Department business in personal group texts
Department-owned channels, direct messages, and groups with moderation.
Communication & engagement Department chat
Chat New
Role-controlled channels, direct messages, and small groups — with replies, reactions, mentions, files, GIFs, link previews, unread counts, and push to members’ phones.
- Channels by role
- Direct messages and groups
- Push to members’ phones
Why departments switch
What Chat fixes.
Department chat built for phones. Administrators create channels for a shift, station, committee, or the whole department and choose which roles can read and which can post. Any member can message a colleague directly or start a group of up to 50 people. Members reply, react, mention colleagues, and share photos, files, and GIFs — and new messages reach their phones as push notifications they tune per conversation.
- Department business off personal texts
- Private conversations stay private
- Notifications members control
Announcements buried in replies
Channels can be readable by everyone but postable only by certain roles.
Private groups need real privacy
Channel and conversation access is checked on the server for every request.
Notification overload
Per-conversation levels, no push while you are viewing, and a push cooldown.
Inside the module
A closer look at Chat.
Real screens from Station Clipboard, shown with a sample department.
01
Small groups
A private group of officers working out Sunday staffing.
- Up to 50 people per group
- Only members can see it
- New-message divider on return
02
Who can see and post
Pick the roles that can read and post, plus file and notification options.
- Separate read and post roles
- Archive or delete a channel
03
Pins that stay put
The pinned protocol change stays one click away in the EMS channel.
- Pinned messages panel
- Message search in every channel
04
Messages on any page
A messenger panel opens over whatever page you are on.
- Start a message from any page
- Whole department already listed
On the phone
Chat on the go
The same channel on a phone.
Every conversation
Channels, direct messages, and groups with their latest activity.
How it works
From setup to a record you can trust.
Create channels
Name, emoji, topic, read and post roles, uploads, and default notification level.
Talk
Post, reply, react, mention, and share files, photos, GIFs, and links — or message someone directly.
Stay notified
Mentions, replies, and direct messages reach the bell and the phone.
Moderate
Pin important messages, remove messages, and archive old channels.
Capabilities
Everything Chat includes.
Role-based channels
Separate read and post access, worked out from roles every time.
Direct messages and groups
Message one colleague or a named group of up to 50; any member can rename or add people.
Replies and reactions
Quote replies, up to 20 emoji reactions per message, and editing your own messages.
@mentions
Mention a colleague; @everyone is limited to moderators in channels.
Files, photos, and GIFs
Up to 10 files per message, 25 MB each, served only to people in the conversation, plus a GIF picker.
Unread and push
Unread and mention counts everywhere, typing indicators, and push you tune per conversation.
Pins and search
Pinned messages, message search, link previews, and a members panel.
Phone-first, desktop-ready
Press and hold any message on a phone; on a computer, a messenger panel opens over any page.
Part of one portal
Works with the rest of your department.
Members keep one secure sign-in and one set of role permissions across every module you turn on.
Questions
Chat FAQ
Can members message each other privately?
Yes. Any member can start a direct message or a group of up to 50 people. Only the people in it can read it.
Can members create channels?
No. Channels are created by people with the Manage channels permission, who choose which roles can read and post.
What happened to Spaces?
Spaces has been retired. Department conversation now lives in Chat, and service requests live in Tickets.
Can an automation post in Chat?
Yes. Workflows include a step that posts a message to a channel.
See Chat with your department’s workflow.
Tell us how you handle this work today. We’ll walk you through it in the full Station Clipboard portal.
Need something we don’t have yet? We build custom modules.
