Category: Support

Support and help

  • Notification preferences and activity logs

    Manage how you’re notified and track project activity.

    Set notification preferences

    1. Go to Settings > Notifications
    2. Choose when you want to be notified:
      • When you’re mentioned in comments
      • When you’re assigned an issue
      • When someone comments on an issue you’re assigned to
      • Daily digest (optional) — Summary of activity
      • Weekly summary (optional)
    3. Click Save

    Notification channels

    You can receive notifications via:

    • In-app — Notifications in the Forest UI
    • Email — Direct to your inbox
    • Slack (if integrated) — Slack messages

    Configure which channels are active in Settings > Notifications.

    View activity log

    1. Go to Settings > Activity Log
    2. See recent actions:
      • Issue created, updated, deleted
      • Members invited, roles changed
      • Team changes
      • Settings modifications

    Filter activity log

    1. In Activity Log, use filters:
      • By user — Who made the change
      • By type — Issue changes, member changes, settings, etc.
      • By date — Date range
    2. Click Apply

    Export activity log

    1. Go to Settings > Activity Log
    2. Click Export or Download
    3. Choose CSV or PDF

    Share with auditors or stakeholders.

    @Mentions notifications

    When someone @mentions you:

    1. You receive an immediate notification
    2. Appears in Notifications or @Mentions tab
    3. You can reply directly

    Mute notifications

    To stop receiving notifications for a specific issue:

    1. Open the issue
    2. Click Mute or Stop notifications
    3. You no longer receive updates for that issue

    Unmute

    1. Go to the issue
    2. Click Unmute or Resume notifications

    Quiet hours

    Set a time window when you don’t receive notifications:

    Notifications are held and delivered after quiet hours end

    Go to Settings > Notifications

    Set Quiet hours (e.g., 5 PM – 9 AM)

  • Manage workflows and statuses

    Set up your project’s issue workflow (statuses and transitions).

    Understand statuses

    Statuses represent where an issue is in its lifecycle:

    • Backlog — Not yet started
    • In Progress — Currently being worked on
    • In Review — Waiting for review
    • Done — Complete

    Your project may have custom statuses.

    View current statuses

    1. Go to Settings > Workflows or Statuses
    2. See all statuses and their order

    Create a custom status

    1. Go to Settings > Workflows
    2. Click + New Status
    3. Enter:
      • Name — e.g., “Testing”, “Blocked”, “On Hold”
      • Category — Backlog, In Progress, or Done
      • Color (optional) — Visual indicator
    4. Click Create

    The status is now available for issues.

    Reorder statuses

    1. Go to Settings > Workflows
    2. Drag statuses to reorder them
    3. This affects how they appear on the board

    Set default status

    1. Go to Settings > Workflows
    2. Click a status
    3. Toggle Default to mark it as the starting status for new issues
    4. Click Save

    Create workflow rules (if supported)

    Some projects support workflow rules:

    • “Auto-move to Done when all subtasks are marked done”
    • “Notify team when status changes to Blocked”

    Check Settings > Automation if available.

    Status best practices

    Train your team on what each status means

    Keep statuses simple (3–5 is ideal)

    Use a consistent naming convention (all verbs or all nouns)

    Ensure statuses flow logically (Backlog → In Progress → In Review → Done)

  • Create custom fields

    Add custom fields to track project-specific metadata on issues.

    Create a custom field

    1. Go to Settings > Custom Fields
    2. Click + New Custom Field
    3. Enter:
      • Field name — What you’re tracking
      • Field type — Text, Number, Dropdown, etc.
      • Description (optional) — How to use this field
    4. Click Create

    The field is now available on all issues in the project.

    Custom field types

    TypeUsageExample
    TextShort text“Browser compatibility issue”
    NumberNumeric value“Performance: 500ms”
    DropdownSingle choice“Risk level: Low, Medium, High”
    Multi-selectMultiple choices“Affected platforms: iOS, Android, Web”
    DateCalendar date“Launch date: 2026-03-15”
    CheckboxYes/no toggle“Requires documentation: Yes”
    URLLink“Related PR: https://…”

    Make a field required

    1. Go to Settings > Custom Fields
    2. Click the field
    3. Toggle Required to on
    4. Click Save

    People must fill in this field when creating an issue.

    Set default values

    For some field types:

    1. Go to Settings > Custom Fields
    2. Click the field
    3. Set a Default value
    4. Click Save

    New issues auto-populate this field with the default.

