GitHub email notifications not working? Here are the 6 real causes

Updated August 2026 · 5 min read

You set everything to "notify me", but the emails never arrive. Before blaming GitHub, work through this list — one of these six things explains almost every case of missing GitHub notification email.

1. Your email address isn't verified

This is the single most common cause, and it's silent: GitHub stops sending notifications entirely to an unverified address, with no warning banner where you'd expect one. Go to Settings → Emails and look for an "Unverified" or "Undeliverable" tag next to your address. Click Verify, open the confirmation mail, done.

2. You (or a colleague) marked GitHub as spam

One accidental "report spam" on a notification email can make your mail provider file every future one away automatically. Search your mailbox — including Archive and Spam — for [email protected]. If you find notifications sitting in Spam, mark them Not Spam and add the sender to your contacts. In Gmail also check Settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses for a rule that deletes or archives GitHub mail.

3. Email delivery is toggled off for that event type

Under Settings → Notifications, Web and Email are separate switches per category (Participating, Watching, Mentions, CI). A very common state: web notifications work, but the Email column is unchecked for the category you care about — so the bell fills up while your inbox stays empty. Check both columns explicitly.

4. Your custom notification email points somewhere else

If a Custom routing email is set in Settings → Notifications, GitHub sends all notification email to that address instead of your default one. People set it once for an old work account, leave the company, and wonder why their personal inbox never sees anything again. Either update it or clear it so mail goes to your primary address.

5. Corporate mail filters eat the messages

On a work address, the filter rarely shows you what it dropped. Ask IT (or check your quarantine portal) whether mail from [email protected] is being rejected or quarantined. If you control the domain: whitelist the sender, and check that your SPF/DKIM setup isn't causing GitHub's mail to fail forwarding rules.

6. You're expecting push-style mail for pushes

GitHub does not email you about every push. Notification emails cover conversations you participate in or watch: PR reviews, comments, issues, mentions, CI results you're subscribed to. Commits landing in a repo you watch generate no email unless they trigger one of those events. If what you actually want is awareness of repo activity without living in a browser tab, that's a client problem, not a settings problem — see below.

Skip the inbox entirely

Email is the slowest possible notification channel. DevNotify puts your unread GitHub count directly in the macOS menu bar — one glance, one click to open the PR or issue, and your token never leaves your machine. No filters, no spam folder, no delay.