Control when Claude Tag responds changedclaude-tag/users/when-claude-responds
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1616| :- | :- |
1717| A one-to-one DM with Claude | Always. Every message is addressed to Claude already |
1818| A thread Claude is already in | Yes, unless you've [quieted the thread](#quiet-one-conversation). Once Claude has joined, every reply there reaches it without another mention |
19| A channel, top-level | Sometimes. [What Claude does with a channel message](#what-claude-does-with-a-channel-message) describes how it decides. Include `@Claude` to guarantee a reply, or [turn unprompted replies off](#quiet-the-whole-channel) |
19| A channel, top-level | Sometimes, under the default [**How Claude participates**](#turn-automatic-replies-on-or-off) setting. [What Claude does with a channel message](#what-claude-does-with-a-channel-message) describes how it decides. Include `@Claude` to guarantee a reply, or [turn unprompted replies off](#quiet-the-whole-channel) |
2020| A group DM that includes Claude, top-level | Sometimes. See [When Claude replies in a group DM](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/users/group-dms.md#when-claude-replies-in-a-group-dm) |
2121| A message another app or bot posted | No. Claude reads it as context. To get a reply, have the app include `@Claude` in its message. [Messages from other apps and bots](#messages-from-other-apps-and-bots) covers when that mention goes unanswered |
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2828
2929## What Claude does with a channel message
3030
31Claude reads every top-level message in a channel it belongs to, and the replies in the channel's threads, whether or not anyone tagged it. For each message, it decides what to do from the channel's recent messages, the channel's [memory](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/users/memory.md), and any instructions your admin has set or a channel member has asked it to remember, and does one of five things.
31Under the default [**Respond automatically**](#turn-automatic-replies-on-or-off) option, Claude reads top-level messages and thread replies in a channel it belongs to, whether anyone tagged it or not, and it can [stop reading the channel](#when-claude-stops-reading-a-channel). For each message, it decides what to do from the channel's recent messages, the channel's [memory](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/users/memory.md), and any instructions your admin has set or a channel member has asked it to remember, and does one of these things.
3232
3333* **Nothing.** This is the usual outcome, especially in a channel where nobody has told Claude which kinds of messages to answer.
3434* **An offer to help.** When a thread leaves a concrete next step Claude could take for someone, Claude may offer in that thread to take it. The offer is either a one-line reply everyone can see or a [private suggestion](#private-suggestions-from-claude) only that person can see.
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4949
5050## Turn automatic replies on or off
5151
52The **Respond automatically** setting controls whether Claude replies to a channel's messages without an @-mention. When it's on, Claude may reply to a message it judges warrants one, as [What Claude does with a channel message](#what-claude-does-with-a-channel-message) describes. When it's off, Claude replies in that channel only when someone @-mentions it. The setting is on by default.
52Each channel's **How Claude participates** setting controls when Claude replies to the channel's messages.
5353
54Each channel has its own copy of the setting, and there is no workspace- or organization-wide version. To make Claude mention-only across many channels, turn it off in each one.
54| Option | What Claude does |
55| :- | :- |
56| **Only when @-mentioned** | Waits for a person to @-mention it. In a thread it's already part of, it can also reply without a mention |
57| **Respond automatically** (the default) | May reply to a message it judges warrants one, as [What Claude does with a channel message](#what-claude-does-with-a-channel-message) describes |
58| **Always awake** | Replies as it does under **Respond automatically**, and [keeps reading the channel](#when-claude-stops-reading-a-channel) however quiet or busy the channel gets |
59| **Start a thread session for every top-level message** | Starts a [working session](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/concepts/how-it-works.md) in a thread under a workspace member's new top-level message, whether the message tags Claude or not. Some messages don't start one |
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61Each channel has its own copy of the setting, and there is no workspace- or organization-wide version. To make Claude mention-only across many channels, select **Only when @-mentioned** in each one.
62
5663All three places below change the same setting, so a change you make in one appears in the others.
