diff --git a/client/channels.go b/client/channels.go
index f40cf6dab292f6f388f1ea83713eb30ef5bbaa70..57d51572603b3ff44358aeb1471c8e202837b43b 100644
--- a/client/channels.go
+++ b/client/channels.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import (
 	"gitlab.com/elixxir/crypto/channel"
 	"gitlab.com/elixxir/crypto/fastRNG"
 	"gitlab.com/xx_network/primitives/id"
+	"github.com/gen2brain/beeep"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -170,6 +171,12 @@ func (m *Manager) ReceiveMessage(channelID *id.ID, messageID channel.MessageID,
 	message := usernameField + " " + timestampField + "\n" + messageField
 
 	c.ReceivedMsgChan <- message
+
+	err := beeep.Notify(senderUsername, strings.TrimSpace(text), "icon.png")
+	if err != nil {
+		jww.FATAL.Printf("Could not make desktop notification occur: %s", err)
+		return
+	}
 }
 
 func (m *Manager) ReceiveReply(channelID *id.ID, messageID channel.MessageID, reactionTo channel.MessageID, senderUsername, text string, timestamp time.Time, lease time.Duration, round rounds.Round, status channels.SentStatus) {
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 9b4ade000a8406727956a8259f505273906128a9..a2f5500014c2fdb5b36c4dcc02426146bffd4fea 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -27,6 +27,9 @@ require (
 	github.com/fsnotify/fsnotify v1.5.4 // indirect
 	github.com/gdamore/encoding v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/gdamore/tcell/v2 v2.4.0 // indirect
+	github.com/gen2brain/beeep v0.0.0-20220909211152-5a9ec94374f6 // indirect
+	github.com/go-toast/toast v0.0.0-20190211030409-01e6764cf0a4 // indirect
+	github.com/godbus/dbus/v5 v5.1.0 // indirect
 	github.com/golang-collections/collections v0.0.0-20130729185459-604e922904d3 // indirect
 	github.com/golang/protobuf v1.5.2 // indirect
 	github.com/gorilla/websocket v1.5.0 // indirect
@@ -41,6 +44,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/mitchellh/go-homedir v1.1.0 // indirect
 	github.com/mitchellh/mapstructure v1.5.0 // indirect
 	github.com/nfnt/resize v0.0.0-20180221191011-83c6a9932646 // indirect
+	github.com/nu7hatch/gouuid v0.0.0-20131221200532-179d4d0c4d8d // indirect
 	github.com/pelletier/go-toml v1.9.5 // indirect
 	github.com/pelletier/go-toml/v2 v2.0.2 // indirect
 	github.com/pkg/profile v1.6.0 // indirect
@@ -51,6 +55,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/spf13/afero v1.9.2 // indirect
 	github.com/spf13/cast v1.5.0 // indirect
 	github.com/subosito/gotenv v1.4.0 // indirect
+	github.com/tadvi/systray v0.0.0-20190226123456-11a2b8fa57af // indirect
 	github.com/ttacon/builder v0.0.0-20170518171403-c099f663e1c2 // indirect
 	github.com/ttacon/libphonenumber v1.2.1 // indirect
 	github.com/tyler-smith/go-bip39 v1.1.0 // indirect
@@ -69,7 +74,7 @@ require (
 	golang.org/x/image v0.0.0-20211028202545-6944b10bf410 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/mobile v0.0.0-20210716004757-34ab1303b554 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/net v0.0.0-20220822230855-b0a4917ee28c // indirect
-	golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220731174439-a90be440212d // indirect
+	golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220919091848-fb04ddd9f9c8 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20210927222741-03fcf44c2211 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/text v0.3.7 // indirect
