diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index d524a78..fa63ca4 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -94,7 +94,8 @@ Relative ages: `format_ago` for prose ("now", "5m ago", "never" — never "now a
 - Concept icons: 📡 advert · 🕒 clock/sync · 🔄 reboot · 💾 backup · 📂 restore ·
   🔑 channel/credential key · 🔐 identity/auth secret · 🗑 clear/delete · ✎ compose/edit ·
   ⚙ parameter · `#` count · ▶ run · ⚡ explore/probe · ★ best/winner · ⭐ watch ·
-  📤 send now · 📨 courier/queue · 💬 chat · 📱 QR · 🔗 link · ↻ re-read · ↕ reorder ·
+  📤 send now · 📨 courier/queue · 💬 chat · 🔔 notify · 🔕 mute (notifications off) ·
+  📱 QR · 🔗 link · ↻ re-read · ↕ reorder ·
   ⌨ command line · 🚪 quit. Packet-class icons (feed/viewer lane): 📢 advert ·
   📊 telemetry · 📦 packet · 💬 message · ✅ ack.
 
diff --git a/meshterm/context.py b/meshterm/context.py
index 709244e..2da474c 100644
--- a/meshterm/context.py
+++ b/meshterm/context.py
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ from .core.admin_store import AdminStore
 from .core.advert_store import AdvertStore
 from .core.config import DeviceProfile, Settings
 from .core.courier_store import CourierStore
+from .core.mute_store import MuteStore
 from .core.remote_store import RemoteStore
 from .core.watch_store import WatchStore
 from .core.connection import Device, make_device
@@ -56,6 +57,9 @@ class AppContext:
             log (defaults to ``<config_dir>/watchtower.json`` when not injected).
         courier_store: Store for the Courier's outbox — queued, delivered, and
             given-up messages (defaults to ``<config_dir>/courier.json``).
+        mute_store: Store for muted channel notifications — the channels whose new
+            messages don't raise the unread badge (defaults to
+            ``<config_dir>/mutes.json`` when not injected).
         mock: Whether the simulator device is in use.
         port_override: Explicit serial port (from ``--port`` or the interactive picker),
             overriding the profile.
@@ -78,6 +82,7 @@ class AppContext:
     remote_store: Optional[RemoteStore] = None
     watch_store: Optional[WatchStore] = None
     courier_store: Optional[CourierStore] = None
+    mute_store: Optional[MuteStore] = None
     profile: Optional[DeviceProfile] = None
     mock: bool = False
     port_override: Optional[str] = None
@@ -119,6 +124,8 @@ class AppContext:
             self.watch_store = WatchStore(self.settings.config_dir / "watchtower.json")
         if self.courier_store is None:
             self.courier_store = CourierStore(self.settings.config_dir / "courier.json")
+        if self.mute_store is None:
+            self.mute_store = MuteStore(self.settings.config_dir / "mutes.json")
 