    Edit a custom field

    1. Go to Settings > Custom Fields
    2. Click the field
    3. Edit name, type, or description
    4. Click Save

    Changes apply to all issues using this field.

    Delete a custom field

    1. Go to Settings > Custom Fields
    2. Find the field
    3. Click Delete
    4. Confirm

    Data in this field is lost on all issues.

    Use custom fields on issues

    1. Click an issue to open it
    2. Find the custom field in the detail panel
    3. Enter or select a value
    4. Click Save

    Filter by custom field

    Issues filter to show only those with that value

    Go to Board or Backlog

    Click Filters > Custom Fields

    Select a field and value

  • Configure disciplines and discipline-scoping

    Set up disciplines and enable discipline-scoped strategic planning.

    What discipline-scoping does

    Discipline-scoping lets you:

    • Create strategic themes visible only to specific functional areas
    • Define metrics only discipline members see
    • Filter issues by discipline on boards
    • Organize your company structure in planning

    Create disciplines

    See Discipline setup and assignments for the full process.

    Quick steps:

    1. Go to Settings > Disciplines
    2. Click + New Discipline
    3. Name it (e.g., “Engineering”)
    4. Click Create

    Assign disciplines to teams

    1. Go to Settings > Teams
    2. Click a team
    3. Set its Discipline
    4. All team members belong to that discipline

    Assign discipline leaders

    1. Go to Settings > Disciplines
    2. Click a discipline
    3. Click + Assign Leader
    4. Select the leader(s)
    5. They can now create/edit discipline-scoped themes

    Configure which metric types are enabled

    Admins can choose which metric types teams can use:

    1. Go to Settings > Disciplines > Metrics tab
    2. Check/uncheck:
      • Issue count
      • Issue estimation
      • Issue completion
      • Custom field
      • Manual
    3. Click Save

    Only enabled types appear in Planning when creating metrics.

    View discipline-scoped content

    Once disciplines are set up:

    • Go to Planning
    • Discipline-scoped themes show a discipline badge
    • Only members of that discipline see scoped themes

    Filter by discipline (admin only)

    Admins can filter issues by discipline:

    1. Go to Board or Backlog
    2. Click Filters > Discipline
    3. Select a discipline
    4. Issues filter to show only work linked to that discipline’s themes

    Manage discipline leaders

    See Discipline setup and assignments.

    Best practices

    Update leaders as your org evolves

    Create disciplines after you’ve set up teams

    Align discipline structure with your company’s organizational structure

    Clearly define each discipline’s scope

  • API, webhooks, and integrations

    Not available

    Connect Forest to external tools and build custom integrations.

    API access

    Forest provides a REST API for custom integrations.

    API documentation: https://docs.forest.tools/api (contact support for access)

    Use cases

    • Sync issues to external systems
    • Automate reporting
    • Create custom dashboards
    • Build bot integrations

    Generate API tokens

    1. Go to Settings > API & Integrations
    2. Click + Generate Token
    3. Name the token (e.g., “CI/CD bot”)
    4. Copy the token
    5. Store it securely

    Never share tokens. Treat them like passwords.

    Webhooks

    Webhooks send real-time notifications when events occur.

    Supported events

    • Issue created, updated, deleted
    • Issue moved between statuses
    • Comments added
    • Members invited

    Create a webhook

    1. Go to Settings > Webhooks
    2. Click + New Webhook
    3. Enter:
      • Name — e.g., “Slack notifications”
      • URL — Where to send the webhook
      • Events — Which events trigger it
    4. Click Create

    When an event occurs, Forest sends a POST request to your URL.

    Example webhook payload

    {
  "event": "issue.created",
  "issue_id": 42,
  "title": "Fix login bug",
  "created_at": "2026-06-04T10:30:00Z"
}

    Third-party integrations

    Forest integrates with:

    • Slack — Notifications and commands
    • GitHub — Link PRs to issues (if available)
    • Linear — Sync work (if available)

    To enable:

    1. Go to Settings > Integrations
    2. Click the service
    3. Authorize access
    4. Configure options

    Build a custom integration

    1. Get an API token from Settings > API & Integrations
    2. Read the API documentation
    3. Build your integration using the REST API
    4. Test against a dev project first

    Troubleshoot integrations

    1. Check Activity Log to see if requests are succeeding
    2. Verify your API token is still valid
    3. Check that the webhook URL is reachable
    4. Review error logs in Settings > Integrations

    Rate limits

    API calls are rate-limited to prevent abuse:

    • Requests per minute: 60 (for most endpoints)
    • Batch operations: 10 per minute

    If you hit a limit, wait and retry.