5764
5865| Where | How |
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6168| The channel's Configure page | Open the **Configure** link in the footer of any Claude reply in the channel, switch the **Respond automatically** toggle, and click **Save**. See [Configure Claude for a channel](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/users/good-habits.md#configure-claude-for-a-channel). |
6269| Claude Tag admin settings (Owners and Claude Tag admins) | Go to [**Organization settings > Claude Tag**](https://claude.ai/admin-settings/claude-tag?access=channels), select the channel on the **Channels** tab, and switch **Respond automatically** on the channel's **General** tab. |
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64An Owner or a [Claude Tag admin](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/admins/restrict-access.md#delegate-claude-tag-administration) can set [**Channel member edits**](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/admins/attach-to-scope.md#restrict-who-can-set-channel-instructions) to **Block** for a channel, a workspace, or all of Slack. When the setting is **Block**, Claude declines to change **Respond automatically** when anyone asks in Slack, and channel members can't switch the toggle on the channel's Configure page. An Owner or a Claude Tag admin can still change the setting in Claude Tag admin settings, and a [channel manager](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/admins/restrict-access.md#delegate-channel-setup-to-channel-managers) can still switch the toggle on the Configure page of a channel assigned to them.
71An Owner or a [Claude Tag admin](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/admins/restrict-access.md#delegate-claude-tag-administration) can set [**Channel member edits**](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/admins/attach-to-scope.md#restrict-who-can-set-channel-instructions) to **Block** for a channel, a workspace, or all of Slack. When the setting is **Block**, Claude declines to change **How Claude participates** when anyone asks in Slack, and channel members can't change **How Claude participates** on the channel's Configure page. An Owner or a Claude Tag admin can still change the setting in Claude Tag admin settings, and a [channel manager](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/admins/restrict-access.md#delegate-channel-setup-to-channel-managers) can still change it on the Configure page of a channel assigned to them.
6572
6673The setting covers the channel's messages, not DMs. To quiet a single thread instead of the whole channel, [ask Claude in that thread](#quiet-one-conversation).
6774
68Until Claude has joined a channel, you see "@-mention Claude in this channel to activate" in place of the toggle, both on the Configure page and on the channel's page in Claude Tag admin settings. You see the same line in a channel shared across workspaces that all belong to your Claude organization, because Claude runs there with your organization's default settings only. [Messages that never get a reply](#messages-that-never-get-a-reply) covers shared channels in more detail.
75Until Claude has joined a channel, you see "@-mention Claude in this channel to activate" in place of the options under **How Claude participates**, both on the Configure page and on the channel's page in Claude Tag admin settings. You see the same line in a channel shared across workspaces that all belong to your Claude organization, because Claude runs there with your organization's default settings only. [Messages that never get a reply](#messages-that-never-get-a-reply) covers shared channels in more detail.
6976
7077> [!NOTE]
7178>
72> Separately from **Respond automatically**, an Owner or a Claude Tag admin can [turn Claude off in channels](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/admins/workspaces.md#turn-claude-tag-on-or-off-and-set-the-version-for-a-scope).
79> Separately from **How Claude participates**, an Owner or a Claude Tag admin can [turn Claude off in channels](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/admins/workspaces.md#turn-claude-tag-on-or-off-and-set-the-version-for-a-scope).
7380
7481## Messages from other apps and bots
7582
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108115
109116### Quiet the whole channel
110117
111Turn the channel's [**Respond automatically**](#turn-automatic-replies-on-or-off) setting off, so Claude replies there only when @-mentioned. From Slack, ask Claude directly.
118Set the channel's [**How Claude participates**](#turn-automatic-replies-on-or-off) setting to **Only when @-mentioned**. From Slack, ask Claude directly.
112119
113120```text wrap theme={null}
114121@Claude only respond in this channel when someone @-mentions you directly.
115122```
116123
117Claude confirms the change, which is channel-wide, not just for you. You can make the same change with the toggle on the channel's Configure page, and an Owner or a [Claude Tag admin](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/admins/restrict-access.md#delegate-claude-tag-administration) can change it in [Claude Tag admin settings](https://claude.ai/admin-settings/claude-tag). If Claude declines because an Owner or a Claude Tag admin has locked the channel's settings, ask one of them to make the change in Claude Tag admin settings, as [Turn automatic replies on or off](#turn-automatic-replies-on-or-off) describes.