 	google.golang.org/genproto v0.0.0-20220822174746-9e6da59bd2fc // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 720bf9c9b48b3e2935630ccdcc092e0c5a3b4398..6b5b6db24e8cabc9e8fb01d6f30e9e2683648ae0 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -173,6 +173,8 @@ github.com/gdamore/encoding v1.0.0 h1:+7OoQ1Bc6eTm5niUzBa0Ctsh6JbMW6Ra+YNuAtDBdk
 github.com/gdamore/encoding v1.0.0/go.mod h1:alR0ol34c49FCSBLjhosxzcPHQbf2trDkoo5dl+VrEg=
 github.com/gdamore/tcell/v2 v2.4.0 h1:W6dxJEmaxYvhICFoTY3WrLLEXsQ11SaFnKGVEXW57KM=
 github.com/gdamore/tcell/v2 v2.4.0/go.mod h1:cTTuF84Dlj/RqmaCIV5p4w8uG1zWdk0SF6oBpwHp4fU=
+github.com/gen2brain/beeep v0.0.0-20220909211152-5a9ec94374f6 h1:jFEK/SA/7E8lg9T33+y8D4Z0I782+bbiEjmyyklRzRQ=
+github.com/gen2brain/beeep v0.0.0-20220909211152-5a9ec94374f6/go.mod h1:/WeFVhhxMOGypVKS0w8DUJxUBbHypnWkUVnW7p5c9Pw=
 github.com/ghodss/yaml v1.0.0/go.mod h1:4dBDuWmgqj2HViK6kFavaiC9ZROes6MMH2rRYeMEF04=
 github.com/gin-contrib/sse v0.1.0 h1:Y/yl/+YNO8GZSjAhjMsSuLt29uWRFHdHYUb5lYOV9qE=
 github.com/gin-contrib/sse v0.1.0/go.mod h1:RHrZQHXnP2xjPF+u1gW/2HnVO7nvIa9PG3Gm+fLHvGI=
@@ -200,6 +202,8 @@ github.com/go-playground/validator/v10 v10.2.0 h1:KgJ0snyC2R9VXYN2rneOtQcw5aHQB1
 github.com/go-playground/validator/v10 v10.2.0/go.mod h1:uOYAAleCW8F/7oMFd6aG0GOhaH6EGOAJShg8Id5JGkI=
 github.com/go-sql-driver/mysql v1.4.0/go.mod h1:zAC/RDZ24gD3HViQzih4MyKcchzm+sOG5ZlKdlhCg5w=
 github.com/go-stack/stack v1.8.0/go.mod h1:v0f6uXyyMGvRgIKkXu+yp6POWl0qKG85gN/melR3HDY=
+github.com/go-toast/toast v0.0.0-20190211030409-01e6764cf0a4 h1:qZNfIGkIANxGv/OqtnntR4DfOY2+BgwR60cAcu/i3SE=
+github.com/go-toast/toast v0.0.0-20190211030409-01e6764cf0a4/go.mod h1:kW3HQ4UdaAyrUCSSDR4xUzBKW6O2iA4uHhk7AtyYp10=
 github.com/gobwas/httphead v0.0.0-20180130184737-2c6c146eadee h1:s+21KNqlpePfkah2I+gwHF8xmJWRjooY+5248k6m4A0=
 github.com/gobwas/httphead v0.0.0-20180130184737-2c6c146eadee/go.mod h1:L0fX3K22YWvt/FAX9NnzrNzcI4wNYi9Yku4O0LKYflo=
 github.com/gobwas/pool v0.2.0 h1:QEmUOlnSjWtnpRGHF3SauEiOsy82Cup83Vf2LcMlnc8=
@@ -207,6 +211,8 @@ github.com/gobwas/pool v0.2.0/go.mod h1:q8bcK0KcYlCgd9e7WYLm9LpyS+YeLd8JVDW6Wezm
 github.com/gobwas/ws v1.0.2 h1:CoAavW/wd/kulfZmSIBt6p24n4j7tHgNVCjsfHVNUbo=
 github.com/gobwas/ws v1.0.2/go.mod h1:szmBTxLgaFppYjEmNtny/v3w89xOydFnnZMcgRRu/EM=
 github.com/godbus/dbus/v5 v5.0.4/go.mod h1:xhWf0FNVPg57R7Z0UbKHbJfkEywrmjJnf7w5xrFpKfA=
+github.com/godbus/dbus/v5 v5.1.0 h1:4KLkAxT3aOY8Li4FRJe/KvhoNFFxo0m6fNuFUO8QJUk=
+github.com/godbus/dbus/v5 v5.1.0/go.mod h1:xhWf0FNVPg57R7Z0UbKHbJfkEywrmjJnf7w5xrFpKfA=
 github.com/gogo/googleapis v1.1.0/go.mod h1:gf4bu3Q80BeJ6H1S1vYPm8/ELATdvryBaNFGgqEef3s=
 github.com/gogo/protobuf v1.1.1/go.mod h1:r8qH/GZQm5c6nD/R0oafs1akxWv10x8SbQlK7atdtwQ=
 github.com/gogo/protobuf v1.2.0/go.mod h1:r8qH/GZQm5c6nD/R0oafs1akxWv10x8SbQlK7atdtwQ=
@@ -480,6 +486,8 @@ github.com/nats-io/nuid v1.0.1/go.mod h1:19wcPz3Ph3q0Jbyiqsd0kePYG7A95tJPxeL+1OS
 github.com/nfnt/resize v0.0.0-20180221191011-83c6a9932646 h1:zYyBkD/k9seD2A7fsi6Oo2LfFZAehjjQMERAvZLEDnQ=
 github.com/nfnt/resize v0.0.0-20180221191011-83c6a9932646/go.mod h1:jpp1/29i3P1S/RLdc7JQKbRpFeM1dOBd8T9ki5s+AY8=
 github.com/niemeyer/pretty v0.0.0-20200227124842-a10e7caefd8e/go.mod h1:zD1mROLANZcx1PVRCS0qkT7pwLkGfwJo4zjcN/Tysno=
+github.com/nu7hatch/gouuid v0.0.0-20131221200532-179d4d0c4d8d h1:VhgPp6v9qf9Agr/56bj7Y/xa04UccTW04VP0Qed4vnQ=
