# Notifications
Actions performed through the Portal will generate a notification.
One notification is generated when an action is initiated.
Additional notifications are generated to convey the status as the action is carried out by the system.
## Access to Notifications
To access current notifications:
1. Log in to the [Portal](https://app.skysql.com/dashboard).
2. Click the bell icon in the upper-right corner of the interface.
A menu of recent notifications will be displayed.
The bell icon will include a red dot indicator when a new notification is present. This indicator can be cleared by clicking the "Clear all" link.
*Notifications*
To view historical notifications, click the "View more" link at the bottom of the menu. When viewing historical notifications, notifications can be filtered by category and time frame.
*Notifications - current and historical*
## Notification Categories
* Service Alerts, which are based on `Alerts`
* Billing
* Service, which are based on [Portal](https://app.skysql.com/dashboard) actions
* Organization
## User Preferences
You can configure the notifications delivered to your email address from User Preferences.
To access User Preferences:
1. Log in to the [Portal](https://app.skysql.com/dashboard).
2. Click your profile name in the upper-right corner of the interface.
3. Select `Account Settings`.
4. Click to expand the `Notification preferences` section.
From User Preferences, you can specify your notification preferences:
* Whether to send notifications to you by email
* Which Notification Categories you want to be sent
*User Preferences*
## Notification Channels
In addition to being displayed in the Portal, notifications can also be delivered by email.
Notification Channels define who receives what type of notifications.
To access Notification Channel settings:
1. Log in to the [Portal](https://app.skysql.com/dashboard).
2. Click the "Settings" link in the main menu (left navigation in the Portal).
3. Click the "Notification Channel" button.
*Notification Channels*
#### **Add a Notification Channel**
To add a Notification Channel, from the Notification Channel settings interface:
1. Click the "Add" button in the upper-right corner.
2. Enter a channel name.
3. Enter the email address that will receive notifications.
4. Choose the notification categories that should be sent to that address from the dropdown.
*Notification Channels - Adding a Channel*
#### **Remove a Notification Channel**
To remove a Notification Channel from the Notification Channel settings interface:
1. Check the checkbox to the left of the notification channel to be removed.
2. Click the "Delete" button (which appears when a notification channel is selected by a checkbox).
3. Confirm removal of the notification channel by clicking the "Yes, delete" button.
*Notification Channels - Removing a Channel*
#### **Edit a Notification Channel**
To modify a Notification Channel, from the Notification Channel settings interface:
1. Click the name of the channel to modify.
2. Make the desired changes to the channel name, email address, recipient list, and notification categories.
3. Click the "Save" button.
*Notification Channels - Editing a Channel*
---
# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.
Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:
```
GET https://mariadb.com/docs/mariadb-cloud/cloud-usage/notifications.md?ask=
```
The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.
Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.