Manage a channel's instructions from another channel changedclaude-tag/admins/managed-by
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Upstream edited this page at 25 Sep 2026 22:37 UTC, give or take a minute or two: the time comes from Anthropic’s own sitemap rather than from a commit. This site recorded the change at 28 Sep 2026 22:07 UTC.
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1515The table compares the places standing instructions for Claude can live and who writes each.
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17| You want | Use | Who writes it |
18| :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
19| The same rules in every channel of a workspace or your whole organization | [Custom instructions](/docs/claude-tag/admins/attach-to-scope#add-custom-instructions) on the workspace or organization scope | An Owner, in admin settings |
20| A central team to write the rules for a few channels it runs, such as a help desk or an on-call channel, without being admins | **Managed by** | Members of a managing channel, by asking Claude in Slack |
21| The people who work in a channel to set its conventions themselves | The **Channel instructions** field on the channel's [Configure page](/docs/claude-tag/users/good-habits#configure-claude-for-a-channel) | Channel members, unless an admin has [restricted editing](/docs/claude-tag/admins/attach-to-scope#restrict-who-can-set-channel-instructions) |
17| You want | Use | Who writes it |
18| :- | :- | :- |
19| The same rules in every channel of a workspace or your whole organization | [Custom instructions](/docs/claude-tag/admins/attach-to-scope#add-custom-instructions) on the workspace or organization scope | An Owner, in admin settings |
20| A central team to write the rules for a few channels it runs, such as a help desk or an on-call channel, without being admins | **Managed by** | Members of a managing channel, by asking Claude in Slack |
21| The people who work in a channel to set its conventions themselves | The **Channel instructions** field on the channel's [Configure page](/docs/claude-tag/users/good-habits#configure-claude-for-a-channel) | Channel members, unless an admin has [restricted editing](/docs/claude-tag/admins/attach-to-scope#restrict-who-can-set-channel-instructions) |
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2323You set up **Managed by** one channel at a time, and someone confirms each change to a channel's text in Slack. That suits a handful of channels. To give many channels the same text, use workspace or organization custom instructions.
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9696Managed instructions are either core instructions, which Claude always reads, or reference files, which Claude opens when the core instructions call for one.
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98| Kind | How many | Size limit | When Claude reads it |
99| :---------------- | :--------------------------------------------------- | :----------- | :------------------------------------------------------------ |
100| Core instructions | One per managed channel | 16 KiB | At the start of every new conversation in the managed channel |
101| Reference files | Up to 20 per managed channel, each with a short name | 100 KiB each | When the core instructions point Claude to one by name |
98| Kind | How many | Size limit | When Claude reads it |
99| :- | :- | :- | :- |
100| Core instructions | One per managed channel | 16 KiB | At the start of every new conversation in the managed channel |
101| Reference files | Up to 20 per managed channel, each with a short name | 100 KiB each | When the core instructions point Claude to one by name |
102102
103103Put what Claude must always follow in the core instructions. Put long material, such as a runbook or an escalation list, in a reference file, and name that file in the core instructions so Claude knows when to open it.
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122122A managing channel's members can read the managed channel's instructions through Claude, so a private channel's text can be managed only from other private channels.
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124| Managed channel | Managing channels can be | Who can add managing channels |
125| :-------------- | :----------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------ |
126| Public | Public or private | An Owner or Admin |
127| Private | Private only | An Owner or Admin who is also a member of the private channel |
124| Managed channel | Managing channels can be | Who can add managing channels |
125| :- | :- | :- |
126| Public | Public or private | An Owner or Admin |
127| Private | Private only | An Owner or Admin who is also a member of the private channel |
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129129Anyone in the workspace can join a public managing channel and confirm changes there, so prefer a private managing channel for anything sensitive.
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143143Claude words a refusal differently each time, so match a row on its meaning. The table covers the refusals Claude or the Configure page gives for a pairing or a change.
