# Utilizing the Breakout rooms feature with live rooms

https://help.circle.so/p/live-and-events/live-setup/utilizing-the-breakout-rooms-feature-with-live-rooms

Category: [Live and events](https://help.circle.so/p/live-and-events) › [Live setup](https://help.circle.so/p/live-and-events/live-setup)

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_Last updated: October, 2026_

Breakout rooms let you split a Live Room into smaller groups for discussion, exercises, networking, peer learning, and collaborative work. As the host, you control when groups form, how long they meet, and when everyone comes back together.

## Availability

Breakout rooms are supported for Live rooms and available on plans that include Circle live events.

## Key things to know about breakout rooms

- Host controls are available on desktop only. Participants can join a breakout room from desktop or mobile.

- Breakout rooms are supported only in Live rooms.

- Chat messages don't carry between rooms. Messages sent in the main room chat don't appear in breakout room chats, and messages sent in a breakout room chat don't appear in the main room or in other breakout rooms.

- Recording the event only captures the main room, not individual breakout rooms. If you’d like to record a breakout discussion, ask participants to share their takeaways in the main room when everyone returns.

## Start a breakout room session

As the host, you can set up and manage a breakout room session during a scheduled or instant Live room.

To start a breakout room session:

1. Click the **Breakout session** icon in the toolbar.

2. Click the ⚙️  **Settings** icon in the breakout session tab header and configure the following:

3. Optional: Click the 🕐  **Session timer** icon in the header and select how long the breakout session should last.

4. Add the number of rooms you’d like to assign participants to under the **Rooms** section. Click the button that displays the **current room count,** then select up to **10 rooms** from the dropdown menu.

5. Assign everyone to rooms at random by clicking the **Assign all** button under the **Main call** section.

6. When you’re ready, click **Start breakout session**.

## Managing a breakout room session

Once a session starts, hosts can move between rooms, move participants, and end the session when ready.

### Move between rooms

To check in on a room, click **Join** next to the room you want to enter in the sidebar. You can do this for any room. To return to the main call, click **Join** in the main call section of the sidebar.

### Reassign participants

Reassign a participant to a different room during a session by clicking the ➕  **Plus** icon next to their name in the sidebar and then selecting a room from the dropdown menu.

### End the session

When you’re ready to end the session, click **Finish Breakout Session.** This starts a 30-second timer to let participants know that the session is about to end. To skip the timer and end the session immediately, click **Finish Breakout Session** again.

## Relevant articles

- [**Circle live overview**](https://help.circle.so/p/live-and-events/live-setup/circle-live-overview)

- [**Host a live room in your community**](https://help.circle.so/p/live-and-events/live-setup/host-a-live-room-in-your-community)

- [**Understanding Circle live limits**](https://help.circle.so/p/live-and-events/live-management/view-and-increase-the-live-limits-of-your-community-plan)