---
title: "Notifications"
summary: "Desktop alerts on macOS, Linux and Windows, the macOS notification permission, click actions, health warnings and alert settings."
description: "Get a desktop alert when a session needs you, allow Driga in macOS System Settings, and tune or turn off alerts."
read_when:
  - "You expected a desktop alert and did not get one."
  - "You want fewer alerts, later alerts, or none."
---
Driga raises a desktop alert when a session needs you. The alert shows the
session title or project and why it needs you, within your capture policy.

Alerts come from the background collector, so run the service:

```sh
driga service install
```

## macOS

Notifications need the installed **Driga.app**, which the Homebrew cask
provides:

```sh
brew install --cask labstack/tap/driga
```

They use Driga's name and icon through the native notification API; no helper
is needed. Builds run from a checkout or `go run` cannot send macOS
notifications, and `driga doctor` explains how to install the app.

The collector asks for permission when it starts, so answer the prompt that
appears after `driga service install`. macOS asks only once: if the prompt was
declined, or withdrawn because the collector restarted before you answered,
turn on **Allow notifications** in **System Settings → Notifications → Driga**.
`driga doctor` warns when notifications are off and prints the command that
opens that page. Turning them back on takes effect from the next
alert without restarting the collector; alerts raised while they were off are
not replayed, and stay in the inbox.

Clicking a local item's notification runs `driga inbox jump <item-id>`
without acknowledging it. A jump selects a proven tmux pane, focuses a proven
Terminal or iTerm window when `inbox.jump_terminal = true`, or prints a resume
command. Machine warnings open Terminal on the Machines tab. Batch summaries
and remote alerts have no click action.

## Linux and Windows

Linux uses `notify-send`. Windows uses native toasts with a per-user
`LabStack.Driga` identity; toasts are plain, without click actions, and Focus
Assist or notification policy can suppress them. `driga doctor` reports
availability.

## Health warnings

Machine health warnings, such as low disk, notify once per condition until it
clears. Concurrent warnings from one machine form one summary. Details and
cleanup commands stay in the inbox.

## Tune alerts

```toml
[inbox]
alerts = "waiting"      # "all" adds completions, "off" disables alerts
alert_after = "0s"      # only alert when a wait is still open this long
alert_repeat = "5m"     # minimum interval between alerts for one session
jump_terminal = false   # bring a proven macOS terminal window to front
```

`alert_repeat` throttles session alerts, not health warnings. Every key is in
the [settings reference](/reference/settings#inbox-and-alerts).