Follow a topic

import {Steps, TabItem, Tabs} from "@astrojs/starlight/components";

import FlattenedList from "../../components/FlattenedList.astro"; import FlattenedSteps from "../../components/FlattenedSteps.astro"; import KeyboardTip from "../../components/KeyboardTip.astro"; import ZulipTip from "../../components/ZulipTip.astro"; import AutomaticallyFollowTopics from "../include/_AutomaticallyFollowTopics.mdx"; import ConfigureNotificationsForFollowedTopics from "../include/_ConfigureNotificationsForFollowedTopics.mdx"; import ConfigureTopicNotificationsDesktopWeb from "../include/_ConfigureTopicNotificationsDesktopWeb.mdx"; import FilterFollowedLeftSidebar from "../include/_FilterFollowedLeftSidebar.mdx"; import FollowUnmuteOptions from "../include/_FollowUnmuteOptions.mdx"; import FollowedTopicWorkflows from "../include/_FollowedTopicWorkflows.mdx"; import GoToInbox from "../include/_GoToInbox.mdx"; import ManageConfiguredTopicsDesktopWeb from "../include/_ManageConfiguredTopicsDesktopWeb.mdx"; import ManageConfiguredTopicsMobile from "../include/_ManageConfiguredTopicsMobile.mdx"; import TopicLongPressMenu from "../include/_TopicLongPressMenu.mdx";

import FollowIcon from "~icons/zulip-icon/follow" import SearchIcon from "~icons/zulip-icon/search";

Zulip lets you follow topics you are interested in, which helps you see when you have unread messages you care about. You can follow or unfollow any topic, and choose which topics you'd like to follow automatically:

Topics where you are mentioned. </FlattenedList>

Followed topics are marked with <FollowIcon /> in the left sidebar, inbox, and elsewhere. It's easy to prioritize catching up on followed topics. You can:

Configure how you get notified about new messages for topics you follow.
Use the <kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>N</kbd> keyboard shortcut to go to the next unread followed topic.
Filter to view only followed topics in the inbox, recent conversations, and list of topics in a channel.
Filter to view only followed topics when viewing all topics in a channel in the left sidebar.

You can use followed topics for a variety of workflows:

Follow or unfollow a topic

  1. Tap **Follow topic** or **Unfollow topic**.
</FlattenedSteps>

</TabItem> </Tabs>

Catch up on followed topics

  1. Filter the view to the topics you follow by selecting **Followed topics**
     from the dropdown in the upper left of the **inbox** view.
  1. Click on a conversation you're interested in to view it. You can also use
     the arrow keys to select a conversation, and press <kbd>Enter</kbd>.
  1. Return to **Inbox** when done to select the next conversation. You can use
     the **back** button in your browser or the desktop app, <kbd>Shift</kbd> +
     <kbd>I</kbd>, or <kbd>Esc</kbd> if **Inbox** is configured as you [home
     view](/help/configure-home-view).
</FlattenedSteps>

<KeyboardTip>
  You can also use <kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>N</kbd> from any location to go
  to the next unread followed topic.
</KeyboardTip>

</TabItem> </Tabs>

Search for messages in followed topics

<Tabs> <TabItem label="Search bar"> <Steps> 1. Click the **search** (<SearchIcon />) icon in the top bar to open the search box. 1. Type `is:followed`, or start typing and select **Followed topics** from the typeahead. 1. *(optional)* Enter additional search terms or [filters](/help/search-for-messages). 1. Press <kbd>Enter</kbd>. </Steps>

<KeyboardTip>
  You can also use the <kbd>/</kbd> or <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> + <kbd>K</kbd>
  keyboard shortcut to start searching messages.
</KeyboardTip>

<ZulipTip>
  To get a feed of unread messages in all the topics you follow, search for
  `is:followed is:unread`.
</ZulipTip>

</TabItem> <TabItem label="Left sidebar"> <FilterFollowedLeftSidebar /> </TabItem> </Tabs>

Configure notifications for followed topics

You can configure custom notifications for followed topics. You can also configure the unread count badge to include unread messages just in followed topics, without counting other channel messages.

Automatically follow topics

<AutomaticallyFollowTopics> ### Follow topics you start or participate in

Follow topics where you are mentioned

</AutomaticallyFollowTopics>

Manage configured topics