# Create a stream

In Zulip, streams are like mailing lists in an email tool; each has a
set of subscribers. Your current subscriptions are visible in the left
sidebar.  Streams can be either:

* **Public streams** - Public streams are for open discussions. All
  users can subscribe to public streams and discuss there.
* **Private streams** - Private streams are for confidential
  discussions and are only visible to users who've been invited to
  subscribe to them.

## Create a new stream

{!subscriptions.md!}

3. Click the plus (<i class="icon-vector-plus"></i>) icon to the right of
the **Filter Streams** input.

    !!! warn ""
        **Note:** If you do not see the plus (<i class="icon-vector-plus"></i>) icon, it
        is probably because your organization's administrators have disabled stream
        creation for ordinary users. If that's the case, then you need to ask them
        to make creating streams available to other users, or you will have to ask
        an administrator for help creating each particular stream.

4. After clicking the plus (<i class="icon-vector-plus"></i>) icon, the
right side of the [Subscriptions](/#subscriptions) page, labeled **Add New
Stream**, will now display options for creating a stream.

5. Enter the title of your stream in the **Stream name** input. If you designate
your stream as public, the **Stream name** will be displayed under the Streams
on the left sidebar. Your stream name must be unique to all other stream names
and can be no longer than 60 characters.

    !!! tip ""
        You can optionally enter a brief description of your stream in **Stream description**
        to give other users a general idea of what's being
        discussed in your stream. The description can be seen under the stream
        name in the stream overview.

7. The **Stream accessibility** option controls the privacy of your stream. There are two options:
    - **Anybody can join** - This option makes your stream **public** and
    accessible to all users.

    - **People must be invited** - This option makes your stream **private**.
    Only users you invite will be able to access this stream.

8. If your stream is public, you can choose to alert users about the new stream
by clicking the **Announce stream** checkbox. Users who have been added to the
new stream will always be notified, but if the **Announce stream** feature is
enabled, all users will be notified of the stream's creation.

9. To automatically subscribe a user to your stream, scroll down to **People to add**
and tick the checkboxes with the names of the users you want to add.

    !!! tip ""
        To search for specific users, enter their usernames in the **Filter names** box.

10. Once you are ready to create your stream, click the **Create** button
located at the bottom right of the window. The stream will now appear in the
left sidebar for the users that you subscribed.