  • User roles and permissions hierarchy

    Forest uses a 3-tier role system: Platform, Company, and Project levels.

    Project level roles

    Project roles control what users can do within a specific project.

    ActionAdminTeam AdminMemberViewer
    Create issues✓✓*✓✗
    Edit issues✓✓*✓✗
    Delete issues✓✓*✗✗
    Change settings✓✗✗✗
    Invite members✓✓*✗✗
    Manage teams✓✓*✗✗
    View all data✓✓✓✓

    *Team Admins can only manage their own team(s).

    Admin

    Full control over the project:

    • Create, edit, delete issues
    • Modify project settings
    • Invite and remove members
    • Create and manage teams
    • View capacity and budget reports
    • Delete the project

    Team Admin

    Can manage their assigned team(s):

    • Create, edit, delete issues in their team
    • Manage members in their team
    • Edit team capacity and time allocation
    • Invite members to their team
    • Cannot access other teams
    • Cannot modify project settings

    Member

    Can perform core work activities:

    • Create and edit issues
    • Update issue status
    • Comment and collaborate
    • View capacity and budget data
    • Assign issues to themselves
    • Cannot delete issues
    • Cannot modify settings
    • Cannot invite new members

    Viewer

    Can view content only:

    • View all issues and boards
    • View timelines and reports
    • View comments
    • Cannot create, edit, or delete anything
    • Cannot modify settings

    Company and Platform roles

    In addition to project roles, users may have:

    • Company Owner / Admin — Manage all projects in a company
    • Platform Owner / Admin — Manage the entire system

    These roles grant broader permissions across projects and companies.

  • Manage team members and invitations

    Invite people to your project and manage their access.

    Invite a team member

    1. Go to Settings > Members or Team
    2. Click + Invite or + Add Member
    3. Enter:
      • Email address — Person’s work email
      • Role — Admin, Team Admin, Member, or Viewer
    4. Click Invite or Send

    An invitation email is sent to the person.

    Accept an invitation

    The invited person receives an email with a link:

    1. Click the link
    2. Create an account (if new to Forest)
    3. Or log in (if existing user)
    4. Accept the invitation
    5. They’re now part of the project

    Resend an invitation

    If someone doesn’t receive the email:

    1. Go to Settings > Members
    2. Find the pending invitation
    3. Click Resend or ••• > Resend
    4. The email is sent again

    Invitations expire after 30 days.

    Cancel an invitation

    1. Go to Settings > Members
    2. Find the pending invitation
    3. Click Cancel or ✕
    4. The invitation is revoked

    Remove a member

    1. Go to Settings > Members
    2. Find the person to remove
    3. Click Remove or ✕
    4. Confirm

    The person loses access to the project.

    What happens to their work?

    When you remove someone:

    1. Issues assigned to them remain in the project
    2. You can reassign those issues to someone else
    3. They can no longer see the project (unless re-invited)

    Change someone’s role

    1. Go to Settings > Members
    2. Click the person’s current role
    3. Select a new role
    4. The change takes effect immediately

    See User roles and permissions hierarchy for role descriptions.

  • Discipline setup and assignments

    Disciplines organize your company by functional area and enable discipline-scoped strategic work.

    What is a discipline?

    A discipline is a functional area or business unit:

    • Engineering — Software development
    • Design — Product and UX design
    • Product — Product management
    • Sales — Sales and business development
    • Finance — Financial planning

    Disciplines are optional—you don’t have to use them.

    Create a discipline

    1. Go to Settings > Disciplines
    2. Click + New Discipline
    3. Enter:
      • Name — e.g., “Engineering”
      • Description (optional) — What this discipline covers
    4. Click Create

    Assign discipline leaders

    Discipline leaders can create and manage discipline-scoped strategic themes.

    1. Go to Settings > Disciplines
    2. Click a discipline
    3. Click + Assign Leader or + Add Leader
    4. Select a person
    5. Click Assign

    The person is now a leader for that discipline.

    Assign discipline members

    Team members become discipline members through their team assignments:

    1. Go to Settings > Teams
    2. Click a team
    3. Click Assign Discipline or Discipline
    4. Select a discipline
    5. Click Save

    All members of this team are now members of that discipline.

    Assign people to multiple disciplines

    A person can belong to multiple disciplines:

    1. Assign them to teams in multiple disciplines
    2. Or manually assign them to multiple disciplines (if supported)

    They’ll see content from all their disciplines.

