How to Reduce GitHub Repository Notifications

Following a busy GitHub project can turn your inbox into a firehose. You don’t have to choose between hearing about everything and abandoning the project: the repository’s Watch menu lets you narrow what you follow.

Quick answer: Open the repository on GitHub, select Watch or Unwatch near the top, and review the options. Participating and @mentions is a narrower choice; Custom lets you select event types such as releases in addition to participation and mentions. Check your selection before leaving.

Find the watch menu

1. Sign in to GitHub and open the main page of the repository whose updates you want to manage.
2. Near the upper-right part of the repository page, open the Watch or Unwatch dropdown. The button label depends on your current setting.
3. Read the menu before choosing. The selected option has a checkmark. Pick the level that fits how you use that particular project.

Pick the updates you need

Participating and @mentions: The menu describes this as notifications when you participate or are mentioned. This can reduce the volume compared with watching all activity, while keeping you aware of conversations involving you.

All Activity: Choose this when you actually want the broader stream of repository activity. For a busy project, that can mean a lot of notifications.

Custom: Open Custom and select the event types you want. In our desktop check, the dialog offered Issues, Pull requests, Releases, Discussions and Security alerts; it noted that discussions were not enabled for this particular repository. Select your desired boxes and use Apply to save. GitHub says these choices are in addition to participating and mentions, so “releases” isn’t necessarily the only notification you could receive. See GitHub’s notification documentation.

Ignore: This is the strongest mute. GitHub says ignoring a repository suppresses all notifications, including mentions, and does not recommend it as a routine alternative to unsubscribing. Don’t choose it casually for a project where someone may need your attention.

Still getting too much?

GitHub distinguishes repository watch settings from subscriptions to individual conversations. If one issue or pull request is the problem, GitHub says you can unsubscribe from that conversation or use the notifications inbox. Your delivery settings also determine whether updates go to GitHub, email, or both; review those separately in GitHub’s settings.

For several repositories, your watching page can help you review what you follow. Don’t change settings for a work project without considering which updates your team expects you to see. If you’re looking for a project’s installable files, our GitHub Releases guide covers that separately.

How we checked: We opened the public commonmark.js repository on desktop, inspected its Watch menu and opened Custom. We canceled the dialog and verified the original Participating and @mentions setting was restored. We did not save a new subscription, test email delivery, or check GitHub Mobile. Labels and available event types can vary.