Manage inactive streams

In normal Zulip usage, streams fall in and out of use. By default, Zulip automatically moves streams that haven't been used in a while to the Inactive section at the bottom of your streams list in the left sidebar. This helps prevent low-traffic streams from cluttering the left sidebar.

You can configure Zulip to move (demote) inactive streams more or less aggressively. This is an advanced setting; you can safely ignore it if this is your first time using Zulip.

Manage inactive streams

  1. Click on the gear () icon in the upper right corner of the web or desktop app.

  2. Select Personal settings.

  3. On the left, click Preferences.

  4. Under Advanced, configure Demote inactive streams.

The default is Automatic, which demotes inactive streams once you're subscribed to a minimum total number of streams. Always and Never either demote or don't demote inactive streams regardless of how many streams you have.