# đŁ Introducing default chat channels (automatically add users)
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-default-chat-channels-automatically-add-users/233141
**Category:** Announcements
**Tags:** chat, new-feature
**Created:** [July 18, 2022, 8:57pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-default-chat-channels-automatically-add-users/233141 "2022-07-18T20:57:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@mcwumbly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcwumbly)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2022, 4:39pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-default-chat-channels-automatically-add-users/233141/30 "2022-09-01T16:39:34Z")
> [@alehandrof](#):
>
> What remains unclear to me is whether this check is run periodically. In other words, if a previously inactive user interacts with the site tomorrow will they automatically join the chat channel or not?
Yep, [the job runs every hour](https://github.com/discourse/discourse-chat/blob/main/app/jobs/scheduled/auto_join_users.rb) and should cover this scenario.
> [@alehandrof](#):
>
> I understand from this thread that only âactiveâ users join the channel. Thatâs fine â though the label on the option should be updated to more accurately describe the feature.
Definitely open to suggestions to improve the copy here to make this part more clear!
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### Author:  [@alehandrof](https://meta.discourse.org/u/alehandrof)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2022, 10:30am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-default-chat-channels-automatically-add-users/233141/31 "2022-09-06T10:30:41Z")
> [@mcwumbly](#):
>
> Definitely open to suggestions to improve the copy here to make this part more clear!
Well, the current copy is âAutomatically add all new and existing usersâ, which is clearly false.
How about âAutomatically add users who [whatever the criteria are]â?
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### Author:  [@mcwumbly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcwumbly)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2022, 1:56pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-default-chat-channels-automatically-add-users/233141/32 "2022-09-06T13:56:54Z")
Hereâs a first pass:
[https://github.com/discourse/discourse-chat/pull/1236](https://github.com/discourse/discourse-chat/pull/1236)
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### Author:  [@davidkingham](https://meta.discourse.org/u/davidkingham)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2023, 6:03pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-default-chat-channels-automatically-add-users/233141/33 "2023-01-31T18:03:25Z")
> Check hourly which users have been active in the last 3 months. Add them to this channel if they have access to the Beginners Feedback category.
Could I get some clarification on what âaccessâ means exactly? I have a category where everyone can `see`, but only certain groups can create or reply. It seems to me that the users who can only see shouldnât be added to the channel automatically, and shouldnât be able to participate at all in that channel until they are in the group. Maybe it works this way already, but I want to make sure before moving forward. Thanks!
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### Author:  [@mcwumbly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcwumbly)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-default-chat-channels-automatically-add-users/233141/34 "2023-01-31T20:21:15Z")
As of December, âreplyâ permission is required to be able to join (access) a channel:
[https://github.com/discourse/discourse/pull/19488](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/pull/19488)
So I believe this now works as youâd like it to work for your scenario.
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### Author:  [@davidkingham](https://meta.discourse.org/u/davidkingham)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2023, 11:29pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-default-chat-channels-automatically-add-users/233141/35 "2023-01-31T23:29:07Z")
Thanks Dave, that is how I would like it to work, unfortunately I just tried it and it doesnât work that way. I have my category set up like this:
The Beginners group only has 2 members right now, the Beginner\_Support group has 12. The channel after turning on Automatically add users now has 774 members, which is probably about the right amount of active users for everyoneâŚ
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### Author:  [@mcwumbly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcwumbly)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2023, 3:42am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-default-chat-channels-automatically-add-users/233141/36 "2023-02-01T03:42:51Z")
OK, yep, that doesnât look like what Iâd expect at this point. Iâll take a look tomorrow and let you know what I find.
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### Author:  [@mcwumbly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcwumbly)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2023, 9:57pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-default-chat-channels-automatically-add-users/233141/37 "2023-02-01T21:57:50Z")
> [@mcwumbly](#):
>
> Iâll take a look tomorrow and let you know what I find.
I do see the issue youâre seeing here. I still need to spend a bit more time tinkering to understand the details of what is and isnât working properly so we can get something queued up to address this.
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### Author:  [@mcwumbly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcwumbly)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2023, 2:38am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-default-chat-channels-automatically-add-users/233141/38 "2023-02-03T02:38:55Z")
OK, hereâs what Iâm seeing for a user âBobâ who only has âSeeâ access to the category for the channel:
1. I do see Bob in the members list (unexpected)
2. Bob does not see the channel in the sidebar initially (ok)
3. Bob does not see the channel in `/chat/channels/browse` (ok)
4. Bob _does_ see the channel if he visits `/chat/c/${channelname}/${id}` (unexpected)
5. Bob _does_ see notifications when someone mentions him in the channel (unexpected)
6. Bob _does_ see the channel in his sidebar once he gets a mention or posts in the channel after visitng it directly (unexpected)
Will add this to our list to fix up.
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### Author:  [@mcwumbly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcwumbly)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2023, 7:55pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-default-chat-channels-automatically-add-users/233141/39 "2023-02-06T19:55:43Z")
A post was split to a new topic: [Allow visitors and search engines to see chat channels](https://meta.discourse.org/t/allow-visitors-and-search-engines-to-see-chat-channels/254267)
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### Author:  [@mcwumbly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcwumbly)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2023, 6:00pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-default-chat-channels-automatically-add-users/233141/40 "2023-05-25T18:00:15Z")
We merged the following pull requests which should address this issue:
[https://github.com/discourse/discourse/pull/20213](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/pull/20213)
[https://github.com/discourse/discourse/pull/21700](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/pull/21700)
Initially, we had planned to allow read-only users to preview chat channels, but designing the user experience for that turned out to be a bit more complicated than we originally anticipated, so we removed that feature for now in the name of simplicity.
Note: if you had channels set up with auto-join that included groups with read-only permissions, you may need to edit the channel settings once to force the membership list to synchronize with these new rules.
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### Author:  [@davidkingham](https://meta.discourse.org/u/davidkingham)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2023, 9:57pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-default-chat-channels-automatically-add-users/233141/41 "2023-05-25T21:57:16Z")
That works brilliantly, thank you Dave!
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### Author:  [@tobiaseigen](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tobiaseigen)
#### Post date: [May 12, 2025, 3:38pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-default-chat-channels-automatically-add-users/233141/42 "2025-05-12T15:38:14Z")
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