Mute or unmute a topic

Zulip lets you mute topics and streams to avoid receiving notifications for messages you are not interested in. Muting a stream effectively mutes all topics in that stream. You can also manually mute a topic in an unmuted stream, or unmute a topic in a muted stream.

Muting has the following effects:

  • Messages in muted topics do not generate notifications (including alert word notifications), unless you are mentioned.
  • Messages in muted topics do not appear in the All messages view or the mobile Inbox view.
  • Muted topics appear in the Recent conversations view only if the Include muted filter is enabled.
  • Unread messages in muted topics do not contribute to stream unread counts.
  • Muted topics and streams are grayed out in the left sidebar of the desktop/web app, and in the mobile app.
  • In the desktop/web app, muted topics are sorted to the bottom of their stream, and muted streams are sorted to the bottom of their stream section.

Note: Some parts of the Zulip experience may start to degrade if you receive more than a few hundred muted messages a day.

Configure topic notifications in unmuted streams

  1. Hover over a topic in the left sidebar.

  2. Click on the ellipsis ().

  3. Select Mute topic or Unmute topic.

You can also click the mute () icon in the message recipient bar or in Recent conversations.

  1. Press and hold a topic until the long-press menu appears.

  2. Tap Mute topic or Unmute topic.

If you are viewing a single topic, you can access the long-press menu from the bar at the top of the app.

Configure topic notifications in muted streams

  1. Hover over a topic in the left sidebar.

  2. Click on the ellipsis ().

  3. Select Unmute topic or Mute topic.

You can also click the unmute () icon in the message recipient bar or in Recent conversations.

  1. Tap the Streams (hash) tab at the bottom of the app.

  2. Select a grayed-out (muted) stream from the streams list.

  3. Tap the Topics list (list) icon in the upper right corner of the app.

  4. Press and hold a topic until the long-press menu appears.

  5. Tap Unmute topic or Mute topic.

If you are viewing a single topic, you can access the long-press menu from the bar at the top of the app.

Manage configured topics

  1. Go to Topics.

  2. Configure notifications for each topic by selecting the desired option from the dropdown in the Status column.

  1. Tap the Streams (hash) tab at the bottom of the app.

  2. Select a stream containing topics you want to configure.

  3. Tap the Topics list (list) icon in the upper right corner of the app.

  4. Press and hold a topic until the long-press menu appears.

  5. Tap Mute topic or Unmute topic.

Muted topics are grayed out in the topics list.