How to change Gmail's notification sound on Mac

Web push uses system sound; no per-label or per-sender audio.

In Gmail

Head to Settings → Notifications inside Gmail — the sound options live there, and you can turn them off. That stops Gmail's own audio, but macOS will still play its default sound on top — see the universal approach below to silence that too.

What Gmail can't doWeb push uses system sound; no per-label or per-sender audio.

Universal approach — mute at the macOS level

macOS lets you silence any app's sound without disabling its notifications. The full visual walkthrough lives on the universal macOS method page. The short version:

  1. Open System Settings → Notifications.
  2. Scroll to Gmail in the application list and click it.
  3. Turn off Play sound for notifications.
  4. Gmail keeps showing banners and badges — just no audio.
macOS System Settings → Notifications → Gmail
System Settings → Notifications → Gmail → toggle off Play sound for notifications.

How Chirpy fills the gap

Chirpy reads the notification title and matches it against your rules. That means you can do things Gmail can't on its own — different sounds per channel, per person, per keyword, per server. Three quick examples:

  • Boss mentions only: a distinct chime when their name appears in any Gmail notification.
  • Urgent channel: a louder sound when the notification contains #urgent or #critical.
  • Silence everything else: a rule that matches all other Gmail notifications with no sound — banners still appear, your day stays quiet.

Want sounds that actually mean something?

Chirpy adds rule-based custom sounds on top of macOS notifications. One sound for Gmail mentions, another for your calendar, silence for the rest.