Triage Channel Setup

Configure and manage Triage Channels for your support team

Overview

This guide covers how to set up, configure, and manage Triage Channels in ClearFeed. For information on how to use triage channels as an agent, see Triage Channel.

What is a Triage Channel?

Triage Channels are dedicated Slack channels powered by ClearFeed that serve as your team's central command center. They enable agents to efficiently manage, respond to, and track requests and tickets originating from various sources, including Slack, MS Teams, Email, Portal, Web Chat, and API.

Key Capabilities

Agents can perform the following operations directly from a Triage Channel:

• Reply to requests across Slack and other integrated channels with bidirectional sync

• Manage request properties such as Status, Priority, Assignee, and Custom Field

• Access data submitted by requestors through forms

• Create or link tickets/tasks to external systems like Jira, GitHub, or Linear

Triage Channel Settings

When setting up or managing a Triage Channel, you will configure several settings that control its behavior, visibility, and notifications. Below is an explanation of each configuration option:

Triage Mode

Configure which type of Requests will be shown in this specific Triage Channel.

• All Requests: The channel will show all requests directed to the associated collections

• Only Requests with linked tickets: The channel will only show requests that have been linked to an external ticket (e.g., in Jira or Zendesk) or a ticket has been created in ClearFeed

Triage Mode

Triage Comment Visibility

This setting controls which replies from your team's internal discussions within the Triage Channel are visible to the original requestor on the external channel (like the original Slack thread or email).

• Public: All comments from the Triage Channel will be synced to the request channel, except for those prefixed with a 🔒 emoji. These 🔒 comments remain internal to the Triage Channel.

• Private: By default, no comments from the Triage Channel will be synced to the request channel, except for those prefixed with a 📢 emoji. These 📢 comments will be explicitly synced externally.

Triage Comment Visibility Option

Disable Tagging Slack Users on Triage Channel

Enable this option to prevent users from being tagged in triage channels. This helps avoid duplicate notifications when a user is already tagged in the original request channel.

Disable Tagging

Sync Private Comments on Triage Channel and Linked Tickets

Configure whether Private (🔒) comments from the Triage Channel are synced to the linked ticketing system and whether internal notes from the ticketing system are synced back to the Triage Channel.

• Choose whether to sync all private comments from the Triage Channel to the linked ticketing system or push only the private comments that have been reacted with 📝 emoji

• Choose whether to sync all internal notes from linked tickets as private comments on the Triage Channel

Sync Private Comment Option

How private messages from Slack are synced to the ticketing system (Zendesk)

Currently, syncing internal notes from ticketing systems to the Triage Channel is only supported for Freshdesk (as private notes) and Zendesk (as internal comments)

Notifications

Triage notifications provide reminders about Open and Unsolved items, highlighting those with High priority, directly within the Triage Channel. ClearFeed sends two types of digests:

• Daily Digest: Notifies daily for Requests that are 'Open' and require attention

• Weekly Digest: Notifies every Monday for unsolved Requests from the last month up to the most recent week

Setting Up a Triage Channel

You can set up a Slack Channel as a Triage Channel in ClearFeed either from the ClearFeed WebApp or directly from Slack.

From ClearFeed WebApp

• Navigate to Settings > Triage Settings

• Click "Create new Triage Channel"

• You have two options:

  • Select "Create new Channel" to create a new channel in your Slack Workspace and set it as Triage

  • Select "Select existing" to designate an existing Slack channel as a Triage Channel

• Configure the Triage Settings for the new channel (refer to the Triage Channel Settings section above for details on each option)

• Click Save

From Slack

• Go to Slack and open the channel you wish to use as a Triage Channel

• Add the ClearFeed bot by typing /invite @ClearFeed and pressing Enter

• ClearFeed will send a message asking how you want to configure the channel. Select the option to configure the channel As a Triage Channel

• Optional: Select the Collections to which you want to associate this Triage Channel. (Note: In the dropdown, you will only see Collections that do not currently have a Triage Channel linked to them.)

• Click on Add as Triage

• In the Select Collection dropdown, you will only see the Collections that do not have a triage linked to them

• The initial setup from Slack provides basic configuration. For detailed settings options like Comment Visibility, Sync settings, and Notifications, you must navigate to the Triage Settings in the ClearFeed WebApp after creation

Managing Triage Channel Settings

You can modify the configuration of an existing Triage Channel at any time via the ClearFeed WebApp.

• Navigate to Settings > Triage Settings in the ClearFeed WebApp

• Find the Triage Channel whose settings you want to change and click the Edit button next to it

• This will open the configuration drawer, showing the same settings available during creation

• Modify the desired settings. For a detailed explanation of each option, refer to the Triage Channel Settings section above

• Click Save to apply your changes

Deleting a Triage Channel

If you no longer require a Slack channel to function as a Triage Channel in ClearFeed, you can remove this designation by following these steps:

• Navigate to Triage Settings in the ClearFeed WebApp

• Find the Triage Channel you wish to delete and click the Edit button next to it

• The channel's configuration details will open. Scroll down to the bottom of the page

• Click the Delete button to remove the channel as a Triage Channel in ClearFeed

• A Triage Channel cannot be deleted if it is still associated with any collections. Please detach it from all linked collections before attempting deletion

• Deleting a Triage Channel from ClearFeed only removes the Triage Channel configuration from ClearFeed, it does not delete or archive the channel itself on Slack

Triage Message Configuration

Triage Message Configuration lets admins control which fields and action buttons appear in Slack triage messages for requests and tickets.

