What you will learn What channels group together, and which of the four suits which situation.
So far you have talked from the workspace screen. But in practice there are people who never come to that screen.
Channels are the doors those people and systems come through.
They are collected under Settings → Channel settings.
HyperTeamsgraph TD
A["Channels"] --> B["Email agents<br/>send mail, get a reply"]
A --> C["Chat widget<br/>embedded in your site"]
A --> D["API keys<br/>another system calls in"]
A --> E["MCP<br/>attach or lend tools"]| Channel | Who uses it | Chapter |
|---|---|---|
| Email agents | people who only use email | Email agents |
| Chat widget | visitors to your site | Chat widget |
| API keys | other systems and scripts | Calling it via API key |
| MCP | external tools / external AI | Connecting an MCP server |
The API docs are documentation, not a channel. They are not in the channel list; you reach them from a link inside the MCP screen.
Because they are all paths from outside into the workspace.
That matters because they share a security character.
Opening any channel makes you decide those three. The tools are permissions perspective applies at the entrance too.
Of the four, email and the widget have almost identical settings.
| Setting | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Handling agent | which sub-agent handles requests from here |
| Default group | which thread group results land in |
| Usable tools | the tools permitted on this channel only |
| Extra instructions | instructions that apply only here |
| Model | which model |
| On/off | to close it temporarily |
Always narrow "usable tools." This is a path in from outside, so having every workspace tool open is dangerous.
graph TD
Q["Who is coming in?"] --> A{"On your team?"}
A -->|"yes"| B["No channel needed<br/>the screen is enough"]
A -->|"no"| C{"A person?"}
C -->|"person · email"| D["Email agent"]
C -->|"person · web"| E["Chat widget"]
C -->|"a system"| F["API key"]Team members need no channel. Channels exist for people without accounts and for systems.
The second is the key one. If internal documents are connected to the workspace, opening a channel makes them material for answering outside questions.
1. What do the four channels have in common?
They are all paths from outside into the workspace. That gives them the same security character, so opening any of them makes you decide who comes in, which agent they reach, and which tools they can use.
2. Why do team members not need a channel?
Because they can come in through the workspace screen. Channels exist for people without accounts — customers, external contacts — and for systems.
3. Why narrow the tools when opening a channel?
Because it is a path in from outside. With every workspace tool open, an external request can use all of them.
Email first → Email agents
□ who can come in□ which agent they reach□ which tools they can use□ what material do requests from this channel reach□ is it acceptable for an outsider to see that material□ have you narrowed the tools□ have you restricted who can send (email and widget both have restrictions)