124Claude confirms the change, which is channel-wide, not just for you. You can make the same change under **How Claude participates** on the channel's Configure page, and an Owner or a [Claude Tag admin](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/admins/restrict-access.md#delegate-claude-tag-administration) can change it in [Claude Tag admin settings](https://claude.ai/admin-settings/claude-tag). If Claude declines because an Owner or a Claude Tag admin has locked the channel's settings, ask one of them to make the change in Claude Tag admin settings, as [Turn automatic replies on or off](#turn-automatic-replies-on-or-off) describes.
118125
119126Threads Claude already joined keep forwarding replies, so quiet those individually with the in-thread line above. The [`!mute` command](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/users/commands#mute-or-unmute-a-thread) quiets one thread at a time and does nothing at a channel's top level.
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123130You can stop [private suggestions](#private-suggestions-from-claude) for yourself or for everyone in a channel.
124131
125132* **For yourself**: open the **⋯** menu on a suggestion and select **Mute for a week**. The channel's [Configure page](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/users/good-habits.md#configure-claude-for-a-channel) opens and mutes suggestions for you for 7 days, in every channel of your organization. Other people still get theirs. To end the mute early, select **Unmute** in the "Suggestions muted for you" bar on any channel's Configure page. A suggestion in a channel without a Configure page has no **⋯** menu, but a mute you set from another channel's suggestion covers it.
126* **For the whole channel**: set the channel to reply only when someone @-mentions Claude, as [Turn automatic replies on or off](#turn-automatic-replies-on-or-off) describes. Claude then sends no suggestions in that channel.
133* **For the whole channel**: select **Only when @-mentioned** under **How Claude participates**, as [Turn automatic replies on or off](#turn-automatic-replies-on-or-off) describes. Claude then sends no suggestions in that channel.
127134
128135### Remove Claude Tag from the channel
129136
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137144
138145## When Claude stops reading a channel
139146
140Claude stops reading a channel's messages when either of these happens:
147Under the default [**Respond automatically**](#turn-automatic-replies-on-or-off) option, unless the channel is [attached to on-call](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/admins/setup-oncall.md), Claude stops reading the channel's top-level messages and messages in threads it isn't part of when either of these happens:
141148
142149* **Message volume.** Claude counts the messages posted in the channel since it last posted there itself, and stops reading when the count gets high enough.
143150* **Inactivity.** When more than 10 days pass without anyone @-mentioning Claude in the channel and without Claude posting there, Claude stops reading.
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146153
147154To start Claude reading again, mention `@Claude` in the channel. A mention from a person reaches Claude in both situations, and once Claude posts its reply, it reads the channel's messages again. A mention inside another app's or bot's message starts Claude reading again only after an inactivity stop.
148155
149If unprompted replies don't come back after Claude answers a mention, the channel's [**Respond automatically**](#turn-automatic-replies-on-or-off) setting is off. Answering a mention doesn't turn the setting on, and Claude changes the setting only when a channel member asks it to, so turn it back on in one of the three places listed in that section.
156If unprompted replies don't come back after Claude answers a mention, check **How Claude participates** on the channel's [Configure page](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/users/good-habits.md#configure-claude-for-a-channel). Answering a mention doesn't change the setting, so if the page shows **Only when @-mentioned**, change it to **Respond automatically** in one of the three places listed in [Turn automatic replies on or off](#turn-automatic-replies-on-or-off).
150157
151158## Messages that never get a reply
152159
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159166
160167When the workspaces sharing a channel all belong to one Claude organization, Claude replies there, but with only your organization's default access and settings. The repositories, instructions, and memory set up for that channel or its workspaces don't apply, and Claude posts a notice in the thread explaining this from time to time. The guest check above still applies first where guest access is restricted.
161168
162To confirm a channel's setting, check the **Respond automatically** toggle on its [Configure page](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/users/good-habits.md#configure-claude-for-a-channel). To confirm an instruction Claude saved, ask `@Claude what do you remember about responding in this channel?`, and see [What Claude Tag remembers](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/users/memory.md) for where instructions are stored and how to change them.
169To confirm a channel's setting, check **How Claude participates** on its [Configure page](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/users/good-habits.md#configure-claude-for-a-channel). To confirm an instruction Claude saved, ask `@Claude what do you remember about responding in this channel?`, and see [What Claude Tag remembers](https://claude.com/docs/claude-tag/users/memory.md) for where instructions are stored and how to change them.
163170
164171## Related resources
165172
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