Set up desktop notifications

Enable, test, and understand native TechDash alerts on this computer.

Last checked 21 August 2026

TechDash can show native system banners without keeping its main window open. It uses Notification Center on macOS, Action Center on Windows, and the desktop notification area on Linux.

Enable the desktop channel

  1. Open Notifications from the TechDash sidebar.
  2. Find Desktop notifications.
  3. Set the toggle to On. This is the default for a new installation.
  4. Read the status message below the controls. TechDash reports where banners appear or tells you when notifications are blocked or unsupported.
  5. Select Send test.

The test banner says “TechDash test notification.” A success message in TechDash means TechDash did not detect a notification failure during the short test window. Confirm that you can also see the system banner. Operating systems can hide a banner because of Focus, Do Not Disturb, notification summaries, or per-app presentation settings even when the send itself succeeds.

If TechDash reports that notifications are blocked, allow TechDash in your computer's notification settings, then restart the app and test again.

Check the page-level control

The global Desktop notifications toggle makes the desktop channel available. Each monitored page has another Desktop toggle:

  1. Open the website.
  2. Open its Monitored Pages card.
  3. Expand the relevant page.
  4. Under Notify, set Desktop to On.

New monitored pages default to Desktop On. Turning the page toggle Off suppresses desktop delivery for incidents routed through that page without disabling Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Discord.

Sitewide findings do not have a separate notification switch. TechDash uses the notification controls from the monitored / page when one exists, otherwise it uses the first monitored page for that website.

What sends a banner

Built-in Warning and Critical incidents can show banners when both desktop controls are On. Built-in Advisory incidents stay in TechDash. Custom Checks use their own Notify choice, so a custom Advisory rule can notify when you explicitly enable it.

TechDash sends on meaningful transitions such as a new notifiable failure or a Warning issue escalating to Critical. It does not send a new banner for every repeat observation of an unchanged failure. If Notify when a check recovers is On, a later pass can send a Good recovery notification.

Ignored checks do not appear in Incidents and do not send notifications. Review matching rules under Notifications > Ignored Checks if one check stays silent.

Keep TechDash running

Closing the main window leaves TechDash running in the menu bar or system tray. Scheduled monitoring and desktop banners continue in that state. A full Quit stops the application, its scheduled checks, and new notifications until you reopen it.

The computer must also be powered on, signed in, and online. If checks cannot run while the computer sleeps or is offline, there is no new result to notify you about.

Clicking a desktop notification opens the TechDash window. When the window is already visible, TechDash can also show an in-app alert, but that does not replace the native banner.

Troubleshooting

  • If Send test is disabled, turn Desktop notifications On.
  • If TechDash says the computer cannot show desktop notifications, desktop notifications are not available in that environment.
  • If the test works but an incident does not notify, check severity, the page's Desktop toggle, ignored rules, and whether the failure is new.
  • On macOS, use the platform-specific article below for Notification Center checks.
  • On Windows, check Action Center and Focus settings.

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