Is your feature request related to a problem?

Collaboration in Docmost is currently limited because:

• Contributors don't notice when they've been mentioned in documents
• Users can't track changes to pages they care about
• No notifications when someone comments on a page
• No way to keep stakeholders informed without manual follow-up
• Missing feedback loop for collaborative work

This makes project follow-up difficult and reduces the effectiveness of Docmost as a collaborative platform.

Describe the solution you'd like

A comprehensive notification system covering three main areas:

1. Inline @Mentions with Notifications (from #1226)

• Autocomplete: Typing @username triggers autocomplete on workspace users
• Automatic notification: Mentioned users receive email/in-app notification
• Respects user preferences: Honor individual notification settings
• In-app notification: Optional bell/sidebar notification

2. Page Watch/Subscribe Functionality (from #645)

• Watch button: On every page to subscribe to changes
• Watch levels:
  • This page only
  • This page + subpages
  • Entire space
• Auto-watch options (configurable):
  • Pages you create
  • Pages you edit
  • Pages where you're mentioned

3. Comment Notifications (from #1140)

• Email notification when someone comments on:
  • Pages you watch
  • Pages where you're mentioned
  • Your own pages
• In-app notification in sidebar/bell

4. Default Subscribers & Manual Notifications (from #1226)

• "Add collaborators" field when creating pages
  • Multi-select to add default subscribers
  • Subscribers receive all subsequent notifications
• "Notify subscribers" button in toolbar/history
  • Manually trigger notification to all subscribers
  • Useful for significant updates
  • Includes summary of recent changes

Notification Channels & User Settings

Per-user configuration:

• Enable/disable notifications globally
• Choose channels: Email / In-app / Both / None
• Notification frequency:
  • Immediate (real-time)
  • Digest (hourly/daily summary)
• Quiet hours (e.g., outside 9-5)
• Per-space notification rules

Notification triggers (user can configure):

• Page edits
• Comments
• @mentions
• Page deletion
• Permission changes

Spam Prevention & Smart Bundling

Critical: Avoid notification fatigue

1. Timeout-based bundling:

   • Group multiple edits within X minutes (e.g., 15-30 min)
   • Single notification: "3 changes to 'API Docs' by 2 authors"

2. Minor edit flag:

   • Checkbox when saving: "Minor edit (don't notify)"
   • For typo fixes, formatting changes

3. Rate limiting:

   • Max X notifications per user per day
   • Automatic digest mode if threshold exceeded

4. Smart filtering:

   • Option to only notify on "major changes" (>X% content change)

Notification Format Example

Email:

📝 Updates to "API Documentation"

- Edited by: John Doe, Jane Smith
- Time: Last 30 minutes
- Summary: Added authentication section, updated examples

Changes:
- New section: "OAuth 2.0 Flow"
- Updated code examples in "Quick Start"
- 3 comments added

[View Changes] [Open Page] [Unsubscribe]

In-app:

🔔 @john mentioned you in "Q4 Roadmap"
   "Can you review the timeline?"
   5 min ago

📝 3 changes to "Team Guidelines"
   by Sarah, Mike • 15 min ago

Technical Considerations

• Web Push API for browser notifications (opt-in)
• GDPR compliance: Clear opt-in, easy unsubscribe
• Email unsubscribe link in every notification
• Webhook support (future): For Slack/Discord integrations
• Notification history: View past notifications in-app

Describe alternatives you've considered

• Manual checking of pages (current state - inefficient)
• External tools (Zapier, n8n) for monitoring (complex setup)
• RSS feeds for changes (limited functionality)

Benefits

This brings Docmost closer to Confluence/Notion collaborative workflows:

• ✅ Keeps stakeholders in the loop without leaving the editor
• ✅ Reduces "checking overhead" for team members
• ✅ Improves response time for collaborative work
• ✅ Makes Docmost suitable for larger teams
• ✅ Critical for asynchronous collaboration

Implementation Priority Suggestion

Phase 1 (MVP)

• Basic page watch/subscribe
• Email notifications for page changes (with timeout bundling)
• User notification settings

Phase 2

• @mentions with autocomplete
• Comment notifications
• In-app notification center

Phase 3

• Default subscribers on page creation
• "Notify subscribers" manual trigger
• Advanced filtering & digest modes

Related Issues

• [Feature Request] Inline @mentions with email notifications & default page subscribers #1226 - Inline @mentions with email notifications & default page subscribers
• Send a notification email on comments #1140 - Send a notification email on comments
• [Feature Request] Subscribe to changes to page. #645 - Subscribe to changes to page
• [FR] Todo lists #629 - Todo lists

Additional Context

This feature request consolidates multiple related notification requests into a cohesive system design. The phased approach allows for iterative implementation while ensuring each phase delivers immediate value to users.