How to see Figma notifications on Mac: the menu bar icon, step by step

Figma's menu bar notifications belong to the desktop app. If you only read Figma in a browser tab, you will not find a menu bar icon at all. Figma's guide lists desktop notifications among the features that only the desktop app has, next to plugin development, split tab view and multiple windows.

Start in the desktop app, not a browser tab

The desktop app on macOS requires macOS 12 Monterey, released in October 2021, or later. Figma's guide also says support for previous desktop app versions ends six months after a release. An older install may no longer be supported, so update before you chase a notification bug.

Otherwise the desktop app matches the browser version, so you can keep working the same way. The difference is the menu bar. Only the desktop app gives you that feed, which is why notifications seem to vanish when you switch to the browser.

Find the icon and read the red dot

The icon sits in the menu bar along the top of your screen. Figma's help article says desktop notifications are viewed from the Mac menu bar, but the text cuts off before it describes the icon. A red dot next to the icon means a new notification is waiting. Open the feed to see what the dot refers to.

Icon styles can differ between setups. One Figma Community thread from a Mac on macOS 27.0 with Figma desktop 126.8.18 reports two icons. The black icon opened a Starred and Recent menu, and the white outline opened the All notifications panel. A restart removed the extra icon for that reporter, and no official fix is confirmed.

What the notifications feed shows you

The notifications panel displays the 50 most recent notifications. Anything older than that is not in the list. The feed covers only the account you are signed into, and Figma's help article says this applies when you add multiple accounts to the desktop app.

Say you have a personal Figma account and a work account on the same Mac. Only the one you are signed into fills the feed. If an alert seems missing, check which account is active before you blame the app.

Change notification settings inside Figma

Open the account menu in the top-left corner of the file browser and select the Notifications tab. Figma's help article uses this path for in-app settings. Desktop notifications are on by default, so you only need this tab to change what reaches you.

Email is a separate switch. Figma's help article says disabling email notifications does not disable notifications in Figma. If you want fewer alerts on your Mac, turning off email alone will not do it.

Hide the menu bar icon, or bring it back

Choose Figma > Preferences while the desktop app is open. Clear Show Figma in the Menu Bar to hide the icon. Select the option again to bring it back. Figma's help article describes clearing it as the way to turn the icon off.

Community support says the option must stay on for notifications. In practice, keep it on if you read alerts from the menu bar. Turn it off only if you never use that feed and want the space back.

Use browser notifications in the web app

The web app does not use the menu bar. In the file browser, click the Notifications icon at the top, choose Settings, then click Enable browser notifications. Your browser also needs permission. Check that notifications are allowed for that browser in your Mac's notification settings.

Fix an icon that is missing, doubled or stuck

Work through the cheap fixes first. Restarting the Mac removed a duplicate icon for one reporter. Next, reset the cache from the Help menu, since Figma's help article covers clearing the desktop app cache as its own topic. Force quitting and deleting the app folder is the last step, for an app that will not respond.

Mistakes that make notifications seem missing

• Looking for the feed in a browser tab, where the menu bar icon does not exist.
• Clearing Show Figma in the Menu Bar, then wondering why the icon disappeared.
• Turning off email notifications and expecting menu bar alerts to stop. The two settings are separate.
• Missing an alert because you are signed into a different account.
• Searching for a keyboard shortcut that Figma does not document.

Keyboard shortcuts for notifications, and what is not documented

Figma's keyboard shortcut page lists no shortcut for notifications, the notifications feed, the menu bar, Preferences or the Help menu. It does not use the ⌘ ⌥ ⌃ ⇧ symbols for those actions either. Treat any third-party list that gives you a shortcut for them with suspicion. Click the icon with your mouse or trackpad instead. For the shortcuts Figma does document, see how to show the keyboard shortcuts panel in Figma.

Next steps when nothing works

Check that your Mac runs macOS 12 or later, and that the Figma desktop app is current. If a restart and a cache reset do not fix the menu bar feed, send a report through the support request form linked from Figma's home page. Include your macOS version, your Figma desktop version and a short description of what you see in the menu bar.