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Display channel banners

From Mattermost v10.9, users with admin permissions can enable channel banners to remind channel members about being diligent to avoid data spillage in channels that aren't intended for classified or sensitive information. These non-dismissible banners can be styled using Markdown and are visible across all Mattermost clients, including web browsers, the desktop app, and the mobile app.

Channel banner use cases include the following:

  • Security classifications, such as SENSITIVE INFORMATION: IMPACT LEVEL 5 with a distinctive color to alert members of the required security level.
  • Important notices, such as Reminder: Code complete deadlines are Fridays at 3 PM, for recurring reminders.
  • Policy or terms, such as All discussion in this channel is private and restricted with a red color to signal caution.

Mattermost channel admins, team admins, and system admins can enable a banner with custom text at the top of Mattermost public or private channels.

Create a channel banner:

  1. Open a channel where you have administrative permissions.
  2. Select the channel name at the top of the center pane to access the drop-down menu, then select Channel Settings.
  3. Select Configuration and enable the Channel Banner option.
  4. Specify the banner text you want to display at the top of the channel. You can style the text using Markdown, if desired.
  5. Select the banner color.
  6. Select Save to apply the changes. The banner displays immediately.

Change a channel banner​

You can change the banner text or color at any time by following the same steps above. The new banner text or color displays immediately.

Include channel attributes​

From Mattermost v12.0, when channel attributes are enabled, the banner text editor can include channel attribute tokens. Each token is replaced with that attribute's value for the channel.

  • Use the attribute control to insert an attribute token.
  • Combine tokens with text to provide context.
  • Remove a token to stop displaying that attribute in the banner. Removing a token doesn't clear the channel attribute value.
  • Use the preview to review the resolved banner before saving.

If an attribute doesn't have a value, it doesn't appear in the banner. Mattermost removes adjacent single- or double-character separators, such as ·, ., /, or ?, where possible. The banner is hidden when no text remains.

System admins choose which attributes appear in a new channel banner by default. See Channel attributes.

Remove a channel banner​

Disable the Channel Banner option in the channel settings to remove the banner from the channel.

When channel attributes are enabled, this also hides all attribute-driven banner content, including Classification. Mattermost preserves the channel's attribute values and saved banner template, so enabling the banner again restores the resolved content.

When channel attributes aren't enabled, an active Classification marking locks the Channel Banner option on. Disable the channel's Classification setting separately to remove that banner.

Classification markings​

From Mattermost v11.8, system admins can configure classification markings that display as global or channel-level banners in the web and desktop apps. See the Classification Markings configuration documentation for setup details.

Classification markings use predefined or custom classification levels, including the classification name and banner color. These markings are informational only and don't control access to channels, messages, files, or other Mattermost resources.

From Mattermost v12.0, when channel attributes are enabled, channel admins assign Classification from Channel Info or Channel Settings > Info. If Classification is configured for banner display, its token is included by default when the channel has never saved custom banner text. Existing custom banner templates aren't changed automatically.

While the Classification token remains in the banner text, the selected classification level's color controls the banner color. Channel banner managers can customize the surrounding text and combine Classification with other channel attributes. Removing the Classification token returns control of the color to the channel without clearing its classification value.

See Classification Markings and channel attributes for details.