New email notifications in Thunderbird

Revision Information
  • Revision id: 305086
  • Created:
  • Creator: Mark Heijl
  • Comment: minor edits
  • Reviewed: Yes
  • Reviewed:
  • Reviewed by: ffloare
  • Is approved? Yes
  • Is current revision? Yes
  • Ready for localization: No
Revision Source
Revision Content

In order for this feature to work, you have to enable and configure notifications both in Thunderbird and in your operating system.

1. Turn on native notifications in Thunderbird

  1. Thunderbird app menu ☰ > Settings > General > search for When new messages arrive. Ensure Use the system notification is ticked "✓".
  2. Click Customize….
  3. Ensure the fields and actions you would like to display in your new email notifications are ticked "✓" (Archive is only available in 141 and newer releases).
    borderless customize new mail alert
Some operating systems have limits on how many action buttons are displayed in a notification. Windows 11 for example will only display 4 action buttons even if you have selected 5 or more actions.

2. Configure your operating system's native notifications

Please follow your operating system's documentation to enable and configure notifications native to your operating system.

Windows

Turn on Thunderbird email notifications

(Refer to Microsoft's Knowledge Base Article for more details: Notifications and Do Not Disturb in Windows.)

  1. Enable notifications globally: In the Settings app on your Windows device, open System > Notifications and then toggle the switch next to Notifications to On.
  2. Under Notifications from apps and other senders, scroll down to Mozilla Thunderbird and then toggle the switch to On.
  3. Click on the chevron > to configure more options.

Example: Windows 11 notification

Here's how notifications look in Windows 11:

windows11-tb142-new-email-os-notification

macOS

Turn on Thunderbird email notifications

(Refer to Apple's Knowledge Base Article for more details: Notifications settings on Mac.)

  1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings… and then click Notifications in the sidebar.
  2. Scroll down to Thunderbird and then click on the chevron >.
  3. Next to Allow notifications, toggle the switch to the right to turn on Thunderbird notifications.
  4. Optional: configure the rest of the notification options to suit your requirements.

Example: macOS 15 Sequoia notification

Here's how notifications look in macOS 15 Sequoia after clicking on Options:

macOS15-sequoia-tb142-notification-after-clicking-on-options-menu

Linux

Turn on Thunderbird email notifications under Gnome Shell

  1. In the Settings application, select Notifications in the sidebar menu.
  2. Click Thunderbird in the App Notifications section.
  3. Toggle on the switch next to Notifications.
gnome-settings-notifications-view
gnome-settings-notification-view-app-menu

Example: Gnome Shell notification

Here's how notifications look in Gnome Shell:

tb140-linux-new-message-notification