# Close and reopen a chat

> Hide a finished chat from the list, and bring it back when you need it.

Source: https://docs.soosh.io/guides/inbox/close-and-reopen-a-chat/

Closing a chat tidies your list. Nothing is deleted, and the customer isn't told.

## Before you start

- A role that can reply to chats. Agents have it by default. Without it, you don't see the close button.

## Close a chat

1. In [**Inbox > Chats**](https://app.soosh.io/chat), open the chat.
2. At the top of the chat, click **Close chat** (the archive icon).

Soosh says **Chat closed**. The chat leaves the list for everyone in
your workspace. It stays open on your screen with a **Closed** badge.

## Find a closed chat and reopen it

1. Above the chat list, click the **Closed** tab.
2. Click the chat.
3. At the top of the chat, click **Reopen chat**.

*Video: Ravi clicks Close chat on Rahul Verma's chat, which gets a Closed badge and leaves the list. He finds it under the Closed tab, clicks Reopen chat, and Soosh says Chat reopened*

Soosh says **Chat reopened**, and the chat is back in the list. If
there is nothing closed, the tab says **No closed chats**.

## Result

A closed chat comes back by itself when:

- the customer writes to you
- someone on your team sends a message in it from Soosh
- someone on your team replies from the WhatsApp Business app on a phone
- an API key sends a message in it, other than a template

A bot, the AI, a response time rule (SLA), a store automation or a template
sent by an API key doesn't reopen it.

Closing or reopening a chat also gives it back to the bot. If someone was
assigned to it, it stays assigned to them, but the bot and the AI answer the
customer's next message again.

Point at the **Closed** badge to see the reminder: the chat is hidden from the
list until the customer writes again.

## Related

- [Search chats and contacts](https://docs.soosh.io/guides/inbox/search-chats-and-contacts/)
- [Reply to a customer](https://docs.soosh.io/guides/inbox/reply-to-a-customer/)
- [Assign a chat](https://docs.soosh.io/guides/inbox/assign-a-chat/)