How to Mute a Channel in Slack
Silence a noisy Slack channel from the sidebar or the channel details so it stops sending notifications, and unmute it the same way when you need it back.
Applies to: current Slack desktop app; phone app differences noted. Checked September 2026.
A channel is too chatty but you still need to stay in it. Muting keeps you a member while turning off its notifications and pushing it out of the way in the sidebar.
Find the channel in the sidebar
Locate the channel in the left sidebar. If it has scrolled out of view, press Ctrl+K (Cmd+K on Mac), type its name, and open it so it is highlighted.
Right-click the channel
Right-click the channel name in the sidebar. A context menu opens with options for that channel only.
If you would rather work from inside the channel, click the channel name at the top of the message area to open the channel details. The bell control there offers the same choices.
Click Mute channel
Choose Mute channel. The channel turns gray in the sidebar and drops to the bottom of its section. New messages no longer bold the channel name, and you receive no desktop or phone notifications for it. Posts to @channel and @here are silenced as well.
Check how direct mentions behave
A muted channel still badges the sidebar when someone mentions you by name, so you will not miss a direct question. Whether that mention also sends a notification depends on your settings. Click your profile picture, choose Preferences, then Notifications, and review what you are notified about. Mentions and keywords in muted channels follow those rules.
Unmute the same way. Right-click the muted channel and choose Unmute channel, or open the channel details and switch the notification setting back. The channel returns to its normal spot in the sidebar and starts notifying you again. Nobody in the channel is told when you mute or unmute.
Mentions only is a middle ground. Instead of a full mute, right-click the channel, choose Change notifications, and pick Mentions only. You hear nothing for ordinary chatter but still get pinged when someone tags you. On the phone app, open the channel, tap the channel name at the top, then tap Mute or Notifications to make the same choices.