Triage Message

The system automatically shows only the fields and actions that are relevant in the current context, so even if something is enabled in settings, it may not appear if it doesn’t apply.

How visibility works

Triage messages use a two-layer visibility model:

1. Configuration (Admin-controlled) You choose which fields and actions are enabled from the Triage settings screen.

2. Context-based rules (System-controlled) ClearFeed evaluates the request or ticket context at runtime (for example: request vs ticket, email vs Slack, assignment state, AI availability).

A field or action appears only if both layers allow it.

What you can configure

Go to Settings → Triage Settings →Message Configuration to configure the Request/Ticket Fields and Customer Fields (for External Product Edition).

Configure fields

• Enable or disable:

  • Standard fields (for requests, tickets, and customers)

  • Custom fields (story or customer custom fields)

• Control which fields appear in triage messages when applicable

Configure actions

• Enable or disable supported triage actions such as:

  • Take It

  • Mark as Solved

  • Not a Request

  • ClearBot Assist

  • Reopen, Close, Delete Email, and more

What is not configurable

Some fields and actions are always shown when applicable and cannot be disabled.

Always-shown fields

These fields appear automatically when relevant:

• Status

• Linked Parent Ticket (when a parent exists)

• Linked ClearFeed Tickets (when child tickets exist)

• From (for email requests only, the email address for which request is created)

• CC (CC recipients in the email request)

• To (All recipient email addresses in the To field when email is sent to the support address)

Always-shown actions

• Edit

These are core to triage behavior and cannot be hidden.

When fields appear

Even if a field is enabled in settings, it is shown only when relevant.

Request & ticket fields

Field	When it appears
Assignee	Always shown (shows Unassigned if empty)
Assigned Team	Only if team assignment is enabled
Priority	Always applicable
Form Name	Tickets only, and only if more than one form exists
Request Channel	Non-email, non-webchat requests
Create Form Fields	Tickets with non-empty form fields
Edit Form Fields	Tickets where fields were edited
Other Linked Tickets	When external linked tickets exist
Story Custom Fields	Only enabled fields with values

Email-specific fields

Field	When it appears
From	Email-based requests only
CC	Email-based requests with CC recipients

Customer-related fields

Field	When it appears
Customer Name	When a customer is associated
Customer Owner	When the customer has an owner
Customer Domains	When domains exist
Customer Custom Fields	Enabled fields with values

When actions appear

Actions are shown only when they make sense for the current state.

Action	When it appears
Take It	Unassigned and not solved/closed
Mark as Solved	Assigned and not solved/closed
Reopen	Solved tickets
Mark as Closed	Solved tickets
Not a Request	Non-email requests (if enabled)
Delete Email	Email requests (if allowed)
ClearBot Assist	AI is enabled for the account
Unlink Ticket	When a transferred/linked ticket exists
More Actions	Always available

Important notes

• Disabling a field or action does not override system rules

• If a field has no value, it will not appear even if enabled

• Email-only fields never appear for Slack or Web Chat requests

• Customer fields appear only when a customer is linked

Managing or Turning Off the Triage Channel

ClearFeed offers two ways to reduce noise from Triage Channels — you can either mute the channel to stop notifications or turn off the Triage Channel completely.

Option 1: Reduce Notifications (Recommended)

If you want to keep the Triage Channel active but reduce interruptions:

• Mute the channel directly in Slack.

• Disable tagging for all or specific users from Collection Settings → Triage Channel in the ClearFeed Web App.

This way, you can still access the Triage Channel anytime to view all customer conversations in one place, without receiving alerts or mentions.\

Option 2: Turn Off the Triage Channel Completely

To stop syncing new requests to the Triage Channel:

1. Go to the ClearFeed Web App → Inbox.

2. Click on the Collection for which you want to disable the Triage Channel.

3. In the top right corner, open the Settings tab.

4. Scroll to the section titled Triage Channel.

5. Select Proceed without Triage and Save your changes.

Once saved, new requests will no longer be synced to the Triage Channel.\

FAQs

1. Does renaming the triage channel take effect in the ClearFeed WebApp? Will it break anything? Answer: Yes, shortly after updating the name, it should start showing up on the dashboard. Renaming the triage channel in Slack (by a Workspace Admin) is fully supported and will not break or disrupt any ClearFeed functionality. All existing requests and workflows will continue to work as expected.

2. Can I have multiple triage channels for the same collection? Answer: No, each collection can have only one triage channel associated with it.

3. What happens to existing requests in the triage channel if I change the Triage Mode setting? Answer: Changing the Triage Mode setting only affects new requests going forward. Existing requests in the channel remain visible.

4. Can I use a private Slack channel as a triage channel? Answer: Yes, both public and private Slack channels can be configured as triage channels. However, ensure that all relevant team members have access to the private channel.