) that include Claude, Claude acts with its own service accounts, rather than as a specific user. An organization Owner [provisions this identity](/docs/claude-tag/admins/setup-overview#give-claude-access-to-your-tools), so Claude has its own account in each system it works in: the Claude app in Slack, the Claude GitHub App on GitHub, and a service account in every other connected tool. Actions it takes are attributed to those accounts; for example, posts come from the Claude app and pull requests show the Claude GitHub App as the author. Claude can also use your own claude.ai connectors for a task you hand it in a channel, after you allow it. See [Personal connectors in a channel](#personal-connectors-in-a-channel).
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13In direct messages (DMs) between `@Claude` and a user who has connected a Claude account, the provisioned identity does not apply. DMs are one-to-one only; group DMs aren't supported. A DM has no channel to scope it to, so a DM session runs on [the individual's own claude.ai account](#direct-message-channels) instead, with their personal connectors. GitHub is the exception in attribution: a pull request opened from a DM is authored by the Claude GitHub App, the same as in channels, though the session can only work with repositories connected on that user's own account. Owners can disable DMs organization-wide; see [Allow or disable direct messages](/docs/claude-tag/admins/restrict-access#allow-or-disable-direct-messages). For DMs from users who haven't connected a Claude account, see [Direct messages from members without a Claude account](/docs/claude-tag/admins/restrict-access#direct-messages-from-members-without-a-claude-account).
13In one-to-one direct messages (DMs) between `@Claude` and a user who has connected a Claude account, the provisioned identity does not apply. A DM session runs on [the individual's own claude.ai account](#direct-message-channels) instead, with their personal connectors. A pull request opened from a DM is authored by the Claude GitHub App, the same as in channels, though the session can only work with repositories connected on that user's own account. Owners can disable DMs organization-wide; see [Allow or disable direct messages](/docs/claude-tag/admins/restrict-access#allow-or-disable-direct-messages). For DMs from users who haven't connected a Claude account, see [Direct messages from members without a Claude account](/docs/claude-tag/admins/restrict-access#direct-messages-from-members-without-a-claude-account).
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1515<Note>
1616 How Claude behaves in channels (its standing instructions, plugins, and channel memory) is configured separately from its identity; see [custom instructions](/docs/claude-tag/admins/attach-to-scope#add-custom-instructions), [plugins](/docs/claude-tag/admins/add-connections#attach-plugins), and [memory](/docs/claude-tag/users/memory) for more information.
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106106
107107## Direct message channels
108108
109A DM with Claude works differently from a channel. There is no scope to attach an identity to, so a DM session runs with your own claude.ai account instead, the same way a Claude Code session on the web does, using your own connectors and credentials, with results attributed to you (pull requests excepted; the Claude GitHub App authors those from DMs too). The diagram contrasts with the channel path above; the sandbox is the same engine, but everything around it is yours.
109A one-to-one DM with Claude works differently from a channel. A DM session runs with your own claude.ai account, the same way a Claude Code session on the web does, using your own connectors and credentials, with results attributed to you (pull requests excepted; the Claude GitHub App authors those from DMs too). The diagram contrasts with the channel path above; the sandbox is the same engine, but everything around it is yours.
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111111<img className="block dark:hidden" src="https://mintcdn.com/claude-ai/5JFKyLlO7sHMMf5J/images/claude-tag/diagrams/dm-identity.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=5JFKyLlO7sHMMf5J&q=85&s=d4089034f46e4a760f9fac9d36a689cc" alt="Diagram showing how a DM session reaches your systems. A message to Claude in a direct message runs in a session sandbox, in a zone labeled Anthropic's infrastructure, the same engine as a channel session, but it runs with your identity. From there it reaches your systems through your own connectors and accounts, like GitHub or Drive, using your own credentials. A dashed return path shows results posting back in the DM, as you." width="1000" height="270" data-path="images/claude-tag/diagrams/dm-identity.svg" />
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114114
115115The table lines up the two paths on the four dimensions that differ.
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117| | In a channel | In a DM |
117| | In a channel | In a one-to-one DM |
118118| :- | :- | :- |
119119| Acts as | Its own service accounts | You |
120120| Access | The channel's Access bundles | Your personal connectors |
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125125
126126* **Connectors.** The [connectors on your account](/docs/connectors/getting-started) are available, including MCP servers you've added.
127127* **Billing.** Usage bills to your seat rather than the organization's service key.
128* **Channel-side configuration.** It doesn't follow you in; the agent's connections and repository grants don't apply in DMs.
128* **Channel-side configuration.** It doesn't follow you in; the agent's connections and repository grants don't apply in one-to-one DMs.
129129
130130DM work runs under your credentials, so most of it is attributed to you and can reach only what your own accounts can. Pull requests are the exception: Claude authors them as the Claude GitHub App from DMs too, so a repository's history shows the same author either way, while the repositories it can reach are still only the ones connected on your own account.
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133133
134134### Claude Tag versus Claude Code in Slack
135135
136A DM with Claude Tag runs under your own account, which is also how [Claude Code in Slack](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/slack) works, routing a coding @-mention to a Claude Code session on the web under the requester's own account. The two can look identical. The table shows how to tell them apart.
136A one-to-one DM with Claude Tag runs under your own account, which is also how [Claude Code in Slack](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/slack) works, routing a coding @-mention to a Claude Code session on the web under the requester's own account. The two can look identical. The table shows how to tell them apart.
137137
138138| | Claude Tag in a channel | Claude Code in Slack |
139139| :- | :- | :- |
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143143| **Billing** | The organization | Your seat |
144144
145145If `@Claude` in your workspace opens pull requests as you, you're seeing Claude Code in Slack, not a Claude Tag session.
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147## Group DMs
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149In a group DM that includes Claude, Claude acts with its own service accounts, using the connections an admin set for the workspace and the organization. The work bills to the organization. Claude can also use the connectors on your claude.ai account for a task you ask for, after you allow it, as described in [Personal connectors in a channel](#personal-connectors-in-a-channel).
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151[Use Claude Tag in a group DM](/docs/claude-tag/users/group-dms) covers how to add Claude and what differs from a channel. If you're an admin, [Group DMs](/docs/claude-tag/admins/restrict-access#group-dms) covers how who is in a group DM can change whether Claude answers, and the settings that stop Claude from answering there.
146152
147153## Related resources
148154
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