How to Use Huddles in Slack (2026 Guide)
A huddle is Slack’s lightweight live call: click the headphones icon in any channel or DM and you are instantly in an audio conversation, no link or scheduling required. You can add video, share your screen, and keep notes in a thread. Here is how to use huddles in 2026.
1. Start a Huddle
- Open the channel or direct message where you want to talk.
- Click the headphones icon near the bottom-left of the message area.
- The huddle starts right away as an audio call.
That is it; there is no “create meeting” form. Huddles are designed for spontaneous “can we hop on for a sec?” moments rather than scheduled meetings.
On mobile, open a channel or DM, tap the headphones icon (or the huddle option in the menu), and you are in.
2. Audio vs Video
Huddles begin as audio only, which keeps them low-pressure. To add video:
- Click the video camera icon in the huddle controls to turn on your camera.
- Each participant controls their own camera, so some can be on video while others stay audio-only.
- You can switch video on and off at any point during the huddle.
This audio-first design is the main difference from a formal video meeting; people drop in quickly without worrying about being on camera.
3. Share Your Screen
Screen sharing is built in:
- In the huddle, click Share (the screen icon).
- Choose your entire screen, a specific window, or a single browser tab.
- While sharing, collaborators can use cursors and drawing tools to point at and annotate what is on screen.
Multiple people can share in sequence, which makes huddles handy for quick design reviews, debugging, or walking someone through a document.
4. Let Others Join
Huddles are open to the people in the conversation:
- Channel huddle: A live banner appears at the top of the channel. Any member of that channel can click Join.
- DM huddle: Only the people in that direct message see and can join it.
You can also invite people from inside the huddle using the invite (person+) control, which pulls in teammates who are not already in the channel or DM. There is no fixed small cap for casual use, though very large huddles are better served by a scheduled meeting tool.
5. Use the Huddle Thread
Every huddle has its own thread attached to the conversation. Use it to:
- Drop links, files, and code you are discussing.
- Leave notes so people who could not join see what happened.
- Keep a record once the huddle ends; the thread stays in the channel or DM.
This means the context of a quick call is not lost the moment everyone hangs up. You can also turn on live captions from the huddle controls if you want on-screen transcription.
6. Plan Availability
Huddle features depend on your Slack plan:
- Free plan: Huddles are limited to one-to-one (two-person) audio calls, with screen sharing.
- Pro, Business+, and Enterprise Grid: Huddles support group calls (many participants), video, screen sharing, captions, and the full thread experience.
If your Add to huddle or video options are greyed out, you are likely on the free plan or your workspace admin has restricted huddles. See the Slack free plan limits for the full breakdown.
Quick Reference
| Feature | Free plan | Paid plans |
|---|---|---|
| Audio huddle | 1:1 only | Group |
| Video | Limited | Yes |
| Screen share | Yes | Yes |
| Invite more people | Limited | Yes |
| Captions | Limited | Yes |
| Huddle thread | Yes | Yes |
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More on Slack: How to use Slack · How to schedule a message in Slack · Best AI assistants for Slack · Slack integration
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