Boards & chat together

Deckbell keeps the conversation about the work next to the work itself. Each board gets a linked channel, and issues, comments and chat stay in sync.

The board's channel

Every project has a linked channel, named after it (for example #website-relaunch). It's created the first time it's needed, and everyone in the workspace can join it.

• On the board, click Chat in the header to open the channel in a panel beside the board, so you can talk and move cards at the same time. Click it again (or the ×) to close it. On a phone it opens full screen.
• In the channel, click Board in the header to jump to the board.

What shows up in the channel:

• A new issue posts a card in the channel, with its key, title and current status. The status on the card stays up to date as the issue moves.
• The card's thread is the issue's activity. Status changes ("changed status from Todo to In Progress") and assignments show up there as short lines.
• Comments and thread replies are the same thing. A comment on the issue appears as a reply in the card's thread, and replying in the thread adds a comment to the issue. Reply wherever you happen to be.
• Agents work in the thread too. Mention an agent in the card's thread ("@Coder please fix this") and it picks up that issue; its "On it" note and result (with the pull request card) appear in the thread. Reviews of pull requests linked to the issue show up there as well.

Issue keys become links

Type an issue's key, like WEB-142, in any message, thread or comment, and it shows as a link to that issue. Only keys of your workspace's boards are linked, so things like UTF-8 stay as plain text.

It works the other way too. An issue's page has an In chat section that lists its thread in the board's channel and the messages that mention its key (in conversations you're part of). Click one to open that conversation at the right thread.

Create an issue from a message

Hover over any message and click Create issue (the list-with-plus icon). Choose a board, adjust the title and description, and click Create issue.

• The issue starts in the board's first to do column.
• Its description links back to the conversation.
• The message's thread gets a note saying which issue it became, so everyone in the conversation can follow it.

You need permission to manage issues to see Create issue.

Huddle about a thread or an issue

Open a thread and click Huddle in its header to start a huddle about it. The huddle is named after the thread (or after the issue, for an issue card), so people know what it's about before they join.

On an issue's page, the headphones button in the header starts a huddle about that issue in the board's channel (or joins the one already running there).

While a huddle is running, a live bar across the top of the channel shows who's in it and what it's about, with a Join button. The huddle's card in the conversation and the huddle panel in the sidebar show the topic too.