Notifications: Windows, email and webhooks
Which events show a Windows notification, quiet hours, and the two ways to hear about a backup when you are away from the PC.
Settings ▸ Notifications decides how GBM AI tells you what happened. It has three cards: Windows notifications, Email and Webhook.
Windows notifications#
Show Windows notifications is the master switch. Under it, one tick box per event:
| Event | Default |
|---|---|
| When a backup fails | on |
| When a backup finishes with skipped files | on |
| When a backup finishes successfully | off |
| When a destination is unreachable | on |
| When an update is ready | on |
A notification names the job and what happened, for example Documents & Desktop failed with the error underneath. It has no buttons: open GBM AI for the report and the fix. While the window is open, its own pop-ups can carry a button such as Open job. The background agent shows a failure even with the window closed. An interrupted run counts as a failure.
When a destination is unreachable covers the warning before a run, when a job's drive is not connected (see Warn me if the drive isn't connected 10 minutes before a run on the job's Where step).
When an update is ready decides whether a new version interrupts you with its dialog. Off, Settings ▸ About still shows it.
Quiet hours for notifications (off; 22:00 to 07:00 when turned on) holds notifications back inside the window. Failures still notify. Quiet hours affect Windows notifications only, not email or webhooks.
Send a test notification, at the top of the page, shows what one looks like.
Email#
Email alerts are part of Home and Pro; on Free the card is locked and marked Home. The background agent sends them, so they go out with the window closed. Choose who sends them under Sent by:
- Genie9 sends it: no mail server to set up. The email goes only to the address you signed in with. Needs a sign-in and a purchased Home or Pro licence.
- My own mail server: any SMTP account, to the addresses you choose. Nothing goes through Genie9. Works on Home, Pro and during the trial.
Events: A backup fails (on by default), A backup finishes with skipped files, A backup finishes successfully, and A weekly summary (Mondays). The switch Send email notifications turns it all on, after a test email has gone through. Every field, and what an alert contains, is in Email alerts.
A job can also tick Email me if a run fails on its Settings step. It uses the email set up here.
Webhook (Pro)#
A JSON POST to your own address for each event, signed with HMAC-SHA256 in the X-GBMAI-Signature header. Use it to feed Slack, Teams, n8n, Zapier or a receiver of your own. See Webhooks.
Where else you see it#
The notification-area icon shows the state whatever you set here: idle, backing up, paused, or which job needs attention. Select a run in Activity and its details include Notified: the channels it was reported on (Windows notification, email, webhook). If an alert never arrived, that line says whether it was sent.