How to add table of contents in Notion on Mac: step by step for 2026

What you need before you start

The table of contents is a block inside a Notion page. It works in the Notion desktop app for Mac and in the browser, and the steps are the same. This guide uses the Mac desktop app. You need a page with headings, because the block builds its list from them.

The desktop app needs macOS 13 or later, according to Notion's system requirements page. To check your version, choose Apple menu > About This Mac. The system requirements guide walks through that check in more detail.

Notion's desktop help says updates install automatically. To look for one yourself, click Notion in the menu bar, then choose Check for Updates. If a feature is still missing after an update, press ⌘R to refresh the app.

Add the block with the + menu

The + menu is the route most people will use. Hover over a blank line in the page, and a + appears in the left margin. Click it, then choose Table of contents. Notion places the block on that line.

Put the block near the top of the page, just under the title. Readers see the list before they scroll. Once the block is selected, hold ⌘⇧ and press an arrow key to move it. Notion's keyboard shortcuts page documents that move.

Add it with the /toc command

If you prefer typing, put your cursor on a blank line and type /toc. Press Return. Notion's keyboard shortcuts page lists /toc as the command that creates a Table of Contents block. Some guides say /table of contents instead. Use whichever label the slash menu shows you.

Notion's docs list no Mac-only steps for this block. The web app works the same way, so the steps do not change if you switch between the two.

Set up your headings so the table has entries

The table reads only heading blocks. That means Heading 1, Heading 2, and Heading 3. Plain text and bold text stay out of the table, even if they look like titles. Heading 1 items sit at the top level.

The table updates when you add, edit, or remove a heading. You cannot type into the block itself. Edit the headings on the page, and the list follows.

To turn a line into a heading, click into it and press ⌘⌥1, ⌘⌥2, or ⌘⌥3. Those shortcuts set Heading 1, 2, and 3. Notion lists no dedicated Mac shortcut for the block, so headings are the part you control.

A worked example

Say your page has a Heading 1 called Summary, a Heading 2 called Risks, and a Heading 3 called Mitigation under Risks. The table shows Summary at the top, Risks indented once, and Mitigation indented twice. Click Mitigation and Notion jumps to that heading.

Mistakes people make with this block

• Using bold text as a fake heading. Bold text never appears in the table.
• Indenting a heading to make it look nested. Indented headings are left out.
• Skipping levels, such as Heading 1 straight to Heading 3. The list gets hard to scan.
• Expecting to type into the block to rename entries. Edit the headings on the page instead.
• Looking for a settings dialog. The only documented option is color.

Change the color and remove the block

The block has one setting you can change. It shows in one color by default. To change it, hover over the block, click the ⋮⋮ handle, then choose Color. You can also select the block, press ⌘/, or right-click it.

Clicking any entry in the table jumps to that heading. To remove the block, select it and delete it, the same way you would delete any other block.

Turn the page-level table of contents on or off

Notion also shows a separate table of contents on the right side of the page. It appears by default when a page has two or more headings. To turn it off, open the ••• menu at the top of the page, choose Appearance & layout, then switch off Table of contents.

Wiki home pages do not show that option, according to Notion's help page. Headings inside a callout appear in the page's table of contents as well, so check the side table if you use callouts for section titles.

Why the table is missing headings

1. Check the block type. Only Heading 1, 2, and 3 blocks count.
2. Check the indent. Indented headings are not included in the table.
3. Check the heading text on the page. The entries mirror the headings, so fix the source.
4. Press ⌘R if an update seems to have changed nothing.
5. Choose Notion > Check for Updates if the table still looks wrong.

Notion's help page does not say how headings inside a toggle show up in the block. If your headings sit inside toggles, check the result on the page before you share it.

Has the table of contents changed in recent releases?

Not in the release notes I checked. Notion's 3.6 notes, dated July 1, 2026, cover External Agents, AI Meeting Notes, and HTML blocks. The 3.8 notes, dated October 13, 2026, cover MCP connections, the Skills API, version history, and column permissions. Neither mentions the table of contents, headings, or the Mac app.

The releases index lists newer items too, and none of their titles mention tables of contents. That is a title check, not a full changelog review, so test the block yourself after an update.

Next steps once the block works

Test the block on a long page. Click three or four entries and confirm each one lands on the right heading. Then open the same page in the browser, since readers may use it there.

If Notion is not installed yet, follow the desktop app install guide. If you keep long product docs in Notion, the product managers guide is a good next read.