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Notifications & Polling

Gaivota can automatically check for new emails and notify you when they arrive.

Email Polling​

Polling automatically fetches new emails at regular intervals.

Enabling Polling​

  1. Open Settings (⌘,)
  2. Go to the General tab
  3. Toggle Enable Polling on

Poll Interval​

Choose how often Gaivota checks for new mail:

IntervalBest For
1 minuteHigh-priority inboxes
5 minutesActive email users (default)
15 minutesCasual users
30 minutesBattery saving

Set in Settings → General → Poll Interval.

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More frequent polling uses more battery and network. Choose based on your needs.

Manual Refresh​

Even with polling enabled, you can manually refresh anytime:

  • Click the refresh button
  • Or pull down the email list

Desktop Notifications​

Get notified when new emails arrive.

Enabling Notifications​

  1. Open Settings → General
  2. Toggle Enable Notifications on
  3. Allow notifications when prompted by your OS

Notification Permissions​

Gaivota needs permission from your operating system to show notifications.

macOS:

  • System Settings → Notifications → Gaivota → Allow Notifications

Windows:

  • Settings → System → Notifications → Gaivota

Linux:

  • Depends on your desktop environment

What You'll See​

When a new email arrives:

  • Desktop notification with sender and subject
  • Badge count update on the dock icon
  • Sound alert (if enabled)

Notification Sounds​

Gaivota includes several notification sounds:

SoundDescription
ChimeSoft, pleasant tone
DingShort, clear alert
PopBubbly notification
SwooshSmooth whoosh sound
BellClassic bell ring

Choosing a Sound​

  1. Go to Settings → General
  2. Select a sound from Notification Sound
  3. Click the test button to preview

Disabling Sounds​

To get notifications without sound:

  1. Go to Settings → General
  2. Toggle Sound Enabled off

You'll still see visual notifications, just without audio.

Unread Badge​

The Gaivota dock/taskbar icon shows your unread count.

This updates automatically when:

  • New emails arrive
  • You read emails
  • You archive or delete unread emails

Badge Options​

On macOS, you can customize badge behavior in System Settings → Notifications → Gaivota.

Inbox Watcher​

Gaivota monitors your inbox independently of the selected folder.

This means:

  • You can be viewing Sent folder
  • But still get notifications for new Inbox emails
  • Unread counts update for all folders

Do Not Disturb​

macOS​

Enable Focus mode to pause Gaivota notifications:

  • Control Center → Focus
  • Or schedule Focus time in System Settings

Windows​

Use Focus Assist to pause notifications:

  • Settings → System → Focus Assist

Gaivota respects your system's notification preferences.

Troubleshooting​

Notifications Not Appearing​

  1. Check notification permissions in System Settings
  2. Make sure Gaivota is allowed to show notifications
  3. Verify polling is enabled
  4. Check if Do Not Disturb is active

No Sound​

  1. Check system volume
  2. Verify Sound Enabled is on in Settings
  3. Try a different notification sound
  4. Check system notification sound settings

Delayed Notifications​

  1. Check your poll interval (shorter = faster notifications)
  2. Verify your internet connection
  3. Try manual refresh to confirm sync works