+github.com/nu7hatch/gouuid v0.0.0-20131221200532-179d4d0c4d8d/go.mod h1:YUTz3bUH2ZwIWBy3CJBeOBEugqcmXREj14T+iG/4k4U=
 github.com/oklog/oklog v0.3.2/go.mod h1:FCV+B7mhrz4o+ueLpx+KqkyXRGMWOYEvfiXtdGtbWGs=
 github.com/oklog/run v1.0.0/go.mod h1:dlhp/R75TPv97u0XWUtDeV/lRKWPKSdTuV0TZvrmrQA=
 github.com/olekukonko/tablewriter v0.0.0-20170122224234-a0225b3f23b5/go.mod h1:vsDQFd/mU46D+Z4whnwzcISnGGzXWMclvtLoiIKAKIo=
@@ -614,6 +622,8 @@ github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.0/go.mod h1:yNjHg4UonilssWZ8iaSj1OCr/vHnekPRkoO
 github.com/subosito/gotenv v1.3.0/go.mod h1:YzJjq/33h7nrwdY+iHMhEOEEbW0ovIz0tB6t6PwAXzs=
 github.com/subosito/gotenv v1.4.0 h1:yAzM1+SmVcz5R4tXGsNMu1jUl2aOJXoiWUCEwwnGrvs=
 github.com/subosito/gotenv v1.4.0/go.mod h1:mZd6rFysKEcUhUHXJk0C/08wAgyDBFuwEYL7vWWGaGo=
+github.com/tadvi/systray v0.0.0-20190226123456-11a2b8fa57af h1:6yITBqGTE2lEeTPG04SN9W+iWHCRyHqlVYILiSXziwk=
+github.com/tadvi/systray v0.0.0-20190226123456-11a2b8fa57af/go.mod h1:4F09kP5F+am0jAwlQLddpoMDM+iewkxxt6nxUQ5nq5o=
 github.com/tmc/grpc-websocket-proxy v0.0.0-20170815181823-89b8d40f7ca8/go.mod h1:ncp9v5uamzpCO7NfCPTXjqaC+bZgJeR0sMTm6dMHP7U=
 github.com/ttacon/builder v0.0.0-20170518171403-c099f663e1c2 h1:5u+EJUQiosu3JFX0XS0qTf5FznsMOzTjGqavBGuCbo0=
 github.com/ttacon/builder v0.0.0-20170518171403-c099f663e1c2/go.mod h1:4kyMkleCiLkgY6z8gK5BkI01ChBtxR0ro3I1ZDcGM3w=
@@ -978,6 +988,7 @@ golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220128215802-99c3d69c2c27/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBc
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220209214540-3681064d5158/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220227234510-4e6760a101f9/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220315194320-039c03cc5b86/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220319134239-a9b59b0215f8/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220328115105-d36c6a25d886/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220412211240-33da011f77ad/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220502124256-b6088ccd6cba/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
@@ -986,6 +997,8 @@ golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220704084225-05e143d24a9e/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBc
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220728004956-3c1f35247d10/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220731174439-a90be440212d h1:Sv5ogFZatcgIMMtBSTTAgMYsicp25MXBubjXNDKwm80=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220731174439-a90be440212d/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220919091848-fb04ddd9f9c8 h1:h+EGohizhe9XlX18rfpa8k8RAc5XyaeamM+0VHRd4lc=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220919091848-fb04ddd9f9c8/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20201117132131-f5c789dd3221/go.mod h1:Nr5EML6q2oocZ2LXRh80K7BxOlk5/8JxuGnuhpl+muw=
 golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20201126162022-7de9c90e9dd1/go.mod h1:bj7SfCRtBDWHUb9snDiAeCFNEtKQo2Wmx5Cou7ajbmo=
 golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20201210144234-2321bbc49cbf/go.mod h1:bj7SfCRtBDWHUb9snDiAeCFNEtKQo2Wmx5Cou7ajbmo=
diff --git a/icon.png b/icon.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4864c0c21707c1913bf508e970553ba8df90fbee
Binary files /dev/null and b/icon.png differ