Skip to main content
Assigning threads in Plain keeps support organized, accountable, and responsive.
Assignment in Plain

​
How assignment works

When you begin typing in a thread, Plain automatically assigns it to you. You can also assign threads manually: press A while viewing a thread, use ⌘ + K, or select an assignee from the top-right of the thread view.

​
Sticky assignment

By default, once you’re assigned to a thread, Plain keeps you assigned. You can change this in Settings → Workflow.

​
Online, offline, and away mode

Users can be in one of three statuses: Online, Offline, or Away. Configure this from your profile.

​
Multiple assignees

You can add multiple assignees to a thread: one lead, plus optional co-assignees.

​
Auto-assignment

You can enable auto-assignment in your team’s settings to automatically distribute incoming threads across your team members so no one gets overloaded.
Auto-assignment in Plain

​
How it works

When a thread carries the team label, auto-assignment collects every member of that team, filters out users who are Away or at capacity, and assigns the thread to the eligible user with the lowest current load.

​
Set it up

  1. Create (or confirm) your team - Go to Settings → Labels and add your team and its members.
  2. Enable Auto-assignment - Toggle Auto-assign threads for this team.
  3. Set a max capacity. This is the maximum number of Todo threads an agent can hold before they’re skipped in the rotation.
  4. Save - New matching threads will now auto-assign.

​
How the algorithm works

When a thread needs to be assigned, Plain picks the best available agent by checking:
  • Availability: agents with status Away, Break, or Offline are skipped
  • Capacity: agents who’ve hit their max capacity are skipped
  • Least loaded: among eligible agents, the one with the fewest assigned threads gets picked

​
When assignments trigger

Auto-assignment fires automatically when:
  • A new thread is created with a team label
  • A team label is added to an existing thread
  • A thread is marked Done or Snoozed (freeing up capacity → backfills other threads)
  • A thread is reopened (goes back to Todo unassigned)
  • An agent comes back online (their teams get backfilled)

​
Things to know

  • If no agents have capacity, the thread stays unassigned until someone frees up
  • Auto-assignment only assigns threads with Todo status that have no existing assignee
When something needs escalating, escalation paths give your team a predefined route to the next level.