Chat Notifications

Overview

Chat notifications keep you aware of new messages across different contexts. There are four notification surfaces: an unread badge in the sidebar, sound alerts, browser notifications, and @mention priority alerts.

Unread Badge

The chat icon in the sidebar shows a numeric badge when there are unread messages. The count reflects all unread messages across your channels (excluding thread replies).

The badge updates in real time and syncs across multiple tabs — if you read messages in one tab, the badge clears in all open tabs.

When Messages Are Marked as Read

Messages are marked as read when:

• You scroll to the bottom of the message list (newest messages visible)
• The chat panel receives focus while you're already at the bottom

Messages are not marked as read while you're scrolled up reading older history.

First Visit

The first time you open a channel, you start with a clean slate — historical messages are not counted as unread.

Sound Alerts

A notification sound plays when a new message arrives and either:

• Your browser tab is not active (you've switched to another tab or app)
• The chat panel is collapsed in the sidebar

Sound does not play for your own messages.

Sound and Accessibility

Sound is automatically suppressed when your system has Reduce Motion enabled (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce). A dedicated per-user mute setting is planned for a future release.

Browser Notifications

Desktop browser notifications appear when a new message arrives and your tab is not visible. These show the sender's name and a preview of the message content.

Permission

Notification permission is requested after you send your first message in a session — not when you first open chat. This ensures you're actively using chat before being asked. If you decline, you won't be asked again.

Click Behavior

Clicking a browser notification:

1. Brings the browser tab to the front
2. Expands the chat sidebar if it was collapsed
3. Scrolls to the relevant message

Platform Support

Browser notifications are supported on desktop browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari 16.1+). Mobile background notifications are not yet supported — on mobile, the unread badge and sound alerts are the primary notification surfaces.

Mention Priority

When someone @mentions you in a message, you get a priority notification:

• Browser notification fires even when the tab is visible — not just when it's hidden
• Sound plays regardless of panel state — even if the sidebar is expanded and visible

This ensures you never miss a direct callout, even if you're actively looking at something else in the app.

See Composer — Mentions for how to mention someone.