---
title: How to mute or follow a channel
url: https://tideswell.xyz/docs/notifications/mute-or-follow-a-channel
description: Set a notification level on one channel with the bell in its header, overriding your workspace-wide default.
---

> Documentation index: fetch https://tideswell.xyz/llms.txt to discover every page before exploring further.

# How to mute or follow a channel



Your default covers every channel you have not thought about. The bell in a channel's header
covers the ones you have. See <Ref to="notifications/quiet-hours-and-levels" /> for the default
itself.

## How do you set a level on one channel? [#how-do-you-set-a-level-on-one-channel]

Click the bell in that channel's header and pick one of three:

* **Every message**: a push for everything said there.
* **Mentions & replies**: only when somebody addresses you.
* **Muted**: no push from this channel at all.

The choice applies to that channel alone and beats your workspace-wide default.

Leave it alone and the channel follows your default. Until you choose explicitly, the bell shows
the mentions state.

The same control is on a channel in the iPhone app.

## Which channels deserve which level? [#which-channels-deserve-which-level]

**Every message** for the one or two channels where the conversation is your job. A warehouse
lead might set it on the fulfilment channel and nowhere else.

**Mentions & replies** for everything you are genuinely part of, which is most channels.

**Muted** for the channels you belong to for visibility rather than participation. Announcement
channels, other teams' working channels, anything you read weekly rather than hourly.

Muting is underused. Being in a channel and not being buzzed by it is a perfectly normal way to
belong to one.

## Does muting hide the channel? [#does-muting-hide-the-channel]

No. Muting affects **pushes only**.

The channel stays in your sidebar, unread badges still count normally, and everything is there
when you open it. You have turned off the interruption rather than the information.

## Does Every message buzz me for every single message? [#does-every-message-buzz-me-for-every-single-message]

Not literally. Rapid-fire chatter is collapsed rather than producing a buzz per message, so a
busy exchange does not empty your battery.

## Do quiet hours still apply? [#do-quiet-hours-still-apply]

Yes, on top of whatever level you choose. A channel set to **Every message** is still silent
inside your quiet hours.

Quiet hours are the outermost layer and nothing overrides them. See
<Ref to="notifications/quiet-hours-and-levels" />.

## What is the sensible setup? [#what-is-the-sensible-setup]

Default to **Mentions & replies only**, then raise **Every message** on the one channel that is
your actual job, and mute the ones you are in for visibility.

That takes about a minute and is the difference between notifications being useful and being
something you learn to ignore.