Guide to Slack Notifications

Slack notifications can be annoying to work with because Slack silences many notifications by default. This guide will walk you through how to change these settings.

Activating Notifications on Desktop

You will need to have the Slack app installed on your computer. You can download it here.

For MacOS

  1. Open the Code the Change workspace from the left sidebar.

  2. Select the title bar at the top of the left panel. The title should read Code the Change. The title is outlined in red in this image

    A screenshot of the Slack app for MacOS with the Code the Change workspace title outlined in red. The title reads "Code the Change".

  3. In the drop-down menu that appears, select Preferences, outlined in red here

    A screenshot of the Slack app for MacOS with the workspace dropdown menu open and the option reading "Preferences" outlined in red.

  4. In the preferences window that appears, under Notify me about, choose All new messages, outlined in red here

    A screenshot of the Slack app for macOS with the Notifications preferences open and the option to notify on "All new messages" outlined in red.

For Windows and Linux

The instructions are likely the same as they are for MacOS. If not, see Slack’s help page on notifications.

Activating Notifications on Mobile

You will need to have the Slack app installed on your computer. You can download it from your phone’s app store.

For iPhones

  1. Open the Slack app and select the Code the Change workspace.

  2. Swipe right to reveal the right sidebar.

  3. Select Settings, outlined in red here

    A screenshot of the Slack app for iOS with the right sidebar open and the "Settings" option outlined in red.

  4. Select Notifications, outlined in red here

    A screenshot of the Slack app for iOS preferences pane with the "Notifications" option outlined in red.

  5. Choose to be notified for All new messages and to be notified on mobile As quickly as possible. These options are outlined in red here

    A screenshot of the notifications preferences for the iOS slack app with the options for "All new messages" and "Notify Me on Mobile" outlined in red. For "Notify Me on Mobile", the current selection reads "As quickly as possi..."

For Other Phones

The instructions are likely similar to those for iPhones. If not, see Slack’s help page on notifications.

Further Reading

Much of this guide came from the Slack help page on notifications. Check it out for more details!

Licensing and Attribution

Copyright (c) U8N WXD (https://github.com/U8NWXD) <cs.temporary@icloud.com>

CC-4 license

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Note however that the screenshots of the Slack app may contain the intellectual property of Slack.

This work was initially created for a workshop at Stanford Code the Change.