    View discipline membership

    1. Go to Settings > Disciplines
    2. Click a discipline
    3. See all members and leaders of that discipline

    Discipline visibility rules

    Once disciplines are set up:

    • Discipline-scoped themes (in Strategic Planning) are visible only to that discipline’s members and leaders
    • Discipline-scoped metrics are visible only to that discipline’s members and leaders
    • Discipline filter (on Board/Backlog) lets admins filter issues by linked discipline

    Metrics per discipline

    Discipline leaders can define metrics specific to their discipline:

    1. Go to Planning
    2. Click a discipline-scoped theme
    3. Add metrics
    4. Only discipline members see these metrics

    See Discipline-specific metrics.

    Remove discipline assignment

    1. Go to Settings > Disciplines
    2. Click the discipline
    3. Find the person to remove
    4. Click Remove or ✕

    The person is no longer a member/leader of that discipline.

  • Create and manage teams

    Teams organize people by discipline or function.

    Create a team

    1. Go to Settings > Teams
    2. Click + New Team
    3. Enter:
      • Name — e.g., “Frontend”, “Design”, “QA”
      • Description (optional) — What the team does
    4. Click Create

    The team is created and appears in the Teams list.

    Add members to a team

    1. In Settings > Teams, click a team
    2. Click + Add Member
    3. Select a person and set their time allocation (e.g., 100%)
    4. Click Add

    The person is now on the team at that allocation %.

    Set time allocation

    Time allocation is the % of a person’s time dedicated to a team:

    • 100% — Full time on this team
    • 50% — Half time (maybe they’re on 2 teams)
    • 25% — Part time

    Total allocation across all teams should be ≤ 100%.

    Edit team details

    1. Go to Settings > Teams
    2. Click a team to open it
    3. Edit:
      • Team name
      • Description
      • Members and allocations
    4. Click Save

    Delete a team

    1. Go to Settings > Teams
    2. Click the team
    3. Click Delete or ••• > Delete
    4. Confirm

    Deleting a team does not delete its members—it only removes the team structure.

    Manage team capacity

    Once a team is created, you can manage its capacity:

    1. Go to Capacity Planning
    2. See the team’s capacity grid
    3. Adjust members’ time allocation (allocations should total ≤ 100%)

    See Manage time allocation across teams.

    Team admin responsibilities

    A Team Admin can:

    • Add/remove members from their team
    • Adjust time allocation
    • Create issues for their team
    • Manage team settings

    They cannot:

    • Modify project-level settings
    • Manage other teams
    • Invite members to the project

    See Assign roles and change access.

    Best practices

    Use time allocation to model cross-functional work

    Create teams by function (Frontend, Backend, Design, QA)

    Or create teams by discipline (Engineering, Product, Sales)

    Keep team sizes manageable (3–12 people)

  • Assign roles and change access

    Control what each team member can do in your project.

    Assign a role during invitation

    1. Go to Settings > Members
    2. Click + Invite
    3. Enter email and select a Role:
      • Admin — Full project access
      • Team Admin — Manage specific team(s)
      • Member — Create and update work
      • Viewer — View only
    4. Click Invite

    Change someone’s role

    1. Go to Settings > Members
    2. Click the person to select
    3. Find their current Role
    4. Click to change it
    5. Select the new role
    6. The change takes effect immediately

    Example role progressions

    • New person — Viewer, then Member
    • Promoted team lead — Member to Team Admin
    • Project lead — Team Admin or Member to Admin

    Assign team admin responsibility

    1. Go to Settings > Teams
    2. Click a team
    3. Click Assign Team Admin or select the team admin
    4. Choose the person
    5. They’re now responsible for that team

    A person can be Team Admin for multiple teams.

    Viewer → Member promotion

    When someone is ready to contribute:

    1. Change their role from Viewer to Member
    2. They can now create and edit issues
    3. They still cannot delete or modify settings

    Team Admin → Admin promotion

    When someone needs full project control:

    1. Change their role from Team Admin to Admin
    2. They can now access all teams and modify settings
    3. They can invite members and manage the entire project

    Restrictions

    • Only Admins can change roles
    • You cannot remove your own Admin role (to prevent lockout)
    • A person must be a Member or higher to create work

    Audit log

    Who changed which roles? (if enabled):

    See changes: “Admin user X promoted Y to Team Admin”

    Go to Settings > Activity Log