How to clear all notifications on a Mac at once
Open Notification Center by clicking the clock, then clear a stack or everything. Plus the gesture, the shortcut, and how to make banners leave on their own.
How do I open Notification Center?
- Click the date and time in the menu bar.
- On a trackpad, swipe left from the right edge with two fingers.
- Set a key for Show Notification Center in System Settings, Keyboard, Keyboard Shortcuts.
How do I clear all notifications?
Hover over a group of notifications: a close button appears at its top corner. Hover over it until it shows Clear All, then click. Repeat for each app's group. To clear one notification, hover over it and click its close button.
How do I stop notifications staying on screen?
Open System Settings, Notifications, click the app, and set its alert style to Temporary. Temporary banners slide away after a few seconds; Persistent ones stay until you act. Turn off Allow notifications for apps you never want to hear from.
How do I group notifications?
In the app's notification settings, Notification grouping chooses Automatic, By Application, or Off. Grouped notifications clear with one click.
Silence them while you work: Focus and Do Not Disturb. Quiet the Dock too: remove badges.
Checked on 22 October 2026 on a MacBook Air (M1) running macOS 27.0.1: the two finger swipe from the right edge, Show Notification Center, Temporary, Persistent and Notification grouping were read from System Settings.
Questions
How do I clear all notifications on a Mac?
Open Notification Center by clicking the clock, hover over each group, and click Clear All.
How do I open Notification Center on Mac?
Click the date and time in the menu bar, or swipe left from the right edge with two fingers.
How do I make Mac notifications disappear automatically?
Set the app's alert style to Temporary in System Settings, Notifications.
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