How to fix Slack notifications not working on Mac: desktop steps for 2026

Start with the snooze icon

Look at your name in the left sidebar. If a small snooze icon sits next to it, Slack has paused your notifications. Nothing else on this page will help until that pause is cleared. Pauses are easy to trigger by accident, and a paused Slack looks a lot like a broken one.

To resume, click your profile picture, hover over Notifications, and select Resume notifications. You can also type /dnd off in a message box. Slack's pause help lists that command next to its timed options, such as /dnd for 15 mins and /dnd until 5pm. Use the timed options when you want quiet for a meeting and then want alerts back on their own.

Turn on desktop notifications in Slack

Slack has its own switch for desktop alerts, separate from macOS. You need both switches on. Click your profile picture, select Preferences, then click Notifications. Under How to notify you, check Desktop notifications.

This switch is easy to miss because it lives inside Slack, not in System Settings. If it is off, Slack will not show desktop banners, even when macOS allows them. Check it before you change anything else on your Mac.

Decide which messages can alert you

Under What to notify you about, you can choose Everything or Mentions and direct messages. If you chose the second option, messages in busy channels will not alert you unless someone mentions you. That is the setting doing its job, not a fault.

Keywords work as a second filter. Slack says keywords match exact words only, ignore capital letters, and only fire in channels you have joined. A keyword set to launch will not catch launching. If you expect alerts from a channel you left, rejoin it first.

Allow Slack in macOS notification settings

Slack can be fully turned on inside the app and still be blocked by macOS. Open System Settings, click Notifications, and select Slack from the list. Turn on Allow Notifications from Slack, then set the alert style to Banners or Alerts.

Banners fade on their own. Alerts stay on screen until you respond. If you keep missing messages, choose Alerts for a while and see whether the problem goes away. Slack's troubleshooting article uses the older name System Preferences, so an older Mac may label this pane that way.

Check Do Not Disturb on Mac

Do Not Disturb in macOS silences alerts from every app, including Slack. Click the Control Center icon in the menu bar and look at the Do Not Disturb tile. It should be off. Slack's own steps ask you to confirm this exact toggle. Newer macOS versions may call the same control Focus.

Next, open System Settings, click Notifications, and check that When mirroring or sharing the display is enabled. Without it, alerts can stay hidden while you share your screen. Check this setting if Slack works until you start a screen share.

Fix Slack sound not working on Mac

Slack banners can appear while the sound stays silent. Confirm that Play sound for notifications is on for Slack. You find it in System Settings under Notifications, then Slack. Next, open System Settings, click Sound, and open Sound Effects. Check the output device, the alert volume, and Play user interface sound effects.

Test the sound inside Slack. Click your profile picture, select Preferences, scroll to Sounds & appearance, and click Show an example. If you hear nothing, the cause sits in macOS or the output device. Slack also suggests disconnecting an external monitor if sound problems continue.

Sound is handled by macOS on current systems. Slack says that on macOS 12.0 (Monterey) or later, its notifications are managed by macOS settings. Change the sound in the macOS panes first, then test again inside Slack.

Clear stuck Slack badges on Mac

A badge that never clears looks like a notification bug. Often it is only unread state. With the affected workspace open, press ⇧ Esc to mark everything as read. Slack suggests this for stuck badges and for unread Threads.

Use it with care. It clears the unread markers in that workspace, so the list of what you had not read goes with them. If you still need to work through that list, read it in the Unreads view first. The steps are in view unread messages in Slack on Mac.

Restart the Mac, then clear the cache

Slack's checklist includes a force quit and a restart of the device. Force quit Slack with ⌥ ⌘ Esc, then choose Restart from the Apple menu. When the Mac is back, open Slack and send a test message from another account or from your phone.

If alerts still fail, clear the cache. Click Help in the menu bar, select Troubleshooting, then click Clear Cache and Restart. Slack's help does not say whether this keeps you signed in, so have your workspace URL ready.

Send logs to Slack when nothing else works

If every setting looks right and alerts still fail, send Slack a log. Click Help in the menu bar, select Troubleshooting, then Report Issue. Add a short summary and click Send us a message. The logs attach automatically.

Slack says delays are not typical on desktop. If you do see delays, send logs. When a test fails, Slack's fallback is to reinstall the app or reset the cache. It also asks you to contact support with a summary, your workspace URL, and your email address.

If you use Slack in a browser

The web app behaves differently from the Mac app. Slack's help says you only get notifications for workspaces you have open in your browser. Close that tab and the alerts stop. A missed message on the web often means the tab was closed.

Check the browser permission. In Chrome, open the Chrome menu, choose Preferences, click Privacy and security, click Site Settings, select Notifications, and make sure Sites can ask to send notifications is on. Slack's article says Preferences, but current Chrome may label this item Settings.

In Safari, choose Safari > Preferences, click Websites, select Notifications, and make sure your Slack workspace is allowed. Each browser keeps its own permissions, so a fix in Chrome does nothing for Safari.

Match the symptom to the fix

Common mistakes that waste an hour

• Fixing the wrong app. Check whether you use the desktop app or the web app before you change anything.
• Changing only one side. Slack and macOS both need to allow alerts, so check both.
• Forgetting the snooze. A paused Slack looks just like a broken one.
• Expecting every channel message to alert you. Mentions and direct messages send fewer alerts than Everything.
• Reinstalling first. Slack suggests a reinstall only after a test fails, so run the quick checks first.
• Assuming a keyword covers a channel you left. Keywords only match channels you have joined.

A worked example from start to finish

Say mentions reach you, but ordinary channel messages do not. That points at the What to notify you about setting, not at macOS. Open Preferences, then Notifications, and set it to Everything. Send a test message in a channel and watch for the banner.

Now say nothing arrives at all, including mentions and direct messages. Then the cause sits higher up the list. Check the snooze icon, then Allow Notifications in System Settings, then Do Not Disturb. Work down that order and stop at the first fix that works.

Keep the setting you changed only if the extra alerts help. A busy channel on Everything can bury the messages you care about. Switch back to Mentions and direct messages once you have confirmed the fix.

Keep Slack and macOS current

Slack's download page lists Slack for Mac 4.53.280 as the current version. The recent release notes do not mention notification or menu changes. The steps on this page should still apply to that release.

Slack's download page says to update macOS first if your Mac is old. Slack also changed the publisher name on its macOS signing certificate in version 4.42.120, released Feb 17, 2025. The name went from SLACK TECHNOLOGIES INC to SLACK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC. That change matters for security software allowlists, not for notification menus.

What to do after alerts work

Once alerts arrive, tidy the rest of your setup. A clear status tells teammates when you are heads down, so they do not expect a fast reply. The steps, including the schedule option, are in set your status in Slack on Mac.

If you change Slack settings often, learn the preferences path once. The menu is covered step by step in open preferences in Slack on Mac.