Notifications

Comms takes notifications seriously. The defaults are reasonable; every rule is editable under Account → Notifications.

Delivery channels

ChannelTrigger
In-app badgeAlways on. Sidebar counts.
Desktop pushOpt-in, per OS.
EmailOnly if Resend is configured and the message fires email rules.
Mobile pushVia the optional PWA install; requires browser-granted push permission.

Default rules

Out of the box:

  • DMs — always notify (desktop + email).
  • @-mentions — always notify.
  • Threads you're subscribed to — notify on new replies.
  • Public channels you're in — notify on first unread burst only (no per-message spam).
  • Private channels — notify on every message by default (override per channel).

Per-channel overrides

Channel menu → Notification preferences:

  • All messages — every new message.
  • Mentions only — just @-mentions, @here, @channel.
  • Nothing — badge shows unread count, but no push or email.

A muted channel still shows up in Cmd+K and search, just without alerts.

Keyword notifications

Under Account → Notifications → Keywords:

  • Enter keywords (one per line) — e.g., billing, outage, your name spelled without the @.
  • Choose which channels to monitor (all, public only, specific).
  • Keyword hits raise notifications even in muted channels.

Do Not Disturb and working hours

Account → Notifications → Schedule:

  • Set working hours (timezone-aware).
  • Weekend DND on/off.
  • Custom DND windows (vacation, focus blocks).

Outside working hours:

  • Badge still updates.
  • Desktop push is silenced.
  • Email falls back to a morning digest (next working day at 9 AM local).

Digest emails

If you're offline when a DM or mention arrives, Comms bundles them into a daily digest rather than pinging you for each one. Configure under Account → Notifications → Digest.

Snoozing

Cmd+Shift+Z toggles a 2-hour Snooze. During snooze, the app is fully silent. Snoozes auto-expire; you can't accidentally miss something for days.

Mobile push (PWA)

Comms is installable as a PWA. On install, your device prompts for push permission. After that, push notifications follow the same rules as desktop.

No native apps — the PWA covers iOS 16+ and Android.

How the dispatcher works

Notifications fan out through the comms-notification-dispatcher Edge Function:

  1. Message is inserted.
  2. Trigger enqueues a notification job.
  3. Dispatcher evaluates each recipient's rules, channel overrides, DND, and keyword matches.
  4. Delivers through the channels that pass the rules, with per-channel rate limits to prevent bursts.

If email delivery fails (e.g., Resend quota), the dispatcher logs to notification_failures for admin review.

Audit

Admins can see aggregate notification volume (not content) from Admin → Notifications. Useful for spotting overly chatty channels or runaway bots.