Left sidebar

The left sidebar in the Zulip web and desktop apps helps you navigate your conversations. It has three main sections:

• Views provide various ways to get an overview of your messages.
• The direct messages section shows your direct message conversations.
• The channels section shows the channels you are subscribed to.

You can adjust the left sidebar to focus on the information you need right now by:

• Expanding or collapsing the Views section.
• Expanding or collapsing the Direct messages section.
• Showing all topics in a channel.
• Configuring unread message counters.
• Hiding the left sidebar altogether.

You can also customize how channels are organized within the channels section by:

• Pinning channels so that they appear in the top section.
• Changing channel colors.
• Configuring whether inactive channels are sorted at the bottom.

Related articles

• Reading strategies
• Configuring unread message counters
• Inbox
• Recent conversations
• Combined feed
• View your mentions
• Star a message