Push notifications

mail uses the Web Push protocol to notify installed or open browsers about newly synchronized mail and tracked outgoing-message reads.

Setup

1. Open Settings > Notifications and generate VAPID keys once for the installation.
2. Reload the page when prompted.
3. Enable notifications on each browser or installed app that should receive them.
4. Use Send test to verify the current device.

VAPID keys and browser subscriptions are stored in PostgreSQL. There are no VAPID environment variables. On iOS, install the PWA on the Home Screen before requesting push permission.

Delivery controls

• New-mail notifications can be enabled or disabled per synchronized mailbox.
• Sent and draft-like mailboxes never notify.
• Quiet hours suppress pushes inside a daily local-time window, including windows crossing midnight.
• A notification can open its message, and supported subscriptions can mark a message read from the notification action.
• Reading mail in one client dismisses matching new-mail notifications on other capable clients.

Configuration

Item	Setting name	Environment variable	Requirement
Server push identity	Settings > Notifications > Generate VAPID keys	None	Required once per installation.
Device subscription	Settings > Notifications > Enable notifications	None	Required on each device. Browser permission and service-worker support are also required.
Mailbox delivery	Settings > Notifications > Mailbox notification rules	None	Optional; eligible mailboxes are enabled by default.
Quiet hours	Settings > Notifications > Quiet hours, Start, End, and Timezone	None	Optional; timezone must be an IANA name such as America/New_York.
New-mail and read-event dispatch	None	None	Requires the worker.
Secure browser context	None	ORIGIN	Production should use an HTTPS origin; localhost is suitable for development.

Quiet hours suppress both new-mail and read-event push notifications. They do not pause sync, filtering, sending, or read tracking itself.