Using lab chat

We’ve moved off Slack to our own private, self-hosted chat server — Mattermost, run by the lab. This guide gets you signed in, on every device, with notifications working. If you know Slack, you already know Mattermost.

Where do I go? The lab chat’s web address is in your welcome/invite email (and your password-reset email links straight to it). If you don’t have it, just ask Francisco — we don’t post the address publicly.

Sign in the first time

You already have an account — your name and your history from Slack were brought over. You just need to set a password.

1. Open the lab chat site (address from your invite email, or ask Francisco).
2. Click “Forgot your password?” and enter the email the lab has for you.
3. You’ll get an email from noreply@nuilab.org with a link to set your password. If you don’t see it within a minute, check your spam/junk folder and mark it “not spam.”
4. Click the link, choose a password, and log in. That’s it — you’re in.

Didn’t get the email? The reset link is only valid for a short time, but you can request a fresh one anytime with “Forgot your password?”. If your email bounced, reply to Francisco with a working address.

Slack is shutting down — move now

We’re moving the lab fully onto Mattermost on July 12, 2026 — Slack is going away. Please sign in and install the app before July 12 so you don’t miss a beat.

Your old conversations are safe. Public channel history (and your DMs) were imported into Mattermost, so you’ll find your past messages waiting for you. Want your private Slack history as a personal copy too? You can export it yourself with the lab’s Slack-export tool — ask Francisco for the link.

Get the apps

Mattermost works in any browser, but the desktop and mobile apps are better — faster, and they deliver push notifications. When an app asks for a server URL, enter the lab chat address from your invite email (or ask Francisco), then sign in with your email + password.

Desktop

• macOS — Download from mattermost.com/download (opens in new tab) (Apple-silicon or Intel), open it, and add the lab server.
• Windows — Grab the Windows installer from mattermost.com/download (opens in new tab) , run it, and add the lab server.
• Linux — Use the .deb, .rpm, AppImage, or Flatpak from mattermost.com/download (opens in new tab) ; add the lab server.

Mobile

• iPhone / iPad — App Store → search “Mattermost” → install. On first launch, enter the lab server URL, then sign in.
• Android — Google Play → search “Mattermost” → install. Add the lab server URL, then sign in.

No install? You can always just open the lab chat address in your browser — see the next section for an app-like icon without the app store.

Stop the “Save As…” prompt on every download

Coming from Slack, you may notice the desktop app asks where to save each file instead of just dropping it in Downloads. Fix it by setting a default folder:

1. Menu bar → Mattermost → Settings… → General tab.
2. Set Download Location to your Downloads folder (or wherever you like).

Once a folder is set, downloads save there automatically — no more prompt. (When it’s left blank, the app falls back to asking every time.)

Add it to your phone’s home screen (no app store)

If you’d rather not use the app store, you can pin the site to your home screen so it opens like an app.

iPhone / iPad (Safari)

1. Open the lab chat address in Safari.
2. Tap the Share button (the square with an up-arrow).
3. Choose “Add to Home Screen” → Add.

Android (Chrome)

1. Open the lab chat address in Chrome.
2. Tap the ⋮ menu (top-right).
3. Choose “Add to Home screen” / “Install app” → confirm.

For reliable push notifications, the real app is best. The home-screen shortcut works great for reading, but the installed app handles background notifications most consistently.

Turn on notifications

Two layers have to say “yes”: your device/OS, and your Mattermost settings.

On your phone

• When the app first asks “Allow notifications?” — tap Allow.
• Missed it? Turn it on in your phone’s Settings → (Notifications) → Mattermost.
• In the app: ☰ menu → Settings → Notifications to choose what pings you.

On desktop

• Allow notifications when the app/browser prompts (or enable Mattermost in your OS notification settings).
• Fine-tune under ⚙️ Settings → Notifications.

Good settings to know

• Keywords — get notified when specific words are mentioned (your name, a project, etc.).
• Per-channel — open a channel’s name → Notification Preferences to make a busy channel quieter (or a key one louder).
• Do Not Disturb / quiet hours — pause notifications on a schedule.

Reminders (a little different from Slack)

In Slack you typed /remind me to…. Mattermost has reminders built in — they just work a little differently: instead of free text, you attach a reminder to a message, and the Mattermost bot privately pings you later with a link straight back to that message.

Remind me about this message

1. Hover over any message (yours or anyone’s) and click the ⋯ (More) icon.
2. Choose “Remind”.
3. Pick 20 mins · 1 hour · 2 hours · Tomorrow, or Custom (any date & time).

At that moment the Mattermost bot sends you a direct message with a link back to the post — one click takes you right to it. The reminder is private (only you see it) and fires in your timezone.

