Assignments

Designating which team member owns a node.

An assignment designates which team member owns a node. Assignments make ownership explicit, so the team knows who's responsible for each piece of work. Assignments are a Team-tier feature available only in Multi-user workspaces.

How assignments work

A node can be assigned to one or more users. The assignment:

  • Surfaces the node in the assignee's personal view (filtered by "assigned to me")
  • Triggers notifications when the node's state changes (configurable via Slack notifications or Webhooks)
  • Appears in the Activity feed when set or changed
  • Shows on the node in the graph view as an avatar or initial

Multiple assignees are supported for nodes that involve more than one person. The team can configure whether multiple assignees are common or rare based on their working style.

Assignment vs claiming

Tree distinguishes between assignment (someone owns this node) and claiming (someone is actively working on this node, see How status is computed). The two often align, but they're separate concepts.

A node can be assigned without being claimed. A node can be claimed by someone other than the assignee (with permission, depending on the workspace's role configuration). The two states are tracked independently so the team has flexibility.

Reassignment

Assignments can be changed at any time. Reassignment is logged in the activity feed and can trigger notifications to both the old and new assignee. There's no friction; teams reassign work as priorities and capacity shift.

Tier availability

Assignments are a Team-tier feature, available only in multi-user workspaces. Free and Paid (single-user) do not include assignments.

LAST UPDATED · 2026-05-12