If Chrome notifications from Tab Automation are not working, click **Test alert** on the **Send Alert** step first. If the test is silent, check Chrome's operating-system notification permission, Focus or Do Not Disturb, and the alert's notification and sound toggles.

If the test works but an automation run does not, the OS path is already working. Check whether the runner actually reaches **Send Alert**.

## 1. Run Test alert

1. Open the side panel and edit the automation.
2. Expand [Send Alert](/steps/send-alert).
3. Turn on **Desktop notification**, **Sound**, or both, depending on what you want to verify.
4. Click **Test alert**.
5. Look for the banner in the desktop notification center and listen for the Tab Automation chime.

The test uses the outputs selected on that Send Alert step. Test notification copy may use an example host; it does not need the rest of the automation to run.

If the extension reports that notifications are disabled in browser or system settings, continue with the OS checks.

## 2. Allow Google Chrome in the operating system

Tab Automation uses Chrome's extension notification API. The operating system still decides whether Google Chrome can show a banner.

### macOS

Open System Settings and find Notifications for Google Chrome. Allow notifications and choose a visible alert style. Check whether Chrome notifications may appear in Notification Center and play sounds.

If a Focus mode is active, temporarily turn it off for the test or allow Google Chrome through that Focus configuration. Depending on the installed Chrome build, macOS may also show a Chrome helper notification entry; allow the Chrome-related alert entry that is producing notifications.

### Windows

Open Windows Settings and find the system Notifications controls. Make sure notifications are enabled globally and for Google Chrome. Allow banners and notification-center delivery if those choices are available.

Turn off Focus temporarily or adjust its allowed apps so Chrome alerts are not suppressed. Windows labels and layout can vary by version, so search Settings for “notifications” or “focus” if the controls are elsewhere.

### Linux

Notification controls vary by desktop environment and distribution. Open the desktop's notification settings, confirm notifications are enabled, and allow Google Chrome if applications are listed separately.

Also check Do Not Disturb or Focus, the notification daemon, and any per-application rule that could hide Chrome banners. Chrome installed through a package sandbox may appear under a package-specific application name.

After any OS change, keep Chrome open and click **Test alert** again.

## 3. If Test alert works but the run does not

A successful test proves that the selected notification or sound output can work. It does not prove that the automation reaches the step.

Check these in order:

1. Confirm the graph contains **Send Alert**. [If / Else](/steps/if-else) does not send alerts by itself.
2. Confirm **Desktop notification**, **Sound**, or both are enabled on that step.
3. If Send Alert is inside Then or Else, verify that the condition follows the expected branch.
4. Open [Activity](/steps/activity) and check whether Send Alert ran, was skipped because the other branch ran, or the automation stopped earlier.
5. If a [Wait Until](/steps/wait-delay) comes first, remember that timeout continues the graph. Review Activity to see whether the wait succeeded or timed out.

For a notification only after a match, place **Send Alert** in the matching If / Else branch. For an unconditional alert at a particular point, place it directly in that sequence.

Repeat's **Each cycle** and **When it stops** alerts are separate controls on the End block. They remain off until enabled.

## 4. If the banner works but sound does not

First make sure **Sound** is enabled on Send Alert. A desktop banner can be on while the Tab Automation sound is off, and sound can be on without a desktop notification.

Then check system output volume, the selected audio device, app or notification volume controls, and mute state. On macOS, confirm the Chrome notification entry is allowed to play sounds. On Windows or Linux, check any per-app volume control exposed by the OS or desktop.

Click **Test alert** again after each change. If you hear the chime but do not see a banner, return to Chrome's OS notification permission and Focus settings.

## 5. Confirm the fix

Use this short success check:

- **Test alert** produces exactly the enabled output: banner, sound, or both.
- The banner appears in the system notification center when it is not visible on screen.
- A simple graph with **Send Alert** reaches that step and records it in **Activity**.
- Your real graph reaches the intended branch or point and produces the same output.

Chrome's website notification settings are a different switch. They control prompts and notifications from websites; Tab Automation extension alerts do not use a site's permission prompt. Chrome's general [notification help](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/3220216) is useful when webpage notifications are also failing.

To choose between a timer, a one-time condition check, and polling for a later change, read [auto refresh vs page monitor](/blog/auto-refresh-vs-page-monitor).