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Unread Indicators

Status: Complete

How Chatalot shows you which channels have new messages, how many, and where the unread messages begin.

Unread Channel Indicators

The sidebar uses two visual cues to show channels with unread messages:

Bold Channel Name

When a channel has unread messages, its name appears in bold white text (instead of the default muted secondary color). This makes unread channels easy to spot at a glance.

Badge Count

A numeric badge appears to the right of the channel name showing the number of unread messages:

  • The badge shows the exact count up to 99.
  • For 100 or more unread messages, the badge shows 99+.
  • The badge is hidden for the currently active channel (since you are already reading it).
  • The badge disappears when you open the channel and scroll to the bottom.

Where Badges Appear

Unread badges appear in three places:

Location What it shows
Community channels Unread count per channel within each community's channel list
Ungrouped channels Unread count per channel in the ungrouped section
Direct Messages Unread count per DM conversation

Mention Highlights

When someone mentions you with @username in a message:

  • The mention text is highlighted with a distinct color in the message body.
  • A mention-specific notification sound plays (if enabled in Settings > Notifications).
  • A desktop notification appears (if enabled and the tab is not focused).

Mentions are tracked as part of the unread count -- there is no separate "mentions" counter in the sidebar.

Unread Separator

When you open a channel that has unread messages, an unread separator line appears in the message list marking where your last read position was. All messages below the separator are ones you have not yet seen.

  • The separator text typically says "New Messages" or similar visual divider.
  • It appears only when there are unread messages and you have previously read messages in that channel.
  • Scrolling to the bottom of the channel clears the unread state.

Mark as Read

Automatic

Messages are automatically marked as read when:

  1. You open a channel and view its messages.
  2. You scroll to the bottom of a channel while new messages arrive.
  3. A mark_read message is sent to the server with the latest message ID you have seen.

Manual: Mark All as Read

To clear all unread indicators across every channel at once:

  • Press Shift+Esc anywhere in the app.
  • Or click the Mark all read button in the sidebar header.

This sends a mark_all_read command to the server, which resets your unread position for every channel to the latest message.

Read Receipts

Chatalot supports read receipts that let other users see when you have read their messages:

  • When you view a message, a read receipt is broadcast to the channel.
  • Other participants can see who has read up to which message.
  • In DMs, you can see the exact message the other person has read up to.

Disabling Read Receipts

If you prefer not to share your read status:

  1. Go to Settings > Chat > Display.
  2. Toggle Send read receipts off.

When disabled, your read position is still tracked for your own unread indicators, but the receipt is not broadcast to others.

Community-Level Indicators

While Chatalot does not show a single aggregate badge on each community, you can quickly identify communities with unread activity by scanning the channel list within each community -- any bold channel name or visible badge indicates unread content.

Tip: Use Shift+Esc to clear all unreads at once when you are catching up after being away. This resets every channel to "read" without needing to open each one individually.