Remind me to do something new (the Slack-style way)

Because the built-in reminder always attaches to a message, for a free-form “remind me to…” you simply message yourself first:

1. In the left sidebar, click the + next to Direct Messages and choose your own name (yes, you can message yourself).
2. Type the task as a quick note and send it.
3. Hover that note → ⋯ → Remind → pick when.

Your self-DM doubles as a personal to-do scratchpad, and the reminder arrives as a bot message at the chosen time.

Tip: set your timezone under Settings → Display → Timezone so “Tomorrow” and custom times fire exactly when you expect.

What’s the same as Slack

If you know Slack, you already know Mattermost. The day-to-day is nearly identical:

• Channels — public and private, just like Slack.
• Direct messages & group messages.
• Threads — reply in a thread to keep conversations tidy.
• @mentions — @name, @channel, @here.
• Emoji reactions 👍 and custom emoji.
• File sharing — drag & drop or paste images and files.
• Search — full-text search across channels and messages.
• Formatting — bold, lists, and code blocks (Markdown).
• Pin important posts; save posts to find later.
• Custom status and profile picture.
• Slash commands — e.g. /away, /dnd, /shrug.

What’s different from Slack

Markdown is first-class. Mattermost leans into Markdown, so code blocks (triple backticks), tables, and inline code render cleanly — handy for a research lab.

Make the sidebar feel like Slack

By default Mattermost sorts your channels alphabetically, so — unlike Slack — the conversation that just got a new message doesn’t automatically jump to the top. Two quick settings fix that:

1. Float active conversations to the top. Right-click a sidebar category header — CHANNELS, DIRECT MESSAGES — and choose Sort → Recent Activity. Now whatever has the newest message rises to the top of that group, just like Slack. Do it for each category; the setting follows you across all your devices.
2. Unreads on top. Anything with new messages also shows in an UNREADS group pinned at the very top of the sidebar (this is on by default). You can toggle it under Settings → Sidebar.

A couple more decluttering options under Settings → Sidebar:

• Autoclose inactive DMs — hides direct messages you haven’t touched in a while, so only active conversations stay in the list.
• Make your own categories (drag channels, or + → Create New Category) to group projects the way you like.

Jump straight to what’s new:

• Alt+Shift+↑ / Alt+Shift+↓ — hop to the previous/next channel that has unread messages.
• Ctrl/Cmd+K — the quick switcher: start typing any person or channel name to jump right to it (the same as Slack’s Cmd+K).

Formatting messages — lists especially

Mattermost uses full Markdown and renders it a little differently from Slack — bullet lists are where people notice it most.

Easiest way: use the formatting toolbar above the message box (the B / I / list icons — click “Aa” if it’s hidden). Hit the bulleted-list button and it inserts a correct list for you — no Markdown typing, none of the gotchas below.

If you’d rather type Markdown by hand, a few habits keep lists clean:

• Start each item with - (a dash and a space) on its own line.
• Don’t put blank lines between items — that turns it into a “loose” list and Mattermost spaces it out (looks double-spaced / “strange”). Keep bullets on consecutive lines for a tight, compact list.
• Put one blank line before the first bullet (after an intro like “This week:”) so it reliably renders as a list rather than plain text.
• Numbered lists: 1., 2., … the same way. Nest an item by indenting two spaces.
• Other formatting works too: **bold**, *italic*, ~~strikethrough~~, `code`, and triple back-ticks for a code block.

Type it like this and it renders as a neat list:

This week:

- Finish the pressure system
- Convert the data pipeline
- Start the elicitation study

(If your bullets ever show up as literal - dashes, it’s almost always a missing space after the dash, or no blank line before the list.)

Handy shortcuts & power tips

• Jump anywhere fast: Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) or ⌘+K (Mac) opens the quick switcher — type a channel or person’s name and hit Enter. (Same idea as Slack’s quick switcher.)
• Search like a pro: in the search box use from: and in: — e.g. from:@jane in:project-x deadline. Date filters on:, before:, after: work too.
• Edit / delete your own message: hover → ⋯ → Edit or Delete. (Tip: press ↑ in an empty message box to edit your last message.)
• Mark as unread: hover a message → ⋯ → “Mark as Unread” to come back to it later.
• Quick formatting: **bold**, *italics*, `inline code`, and triple back-ticks for a code block — great for sharing snippets.
• Useful slash commands: /away, /dnd, /online, /me, /shrug, /collapse (hide image previews), /help.

Tips & getting help

• Set your timezone so timestamps show your local time: Settings → Display → Timezone (set automatically works well).
• Favorite the channels you care about so they stay at the top.
• Install on phone and desktop — they stay in sync, and you’ll never miss a mention.
• New to a channel? Skim the pinned posts first.

Stuck? Just reply to Francisco’s message, or post in the help/general channel once you’re in. We’re happy to help you get set up.