To set up a shared inbox in Front, an admin opens workspace settings from the gear icon, chooses Inboxes, clicks Create shared inbox, names it, sets who has access and clicks Create. The inbox starts empty. To route real email into it, connect a channel under Channels and pick this inbox as the destination for its messages.
A shared inbox is the moment a team stops forwarding emails to each other and starts working from one place. In Front, it's quick to create, but there are two separate jobs: making the inbox, and getting messages into it. Miss the second and you'll have a tidy, empty box nobody uses.
What a Front shared inbox holds
Front describes a shared inbox as an organisational space for categorising or sorting conversations. It can have channels such as email, Instagram or SMS feeding into it, or have no channels at all and stay an empty inbox. Any admin can create one, edit its settings and change teammate access, so if you can't see the option, check your role first.
Seven steps from the gear icon to live messages
1. Pick the workspace
Click the gear icon, then select the workspace you want the shared inbox in. Shared inboxes belong to one specific workspace, which matters later when you're working out who can see it.
2. Open the create form
Click Inboxes in the left menu, then Create shared inbox.
3. Fill in the basics
Add an Inbox name, an optional Description and a Color. The name and colour show in the sidebar and menus, so choose something your team will recognise at a glance, such as Support or Orders. Then set Access: the whole workspace, which makes it a public inbox, or Restricted to specific teammates or teammate groups.
4. Decide on sidebars and Ticketing
Optionally pick teammates under Show this inbox in teammate sidebars, so they see it without editing their own sidebar. Ticketing, which adds ticket statuses and ticket IDs, is on by default. The default ticket ID prefix is the first 3 alphabetic letters of your workspace name. Leave it on if you want reference numbers for customers, or switch it off for a simpler inbox.
5. Create it
Click Create. You land in the new inbox's settings straight away, where optional tabs at the top cover additional inbox settings, custom fields and business hours.
6. Check your sidebar
Go back to the main inbox view and check the new inbox appears in your sidebar. If it doesn't, add it through sidebar editing. A new inbox that isn't pinned looks as if it's missing.
7. Connect a channel
Click Channels in the left menu, then Connect channel, choose a channel type, follow the on-screen steps and select the new inbox as the destination for that channel's messages. You can also create a new inbox from that same dropdown. Front has platform-specific setup guides for each channel type, so follow the one for your email provider.
Public or restricted: choosing who gets in
| Access setting | Who sees it | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Whole workspace (public) | Everyone in that workspace, not other workspaces | Current and future teammates, tags and message templates in the workspace get access automatically |
| Restricted | Chosen teammates or teammate groups | Add people later in the inbox's Access tab |
For a general support or sales inbox, public is usually right, because new starters get access without anyone remembering to add them. Restricted suits anything sensitive, such as billing queries or HR.
Why a teammate still can't see the new inbox
This is where most setups stall, and the Front Help Center is clear on the reasons. A new shared inbox is empty until you connect a channel to it. And a teammate can still fail to see it because it isn't pinned to their sidebar, they aren't a member of the workspace the inbox belongs to, or they haven't been granted access in the inbox's Access tab.
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Making an inbox public doesn't add it to sidebars automatically, either. Choosing workspace-wide access gives people the right to open it, but you pick who gets it in their sidebar using the Show this inbox in teammate sidebars of dropdown. If someone says they can't find it, check those three things in that order.
Moving conversations once it's running
Shared inbox conversations can be moved to other shared inboxes, and personal conversations can be moved into shared inboxes. That's handy in the first week, when emails that should have gone to the team are still landing in someone's personal inbox.
Other shared inbox tools
Help Scout's shared inbox brings email aliases, social messages and teammates into one place, and can automatically sort, label and assign emails. Hiver publishes a guide on what a shared inbox is and how a team uses one, positioned around team email. If you're still comparing, my roundups of tools similar to Front and help desk software for small businesses cover more options.
My advice for your first shared inbox
Start with one public inbox for your main customer address, pin it to every teammate's sidebar when you create it, and connect the email channel straight away so it never sits empty. Leave Ticketing on if customers will quote reference numbers. Once that's running smoothly, add restricted inboxes for anything that needs a smaller group.
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Frequently asked questions
Who can create a shared inbox in Front?
Any admin can create a shared inbox, edit its settings and change teammate access.
Do I need a channel before I create a shared inbox?
No. An inbox can have no channels and be used as an empty inbox; you add a channel later through Channels, then Connect channel.
What is the difference between public and restricted access?
Public gives everyone in the workspace access, now and in future. Restricted gives access to chosen teammates or teammate groups.
Why can my teammate not see the inbox?
Usually it isn't pinned to their sidebar, they aren't in that workspace, or they haven't been granted access in the inbox's Access tab.
Can I move conversations between shared inboxes?
Yes. Front lets you move shared inbox conversations to other shared inboxes, and personal conversations into shared inboxes.
