How to Add a Collaborator in Asana (2026 Guide)
To add a collaborator in Asana, open a task, scroll to the Collaborators section, click the +, and type a teammate’s name. Collaborators follow a task and get notified of updates without owning it, which is different from the single assignee and from project-wide membership. Here’s how all three fit together in 2026.
1. Add a Collaborator to a Task
- Click a task to open its detail pane.
- Scroll down to the Collaborators section (near the bottom, below the description and subtasks).
- Click the + and start typing a name or email address.
- Select the person. Their avatar now appears in the Collaborators list.
That’s it. From now on they’re “following” the task and receive notifications when it changes. You can add several collaborators to a single task, there’s no one-person limit the way there is for the assignee.
Some people are added as collaborators automatically: the task creator, the assignee, and anyone who comments on or is @mentioned in the task all become collaborators by default.
2. Collaborators vs Assignee
This is the distinction that trips people up:
- The assignee is the one person responsible for completing the task. There is exactly one. The task shows up in their My Tasks.
- Collaborators are everyone who wants to stay informed: reviewers, stakeholders, the manager who cares about the outcome. They get notified but the task does not land in their My Tasks and they aren’t on the hook to finish it.
Think of it as “doer” (assignee) versus “watchers” (collaborators). If you find yourself wanting to assign a task to two people, you almost always want one assignee plus one collaborator instead.
3. What Collaborators Get Notified About
Once someone is a collaborator on a task, Asana notifies them (in their Inbox, and by email depending on their notification settings) when:
- A comment is posted on the task.
- The task is marked complete or reopened.
- The due date, assignee, or key fields change.
- They’re @mentioned in the description or a comment.
- An attachment is added.
Collaborators control how loud these notifications are in their own My Settings > Notifications. If a task gets noisy, a collaborator can remove themselves at any time by clicking the Leave task option or the x next to their own avatar.
4. Remove a Collaborator
- Open the task.
- In the Collaborators section, hover over the person’s avatar.
- Click the x that appears.
They stop receiving notifications for that task immediately. Removing a collaborator doesn’t delete any of their past comments or work, it just unfollows them going forward.
5. Project Members vs Task Collaborators
Asana has two levels of “being involved,” and it’s worth keeping them straight:
| Project member | Task collaborator | |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | The entire project | A single task |
| Added via | Share button on the project | Collaborators section on the task |
| Sees | All tasks, sections, and views in the project | Just that one task |
| Notified about | Project-level activity and status updates | Changes to that specific task |
| Use when | Someone works in the project regularly | Someone only cares about one piece of work |
To add a project member, open the project, click Share in the top-right, type a name or email, and set their access. To add a task collaborator, use the steps above. A person can be both: a project member who is also explicitly following a few high-priority tasks.
A handy rule: add people as project members when they live in the work day to day, and as task collaborators when they only need eyes on a specific deliverable. Over-adding project members makes everyone’s Inbox noisy; targeted collaborators keep notifications relevant.
Quick Reference
| Action | Where |
|---|---|
| Add task collaborator | Task Collaborators section > + |
| Remove task collaborator | Hover avatar > x |
| Add project member | Project Share button |
| Single owner | Assignee field (one only) |
| Stay informed only | Collaborator (no My Tasks entry) |
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More on Asana: How to assign a task in Asana · How to use subtasks in Asana · How to use custom fields in Asana · Asana integration
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