Messaging overview

Article Content

Pilla has three types of chat built in. This page explains what each one is for and where to find them on the web app and the mobile app.

The three chat types

Every conversation in Pilla is one of these three types:

  • Team chat -- one chat per team, created automatically. Everyone on the team is added the moment they join the team. Use it for team-wide announcements and discussion that the whole team should see.
  • Direct message (DM) -- a private 1-on-1 conversation between you and one other teammate. Anyone in the same account can DM anyone else, unless one of them has blocked the other.
  • Group chat -- a custom chat with two or more teammates that you pick yourself. You can name it, give it a picture, and add or remove people whenever you like. Use it for cross-team groups (managers, openers, kitchen leads) or one-off projects.

On the web app

On the web app, messaging lives inside the Chats tab in the Workflow runs view. The Chats tab sits next to Work items.

Each row in the table is one conversation. The row shows the chat name, the most recent message preview, the chat type (Team, Group, or DM), and either the unread count or the time of the last message.

Click a row to open the chat panel on the right. You can read the message history, send a message, react to messages, and reply to a specific message.

A filter bar above the table lets you narrow what you see:

  • All Types -- pick which chat types to show (Teams, DMs, Groups, or any combination)
  • Your Read Status -- show all chats, only unread, or only read
  • Your Mute Status -- show all chats, only muted, or only not muted
  • Your Block Status -- show all chats, only chats with blocked users, or only chats with no blocked users
  • Search -- search by chat name or by the name of the other person in a DM

To start a new chat, open the menu (the three dots) and pick New Chat.

On the mobile app

On the mobile app, messaging opens from the chat bubble icon on the floating action bar at the bottom of the screen. Tapping it opens the chats screen as a full-height popup.

At the top of the popup, pill-shaped filters let you switch between All, Teams, Groups, and DMs. Below the filters is a list of every conversation you are in. Each row shows the chat picture, the chat name, the most recent message, an unread badge if you have unread messages, and a bell icon you can tap to mute or unmute.

Tap a row to open the conversation. Tap the + button at the top right to start a new chat.

The mobile app also lets you start messages directly from a workflow run -- see Adding workflow context to messages for how that works.

Related pages

Tips

  • Team chats cannot be left or deleted -- you are in your team chat for as long as you are on that team.
  • A DM with someone is reused. If you start a new DM with the same person, Pilla opens the existing conversation instead of creating a second one.
  • Filters and search work together. If you filter to Teams and search "kitchen", you only see team chats with "kitchen" in the name.
  • The chat bubble icon is the fastest way into messaging on mobile -- it is on every tab.
NextTeam chats