Documentation

Notifications

Get told what needs you, on the channels you actually read.

Notifications exist so you do not have to watch work run. Configure them under Settings → Notifications.

Channels

ChannelGood for
In-appEverything; the complete record
EmailThings needing action within the day
ChatTeam-visible events — see Chat platforms
SMSGenuine urgency only
PushMobile follow-up

What is worth being told

The events that matter are the ones where work has stopped and cannot continue without you:

  • a task asking a question (NEEDS_HUMAN_REVIEW)
  • a plan waiting for approval
  • a pull request ready for review
  • a task that failed

Everything else is informational. A notification for every status change trains people to ignore notifications, and the one that mattered goes with them.

Personal and organization settings

Channel configuration is organizational; which events reach you is personal. Somebody enabling Slack for the team does not decide what wakes you individually.

Chat channels

Where a chat platform is connected, notifications can go to a channel rather than to individuals — which is usually right for "a pull request is ready" and usually wrong for "your task is asking a question".

Team-visible events belong in channels. Personal actions belong in personal notifications, or they become everyone's problem and therefore nobody's.

Terms and account notices

Some notifications are not optional — terms of service changes and account security notices reach you regardless of preference.

When nothing arrives

Check, in this order: whether the event is enabled for your account, whether the channel is connected at the organization level, and whether the delivery log shows an attempt. For chat platforms specifically, delivery can fail because the bot was removed from a channel — which looks identical to nothing having happened.