---
title: "Creating a workspace"
description: "Start a Firefight workspace from the dashboard, connect Slack to it now or later, and see what waits until Slack is connected."
canonical: https://firefight.app/docs/getting-started/creating-a-workspace
---

# Creating a workspace

A workspace is where your team's incidents, catalog, integrations and history live. You can create one as soon as you sign in, and connect Slack to it right away or later.

## Name your workspace

Sign in with Google, an email link or Slack. If you don't belong to a workspace yet, Firefight asks you to name one.

1. Enter a **Workspace name**. If you signed in with Slack, Firefight suggests your Slack workspace's name.
2. If you signed in with an email link, also enter **Your name**, since an email link doesn't carry one.
3. Click **Create workspace**.

You become the workspace's owner, with the default statuses, severities, incident types and catalog already set up. A welcome letter opens, and **Set up Firefight** takes you to [setup](https://firefight.app/docs/getting-started/setting-up.md), a short checklist that chooses Halon's AI, connects your tools and ends with Slack.

If you sign in with Slack and you already own a workspace that has no Slack connected, Firefight asks you to **Choose your workspace** first. Pick it to connect this Slack workspace to it, or click **Create a new workspace** to name another one.

If your team already uses Firefight, don't create a second workspace. **Sign in with Slack** on the same page to join the workspace your Slack team is connected to, or ask one of its admins to [invite you by email](https://firefight.app/docs/workspace/members-and-access#invite-people-by-email).

:::note
While Firefight is in public beta, creating a workspace can require an invite code. When it does, the page asks for one under the name.
:::

## Connect Slack

Every incident runs in its own Slack channel, so your workspace needs Slack before anyone can declare one. Until then, every page shows a **Connect Slack to run incidents** banner.

- If you signed in with Slack, you connect that Slack workspace at the Slack step of setup.
- Otherwise, Slack is one of the [setup](https://firefight.app/docs/getting-started/setting-up#connect-slack) steps. Choose **Not now** there and an owner or admin clicks **Connect Slack** on the banner later, then installs Firefight in the Slack workspace of their choice. Members see who to ask instead.

Installing needs a Slack workspace admin. When it finishes, you land back on setup, or on the dashboard once setup is done, with a confirmation, and Firefight sets up `#incidents` and posts its welcome message there. Your workspace keeps the name you gave it.

The welcome message lists three numbered steps to see how Firefight works: declare an incident, work it in its channel, and resolve it. Each step's number turns into a check mark once you have done it. Under the steps sit three buttons:

| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Declare a test incident** | Opens the declare form for a [test incident](https://firefight.app/docs/getting-started/your-first-incident#try-it-with-a-test-incident). It goes away once one is declared |
| **Share this channel** | Asks which channels or people to tell about `#incidents`, then posts a note to each, so your team knows where incidents are announced |
| **Preview an announcement** | Shows you, and only you, what an incident announcement looks like |

Below the buttons, a line reminds you that you can also run `/ff new` in any channel.

A Slack workspace can belong to only one Firefight workspace. If the one you pick is already connected to another, Firefight refuses and says so. Sign in with Slack to join that workspace instead, or ask its admin to invite you. If you signed in with Slack, you can only connect the Slack workspace you signed in with.

**Not now** on the install page takes you back to where you were. The banner stays until Slack is connected.

## Before Slack is connected

Everything except running incidents works: settings, the catalog, integrations and the map, receiving alerts, permissions and inviting your team.

**Declare incident** is disabled everywhere it appears, and hovering it says "Connect Slack first to run incidents." The API and the MCP `declare_incident` tool refuse the same way, with that sentence. See [Using the API](https://firefight.app/docs/api/using-the-api.md).