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145| What you're told | Cause | Fix |
146| :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
147| This channel isn't set as a manager of the other channel | No pairing exists, or it was removed | Add this channel under **Managed by** on the other channel's Configure page |
148| A channel is shared with another organization | The managed or managing channel is a Slack Connect channel, has a pending invitation, or is shared across Enterprise Grid workspaces | Use channels that belong to one workspace only |
149| You aren't in the managing channel, or in the private managed channel | You tried to add a managing channel you haven't joined, or to add managing channels to a private channel you aren't in | Join the channel in Slack, then try again |
150| Claude isn't in one of the channels | Claude was removed from the managed or managing channel, or never added | Run `/invite @Claude` in that channel |
151| One of those channels is archived | One of the managing channels is archived in Slack | Remove the archived channel, then try again |
152| A private channel can only be managed by private channels | The managed channel is private and the managing channel is public, or was made public later | Pick a private managing channel |
153| The managed channel may have been made private or deleted | The managed channel was made private or deleted, or Claude is no longer in it | Check the channel in Slack. If it was made private, an Owner or Admin who is a member of it adds private managing channels again |
154| Claude isn't set up in the managed channel with its own channel configuration | The managed channel has no channel scope of its own on the **Slack** tab | [Add the channel](/docs/claude-tag/admins/attach-to-scope#attach-to-a-channel) in admin settings |
155| The managed channel already has five managing channels | Five is the most a managed channel can have | Remove one before adding another |
156| The file would be too large | The core instructions are over 16 KiB, or a reference file is over 100 KiB | Shorten the text, or move detail into a reference file |
157| The managed channel already has the most reference files | Twenty reference files exist | Ask Claude to delete one first |
158| The change is too large to show | The card can't display every changed line | Ask for a smaller part, confirm it, then ask for the next part |
159| The text was refused by the content check | The text is blank or contains characters, links, or formatting the content check doesn't allow | Remove that part or write it as plain text, then ask again |
160| Managed instructions changes aren't available for organizations with restricted compliance settings | Your organization has restricted compliance settings | See [Restricted compliance settings block Claude Tag](/docs/claude-tag/admins/troubleshooting#restricted-compliance-settings-block-claude-tag) |
145| What you're told | Cause | Fix |
146| :- | :- | :- |
147| This channel isn't set as a manager of the other channel | No pairing exists, or it was removed | Add this channel under **Managed by** on the other channel's Configure page |
148| A channel is shared with another organization | The managed or managing channel is a Slack Connect channel, has a pending invitation, or is shared across Enterprise Grid workspaces | Use channels that belong to one workspace only |
149| You aren't in the managing channel, or in the private managed channel | You tried to add a managing channel you haven't joined, or to add managing channels to a private channel you aren't in | Join the channel in Slack, then try again |
150| Claude isn't in one of the channels | Claude was removed from the managed or managing channel, or never added | Run `/invite @Claude` in that channel |
151| One of those channels is archived | One of the managing channels is archived in Slack | Remove the archived channel, then try again |
152| A private channel can only be managed by private channels | The managed channel is private and the managing channel is public, or was made public later | Pick a private managing channel |
153| The managed channel may have been made private or deleted | The managed channel was made private or deleted, or Claude is no longer in it | Check the channel in Slack. If it was made private, an Owner or Admin who is a member of it adds private managing channels again |
154| Claude isn't set up in the managed channel with its own channel configuration | The managed channel has no channel scope of its own on the **Slack** tab | [Add the channel](/docs/claude-tag/admins/attach-to-scope#attach-to-a-channel) in admin settings |
155| The managed channel already has five managing channels | Five is the most a managed channel can have | Remove one before adding another |
156| The file would be too large | The core instructions are over 16 KiB, or a reference file is over 100 KiB | Shorten the text, or move detail into a reference file |
157| The managed channel already has the most reference files | Twenty reference files exist | Ask Claude to delete one first |
158| The change is too large to show | The card can't display every changed line | Ask for a smaller part, confirm it, then ask for the next part |
159| The text was refused by the content check | The text is blank or contains characters, links, or formatting the content check doesn't allow | Remove that part or write it as plain text, then ask again |
160| Managed instructions changes aren't available for organizations with restricted compliance settings | Your organization has restricted compliance settings | See [Restricted compliance settings block Claude Tag](/docs/claude-tag/admins/troubleshooting#restricted-compliance-settings-block-claude-tag) |
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162162## Related resources
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