How to Manage Your Discord Desktop Notifications: A Complete Guide (opens in new tab)
Discord offers fine-grained notification controls so users can manage alerts at the server, channel, sound, status, and desktop-system levels. Notifications can be limited to mentions, muted for specific channels or categories, or silenced entirely with Do Not Disturb. Individual sounds and desktop pop-ups can also be disabled without turning off every in-app alert. ## Types of Discord Notifications - Notifications may be triggered by: - Regular channel messages - Direct @mentions - @everyone and @here mentions - Mentions of roles the user belongs to - Replies to the user’s messages - Separate sounds may indicate: - Messages in the channel currently being viewed - Incoming voice or video calls - Someone launching an Activity - Soundboard effects ## Server, Channel, and Category Controls - Server settings are available by right-clicking a server and selecting **Notification Settings**. - Server-wide options include: - **All Messages** - **Only @mentions** - **Nothing** - Suppressing @everyone, @here, role mentions, and new event notifications - Muting the entire server - Individual channels can override the server default with their own notification setting. - Categories can also be muted, greying out and collapsing their channels. - These controls allow users to keep a server active while silencing noisy channels such as memes, off-topic, or announcements. ## Do Not Disturb - **Do Not Disturb** silences Discord notification sounds across the app. - It can be enabled from the avatar status menu and configured for a specific duration. - Online is the normal status, while Idle and Invisible mainly affect how the user appears to others. - DND syncs between desktop and mobile, although mobile push notifications may still appear. ## Individual Notification Sounds - Under **User Settings > Notifications > Sounds**, users can toggle many sounds independently. - Available controls cover messages, mentions, mute and deafen actions, call rings, voice-channel joins and leaves, and more. - Users may want to disable message sounds while keeping important alerts such as incoming calls enabled. - Soundboard configuration is handled separately. ## Desktop Notification Pop-ups - **User Settings > Notifications > Enable Desktop Notifications** controls system pop-ups on Windows, macOS, and Linux. - Disabling this option removes desktop pop-ups but does not stop sounds played within Discord. - Users who want complete silence should combine desktop notification controls with server, channel, DND, or sound settings. The most effective setup is to use server and channel settings for routine filtering, individual sound toggles for prioritizing important events, and DND when uninterrupted focus is needed.