# Groups overview

## What is a Group?

Groups are a collection of people in your workspace that organize people by team, department, or project, **allowing you to** **send threads to specific audiences**.

Groups can be thought of as the improved replacement to a channel. Groups still accomplish the goal of reaching a specific audience of people, but since threads are not specifically locked into group, you do not need to create groups for every specific combination of people.

Overall, there should be far fewer groups compared to channels in a channel-based chat system.

#### Recommended use cases for groups

* **Departments:** We recommend that admins set up a group for each department
* **Teams:** Teams can create their own groups as needed
* **Projects:** For a multi-quarter project, a group might be helpful, but shorter term projects can be discussed in a thread addressed to the relevant groups and individuals.

## Ways to interact with a Group

### **Private Group Chat**

Every group has a [private chat](https://docs.glue.ai/conversations/group-chat) that can be used for quick questions or casual conversations that don't require a thread. You can always turn any message into a new thread after the fact.

### **Threads for Groups**

Users can start threads with one or more groups to keep the right people in the loop and keep your conversations organized. The thread will show up in the Groups’ chat and thread list for each Group.

## Group Features

Each group has its own hub to interact with the other group members, catch up on current discussions and manage group settings.

* **Chat:** The private group chat stream containing individual messages as well as threads
* **Threads:** List view of all threads shared in a group — with thread names and a preview to quickly scan for a relevant thread
* **Resources:** View of files, media and links shared in the group

## Accessing and creating Groups

### Accessing groups you belong to

You can access the groups you belong to in two main ways: through your **Inbox** or the **Directory** in the Groups section.

### Creating a new group

You can also **create groups in these same spaces.**

<details>

<summary>Group Creation Flow</summary>

Here's what you can do when you create a new group:

* Choose a group name and emoji
* Add workspace members or external guests to the group
* Make other members an admin of the group (the group creator is automatically made an admin of the group)
* Choose [group access settings](#group-access-settings) - open or ask to join (approval required)

<img src="/files/vnQK5rgBT2UzcprbEyiX" alt="" data-size="original"> <img src="/files/2fl6TB4dBZhmBKNvtajj" alt="" data-size="original">

</details>

### Browse all the groups in your workspace

You can see all the groups in your workspace by accessing the groups section of the [Directory](/navigating-the-app/directory.md#groups). You can browse all group names and view all public threads for a group without joining it. If you need to see all threads and chats, you will need to join the group.

A group might be open to join right away, or require you to request access first if it's a closed group. See [group access settings](#group-access-settings) for more details.

## Leaving a group

#### For users who want to leave a group

1. Open the group in your app.
2. You can leave the group in two ways:
   1. Click the ellipsis icon on the right hand side and open the group menu. The last option is to "leave group."
   2. Click on the name of the group at the top, and go to the Settings tab. Select "Leave Group."
3. A pop up will come up asking you to confirm that you want to leave the group. Select "Leave group" again.

<figure><img src="/files/DNre9kG8S51XUi2ON2Ku" alt="" width="563"><figcaption><p>Click the ellipsis and find the "leave group" option</p></figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="/files/ipMk7qzFcwn2sSVoLeDc" alt="" width="375"><figcaption><p>Alternatively, click the name of the group and go to the settings tab.</p></figcaption></figure>

#### For admins who want to leave a group

1. Open the group in your app.
2. Click on the name of the group at the top, or click the ellipsis and select "Group settings." Either way will open the group menu.
3. Navigate to the Settings tab (if opened from clicking on the group name).
4. Scroll to the bottom and select "Leave group."
5. A pop up will come up asking you to confirm that you want to leave the group. Select "Leave group" again.

<figure><img src="/files/zLfahbYZ5mqkqKjfnQev" alt="" width="375"><figcaption><p>Leave the group from the Group Settings menu.</p></figcaption></figure>