--- title: "Holacracy add-on overview" description: "The Holacracy add-on switches on tensions, checklists, the Governance and Tactical meeting templates, and Holacracy terminology. The rest of the Structure module works without it." category: structure-governance section: methodologies tags: [admin] type: Reference lastUpdated: 2026-08-26 locale: en canonical: https://support.talkspirit.com/en/structure-governance/holacracy-add-on-overview --- # Holacracy add-on overview ## Holacracy add-on overview The Holacracy add-on switches on the parts of Talkspirit that are specific to Holacracy practice: tensions, checklists, the Governance and Tactical meeting templates, and the option to rename Holacracy vocabulary. It is narrower than its name suggests. Circles, roles, proposals, policies, working agreements, role elections and metrics all belong to the Structure module and work whether or not your organisation has the add-on. You need administrator rights to switch the add-on on or off. ## What the add-on enables The add-on's own page lists its effects in two groups. **Holacracy practices**, each with its own visibility switch: - **Tensions.** Members capture tensions, the issues or opportunities they notice, and process them in meetings. The add-on brings the tension bell in the header and the tension queue on the Cockpit. - **Checklists.** Recurring actions each role confirms during meetings, with a **Checklists** tab on circles, roles and member profiles. **Customisation and adaptations**, which apply as soon as the add-on is on: - **Custom terminology.** Rename *tension*, *checklist* and *election* on the Administration **Terminology** page. Core Structure words such as *circle*, *role* and *proposal* can be renamed without the add-on. - **Governance and Tactical meetings.** The two facilitated meeting categories, and the ready-made templates that go with them, appear in the meeting template gallery. The page also lists **Processing agenda items**, described as agenda items being opened only from the Agenda section of a meeting. That restriction is not applied in the current release: agenda items open from any section, with or without the add-on. ![The Holacracy add-on page in Administration, with the enable switch and the list of what the add-on enables](/images/structure-governance/holacracy-add-on-overview/02-holacracy-add-on-page.png) ## What the add-on does not cover Three things are regularly mistaken for Holacracy features and are not gated by the add-on. - **Metrics.** The Metrics switch sits on the Structure module page, above the **Add-ons** heading, and works independently of Holacracy. - **Role elections.** Election settings live in Structure settings, on the **Circles settings** tab, and are always shown. Only the word *election* needs the add-on, and only so that you can rename it. - **The rest of governance.** Proposals, policies, domains, accountabilities and working agreements are core Structure features. ## Switching the add-on on 1. Select your avatar at the top right and choose **Administration**. 2. Under **Modules**, select **Structure**. 3. Scroll to **Add-ons** and select **Configure** on the **Holacracy add-on** row. 4. Switch on **Enable Holacracy add-on**. ![The Structure module page in Administration, showing the Metrics switch above the Add-ons heading and the Holacracy add-on row below it](/images/structure-governance/holacracy-add-on-overview/01-structure-module-add-ons.png) The add-on rows only appear when the Structure module itself is on. If your plan does not include Holacracy, the switch is replaced by the message "This feature is not included in your current plan" and a **Contact sales** button. Holacracy is an add-on you buy on top of your plan, priced per plan, so it is not reserved for one plan in particular. Switching the add-on off asks you to confirm first. ## Choosing which practices members see Tensions and checklists have their own switches, so you can run the add-on with only one of them visible. 1. Open the **Structure** app and select **Structure settings** at the bottom of the panel. 2. Go to the **Holacracy** tab. 3. Switch **Tensions** and **Checklist** on or off. ![The Holacracy tab of Structure settings, with separate switches for Tensions and Checklist](/images/structure-governance/holacracy-add-on-overview/03-holacracy-practice-switches.png) The **Holacracy** tab only appears once the add-on is on. From the add-on page, **Open Holacracy settings** takes you straight to it. ## What happens if you switch the add-on off Switching the add-on off hides the practices, it does not delete anything. - Tensions and checklists that already exist stay where they are and come back if you switch the add-on on again. - Any renaming you applied to *tension*, *checklist* or *election* stops showing and the default words return. Your values are kept, so the renames come back with the add-on. - The Governance and Tactical categories disappear from the meeting template gallery. Templates already filed under them keep their category. ## The add-on is not your governance methodology These two settings are easy to confuse. The add-on is what your organisation has bought and switched on. Your governance methodology is a separate organisation-wide setting that decides how a decision is worded: under Holacracy, the buttons on a proposal read **No objection** and **Object**, and objecting opens a questionnaire. Under any other methodology they read **Validate** and **Decline**. New organisations start on Holacracy. So a proposal can read **No objection** in an organisation that has never bought the add-on, and switching the add-on off does not change those buttons. ## What's Next? - [Holacracy in Talkspirit](/structure-governance/holacracy-in-talkspirit) - [Where are my tensions and how do I process them?](/structure-governance/tensions-overview) - [Adding, editing, and deleting checklists](/structure-governance/how-to-add-edit-and-delete-checklists) - [Configuring circle settings for my organisation](/structure-governance/how-to-configure-circle-settings-for-my-organization)