Archive and unarchive channels#

plans-img Available on all plans

deployment-img Cloud and self-hosted deployments

Archive a channel#

You can delete a channel in Mattermost when it’s no longer useful by archiving it. Anyone using Mattermost can archive the public channels or private channels they’re a member of, unless the system admin has restricted the permissions to do so.

When a channel is archived, it’s deleted from the user interface, but a copy exists on the server in case it’s needed for audit reasons in the future, or in case you decide to restore the channel by unarchiving it.

Note

  • All users are added to the Off-Topic and Town Square channels automatically. Town Square can’t be archived.

  • System admins can archive channels in the System Console without needing to be a channel member.

  • Because a copy of the channel exists on the server, you can’t reuse the URL of an archived channel when creating a new channel.

  • Instead of archiving the channel, you can also leave it open and post a message in the channel saying it’s considered archived, such as: # This channel is archived.

To archive a channel, select the channel name at the top of the center pane to access the drop-down menu, then select Archive Channel.

To archive a channel:

  1. Tap the channel you want to delete.

Select a channel that you want to edit.

  1. Tap the More Use the More icon in the top left corner to access Mattermost desktop apps customization settings. icon located in the top right corner of the app.

Tap on More options to access available options for the channel.

  1. Tap View info.

Tap on View info to see the basic channel info.

  1. Tap Archive Channel.

Tap on Archive channel to archive the current channel.

  1. Tap Yes to confirm.

Tap on Yes to confirm your choice.

Unarchive a channel#

System admins and Team admins can restore archived channels. When a channel is unarchived, channel membership and all its content is restored, unless messages and files have been deleted based on the data retention policy.

Search for the channel if required. Then, open the channel, select the channel name at the top of the center pane to access the drop-down menu and select Unarchive Channel.

Unarchive a channel.

To unarchive a channel:

  1. Tap the channel you want to unarchive.

Select a channel that you want to edit.

  1. Tap the More Use the More icon in the top left corner to access Mattermost desktop apps customization settings. icon located in the top right corner of the app.

Tap on More options to access available options for the channel.

  1. Tap View info.

Tap on View info to see the basic channel info.

  1. Tap Unarchive Channel.

Tap on Unarchive channel to unarchive the current channel.

  1. Tap Yes to confirm.

Tap on Yes to confirm your choice.

Tip

Alternatively, system admins can unarchive channels via the mmctl, and Team admins can unarchive channels via the API.