Lifetime access$249· 50/100Get yours
Chat

Team messaging, built right in

Channels, direct messages, reactions, file sharing, scheduled messages, and video calls — without leaving your workspace.

Sarah C.
LINKED TASK
Develop Nav Bar For N...
Design ReviewOct 22
James
Workel AI
Related to this conversation
🎯Update design tokens
📄Design spec v3
#design-team
Alex R.
# design-team
Sarah Chen10:42 AM
Just pushed the updated component library. Ready for review @Alex
🎉 3
Alex Rivera10:44 AM
On it! The new spacing system looks great.
Maya Johnson10:45 AM
Sharing the final mockups here:
design-system-v3.fig4.2 MB
James Park10:46 AM
Love it. Let's ship this today 🚀
Sarah is typing
Message #design-team
Channels & conversations

Every conversation has a home

Project channels, group chats, and direct messages — organized by context, not scattered across apps.

Project channels

Every project gets a dedicated chat channel automatically. Discuss work where it happens — no switching apps.

Group chats

Create named group conversations with any combination of workspace members. Perfect for cross-project coordination.

Direct messages

Private 1:1 conversations between any two members. Fully encrypted and only visible to participants — not even workspace owners can read them.

Chat search

Find any message across all your conversations. Search by keyword, sender, or date range.

Rich messaging

More than just text

Reactions, mentions, file sharing, pins, and scheduled messages — everything you need for productive conversations.

Emoji reactions

React to any message with emoji. Quick acknowledgements without cluttering the thread — toggle reactions on and off.

@mentions

Tag teammates to get their attention. Mentions are validated against chat participants — you can only mention people who are actually in the conversation.

File sharing

Drag and drop images, PDFs, videos, and documents directly into chat. Files are stored in Azure Blob Storage and accessible from the Files tab too.

Image previews

Images render inline with lightbox preview. No more downloading attachments just to see what someone shared.

Video & audio messages

Share video recordings and audio clips directly in chat. Playback happens inline — no external player needed.

Pinned messages

Pin important messages to the top of any chat. Meeting links, decisions, reference docs — always one click away.

Scheduled messages

Compose a message now and schedule it to send later. Perfect for async teams across time zones.

Message editing

Edit sent messages to fix typos or update information. Edited messages show an indicator so the context stays clear.

Real-time

Instant, everywhere

Messages appear in milliseconds across web, desktop, and mobile. Typing indicators, read receipts, and presence — all powered by WebSockets.

Instant delivery

Messages arrive in real time via Pusher WebSockets. No polling, no refresh — conversations feel live.

Typing indicators

See who's typing before they hit send. Powered by the WorkspaceTypingContext with debounced start/stop events.

Cross-device sync

Read a message on your phone and it's marked as read on desktop and web. Notifications clear across all your devices simultaneously.

Online presence

See who's online right now with live presence indicators. Powered by Pusher presence channels with the WorkspacePresenceContext.

Smart notifications

Get notified on the right device at the right time. If you're active on desktop, mobile push is delayed — no double-buzzing.

Video & voice

Jump on a call without leaving chat

Start a video call from any conversation. Screen sharing, participant grid, and picture-in-picture — built in, not bolted on.

Built-in video calls

Start a video call from any project channel or group chat. Powered by 100ms HMS SDK for reliable, low-latency conferencing.

Screen sharing

Share your entire screen or a specific window during calls. Present designs, walk through code, or demo features live.

Picture-in-picture

Minimize the call to a floating window and keep working. The call stays visible while you navigate tasks, files, or docs.

Audio controls

Mute and unmute audio and video with one click. Simple, intuitive controls that stay out of your way.

Security & privacy

Private by default

DMs are truly private, channels are scoped to projects, and every message goes through authenticated broadcast channels.

DM privacy

Direct messages are only visible to the two participants. Not even workspace owners or admins can read them — enforced at the API and broadcast channel level.

Channel authentication

Every real-time channel is authenticated via Pusher private channels. You can only subscribe to conversations you're a participant in.

Mention validation

The backend validates @mentions against actual chat participants before saving. You can't mention someone who isn't in the conversation.

Notification scoping

Chat notifications are scoped to your current workspace. You'll never get alerts from a workspace you're not actively using.

Consolidate your stack

What you won't need anymore

Workel Chat replaces standalone messaging tools. Here's what your team can drop — and what you'll save.

Slack

$8.75/user/mo

Replaced by Workel Chat

Microsoft Teams

$4/user/mo

Replaced by Workel Chat

Discord

Free (but not built for work)

Replaced by Workel Chat
Part of the whole

Chat connects to everything in Workel

Because chat is built into the same workspace as your projects, tasks, files, and docs — everything is linked. No copy-pasting URLs between tools.

Project channels auto-created

Every project gets its own chat channel. The team assigned to the project is already there.

Shared files, one source of truth

Files shared in chat appear in the project's Files tab. No duplicates, no broken links.

Mention-driven notifications

@mention someone in chat and they get a notification across all their devices — web, desktop, and mobile.

Searchable from Cmd+K

Chat messages surface in the global search popup alongside tasks, projects, and files.

Ready to ditch the extra chat app?

Start a free workspace and see how Workel Chat fits into your workflow. No credit card, no commitment.