# Show notification badges on grid icons

Turn on Notification badges in Settings › Grid to show badge counts that applications expose through the Dock.

Last updated 26 October 2026

## Follow these steps

1. Open Settings › Grid.

1. Find On icons and enable Notification badges.

1. Compare an application that currently shows a Dock badge.

1. Open its folder if the app is grouped.

## What to expect

Available badge information appears on app icons. A badge represents information supplied by the application; CubbyPad does not create unread messages or enable notifications for an app that has no badge.

A folder can show the total of its apps’ badges. The badge feature and the running-app dot have different meanings: unread activity is not the same as whether a process is open.

## If the result is different

If a count is missing, check the app’s own Dock badge and macOS notification settings first. Check that CubbyPad’s badge toggle is on. A missing count alone does not indicate that the app is absent from the launcher.

For the broader walkthrough, read [change the look of cubbypad](https://cubbypad.com/guides/customize/).

## Related answers.

[### Understand notification totals on folders

With badges enabled, a CubbyPad folder adds up the badge counts of the apps inside it.

Read answer ↗](https://cubbypad.com/help/folder-badge-totals/)[### Show dots under running apps

Enable Running apps in Settings › Grid to mark applications that are currently open with a dot beneath the icon.

Read answer ↗](https://cubbypad.com/help/running-app-dots/)[### Show time-based app suggestions above the grid

Set the enabled App strip to suggestions when you want apps you tend to use at that time of day.

Read answer ↗](https://cubbypad.com/help/app-strip-suggestions/)

Source: https://cubbypad.com/help/notification-badges/