In short
- iPhone to Mac is built in: macOS 15 or later can show iPhone notifications.
- Mac to iPhone is not: Apple documents no feature that forwards a Mac app's notifications to an iPhone.
- Apps that run on both devices, such as Messages and Mail, notify each device separately. That is not forwarding.
- To cover the gap, have your own scripts notify your phone, or forward Notification Center with an app such as NotiFerry.
One direction only
Apple's notification sharing between an iPhone and a Mac runs from the phone to the computer. Since macOS Sequoia 15 and iOS 18, a Mac can display the notifications that arrive on your iPhone. Apple documents no equivalent in the other direction: there is no setting on a Mac or an iPhone that forwards a Mac app's notifications to the phone.
| Direction | Built into Apple devices? | Where it is set |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone → Mac | Yes, with macOS 15 or later and iOS 18 or later | On the Mac: System Settings, Notifications, Allow notifications from iPhone |
| Mac → iPhone | No | Nothing to set; it needs a third-party tool |
Apple describes the supported direction in Manage iPhone notifications and Live Activities on Mac. It depends on iPhone Mirroring, which Apple states is currently unavailable in the European Union.
Why it sometimes looks as if it works
Several everyday notifications do appear on both devices, which makes it easy to assume everything is shared. In each case the iPhone is not receiving the Mac's notification. It is being notified separately.
- Apps that exist on both devices. Messages, Mail, Calendar, Reminders, Slack, and similar apps get their notifications from a server or from iCloud. Each device is told independently.
- Focus modes. With Share Across Devices on, turning on a Focus on the Mac turns it on for the iPhone too. That syncs silence, not notifications.
- Handoff and Continuity. These move calls, text messages, clipboard contents, and the task you are working on. They do not carry Notification Center alerts.
The gap is everything that lives only on the Mac: an Xcode build, a video export, a backup, a long download, a script, an AI agent waiting for approval. Those alerts are created on the Mac and stay there.
Why there is no simple switch
On the iPhone, notifications pass through a system that was designed to relay them to other devices: the Apple Watch has mirrored them for years, and the Mac now does too. macOS has nothing comparable pointing outward. It also gives apps no public way to read the notifications of other apps, so a third-party tool cannot simply ask the system for them.
That leaves two practical approaches. If the alert comes from code you control, the code can notify your phone directly. If it comes from an app, a tool has to read what macOS records in Notification Center and pass it on.
How to cover the missing direction
For your own scripts and commands
Publish to a notification service at the end of the command. With the free ntfy app on your iPhone, it is one line of curl. The guide to sending a notification from Mac to iPhone has ready-to-paste commands.
For Mac apps
Use a forwarder. NotiFerry is a menu-bar app that watches macOS Notification Center, with read-only access to one folder you authorize, and sends each new alert to your iPhone through the free ntfy app. It needs no integration per app, lets you send the full text, the title only, or a generic alert, and lets you switch individual apps off. Setup is covered in how to get Mac notifications on your iPhone.
Other tools
NotiFerry is not the only option. Mac-to-iPhone notification apps compared sets it beside the alternatives.
Whichever route you take, the Mac has to be awake to notice the event and send the message. A sleeping or shut-down Mac sends nothing.
Questions
Does a MacBook send notifications to an iPhone?
Not by itself. Apple can show iPhone notifications on a Mac, but there is no built-in feature that sends a Mac app's notifications to an iPhone. Apps that exist on both devices notify each device separately.
Can I mirror Mac notifications to my iPhone?
Not with Apple's own settings. iPhone Mirroring and Allow notifications from iPhone work from the iPhone to the Mac only. To go from the Mac to the iPhone you need a script that notifies your phone or a forwarding app such as NotiFerry.
Why do some Mac notifications also appear on my iPhone?
Because those apps run on both devices. Messages, Mail, Calendar, and similar apps are notified by a server or by iCloud on each device independently. Nothing is being forwarded from the Mac.
Which macOS and iOS versions show iPhone notifications on a Mac?
macOS Sequoia 15 or later with iOS 18 or later, after iPhone Mirroring has been connected once. Apple states that iPhone Mirroring is currently unavailable in the European Union.
Will a Focus on my Mac affect notifications on my iPhone?
It can. Share Across Devices is on by default, so a Focus enabled on the Mac is also enabled on the iPhone and can silence apps there. Allow the app you rely on in that Focus, or turn sharing off.