     @property
     def profile_name(self) -> Optional[str]:
diff --git a/meshterm/core/mute_store.py b/meshterm/core/mute_store.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..47a3bb9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/meshterm/core/mute_store.py
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+"""Persistence for muted channel notifications.
+
+Some channels carry traffic you want *recorded* but not *notified* about — an automated
+``#wardriving`` beacon, a chatty public relay. Muting a channel here means its new messages
+stop raising the unread badge: they no longer bump the per-conversation unread count (so the
+channel list, the conversation picker, and the header's unread total all skip them), while the
+transcript is still written to history so the conversation is all there when you open it. The
+opposite of muting is the default — every channel notifies until you say otherwise.
+
+The mute is keyed by the channel's *intrinsic identity* (see
+:func:`~meshterm.core.channels.channel_identity`), the same slot-independent key its chat
+history and unread counter use — never a slot index — so a muted channel stays muted after it
+is reordered to another slot, and two devices that share a channel's key share the mute. Like
+the other operator preferences (remembered devices, watched nodes, admin passwords), this is
+global machine state in a small JSON file (``<config_dir>/mutes.json``) rather than the
+per-invocation SQLite database. Reads are served from memory after the first load — the chat
+recorder consults it on every inbound channel message and the channel list on every repaint —
+and the rare, user-driven writes are flushed immediately and atomically.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Optional
+
+
+class MuteStore:
+    """Reads and writes the set of channels whose notifications are muted, memory-first.
+
+    Interact through :meth:`is_muted` (the hot-path check), :meth:`set_muted` (the toggle),
+    and :meth:`muted` (the whole set). The backing set is loaded once on first access and kept
+    in memory thereafter; each mutation persists the whole set atomically.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, path: Path) -> None:
+        """Open the store against a JSON file location.
+
+        Args:
+            path: Path to the JSON state file (created lazily on the first mute).
+        """
+        self._path = path
+        self._muted: Optional[set[str]] = None
+
+    @property
+    def _state(self) -> set[str]:
+        """The muted-channel-identity set, loaded from disk on first access."""
+        if self._muted is None:
+            self._muted = self._load()
+        return self._muted
+
+    def _load(self) -> set[str]:
+        """Parse the file into a set of channel identities, or empty on missing/corrupt file."""
+        try:
+            data = json.loads(self._path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+        except (OSError, ValueError):
+            return set()
+        if not isinstance(data, dict):
+            return set()
+        return {str(x) for x in data.get("muted", []) if isinstance(x, str)}
+
+    def is_muted(self, channel_id: Optional[str]) -> bool:
+        """Whether the channel with this intrinsic identity has its notifications muted.
+
+        Args:
+            channel_id: The channel's identity (``None`` — an unresolved channel — is never
+                muted, so a message on it always notifies).
+
+        Returns:
+            ``True`` if the channel is muted.
+        """
+        return channel_id is not None and channel_id in self._state
+
+    def muted(self) -> set[str]:
+        """The muted channel identities (a copy, safe for the caller to keep)."""
+        return set(self._state)
+
+    def set_muted(self, channel_id: str, muted: bool) -> None:
+        """Mute or unmute a channel's notifications, persisting only a real change.
+
+        Args:
+            channel_id: The channel's intrinsic identity.
+            muted: ``True`` to mute, ``False`` to restore notifications.
+        """
+        if muted == (channel_id in self._state):
+            return  # already in the requested state; nothing to write
+        if muted:
+            self._state.add(channel_id)
+        else:
+            self._state.discard(channel_id)
+        self._save()
+
+    def _save(self) -> None:
+        """Persist the whole muted set atomically (a crash mid-write keeps the old file)."""
+        data = {"muted": sorted(self._state)}
+        self._path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        tmp = self._path.with_suffix(self._path.suffix + ".tmp")
+        tmp.write_text(json.dumps(data, indent=2), encoding="utf-8")
+        tmp.replace(self._path)
diff --git a/meshterm/services/chat_service.py b/meshterm/services/chat_service.py
index 058bad8..2bb965b 100644
--- a/meshterm/services/chat_service.py
+++ b/meshterm/services/chat_service.py
@@ -102,6 +102,18 @@ class ChatService:
         if key is not None:
             self._unread.pop(key, None)
 
+    def clear_unread(self, key: str) -> None:
+        """Drop a conversation's unread count without making it the active thread.
+
+        Used when a channel is muted: the channel's outstanding unread is zeroed (per the
+        mute UX) while the currently-open conversation, if any, is left untouched — unlike
+        :meth:`set_active`, which also re-points the active thread.
+
+        Args:
+            key: The conversation key to clear.
+        """
+        self._unread.pop(key, None)
+
     async def refresh_channels(self) -> None:
         """Rebuild the slot-index -> channel-identity map from the device's channel table.
 
@@ -265,16 +277,27 @@ class ChatService:
     def _store_inbound(
         self, run_id: int, message: Message, channel_id: Optional[str]
     ) -> None:
-        """Persist an inbound message under a resolved identity and bump its unread count."""
+        """Persist an inbound message under a resolved identity and bump its unread count.
+
+        The transcript is always recorded; the unread bump is skipped for the open
+        conversation (the user is already reading it) and for a *muted* channel (its new
+        messages don't raise the unread badge — see :class:`~meshterm.core.mute_store.MuteStore`).
+        A muted channel is still written to history, so opening it later shows everything.
+        """
         chat = ChatMessage.from_message(message, channel_id=channel_id)
         self._session_count += 1
-        if chat.key != self._active:
+        if chat.key != self._active and not self._is_muted(chat):
             self._unread[chat.key] = self._unread.get(chat.key, 0) + 1
         try:
             self._ctx.repo.record_chat_message(chat, run_id=run_id)
         except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001 - never let logging break the subscription
             self._ctx.log.debug("chat: failed to record message: %s", exc)
 
+    def _is_muted(self, chat: ChatMessage) -> bool:
+        """Whether this message belongs to a channel the user has muted notifications for."""
+        store = getattr(self._ctx, "mute_store", None)
+        return bool(chat.is_channel and store is not None and store.is_muted(chat.channel_id))
+
     async def _deliver_direct(self, contact: Contact, text: str):
         """Transmit a direct message, softly retrying until it is acknowledged.
 
diff --git a/meshterm/ui/channels.py b/meshterm/ui/channels.py
index a514b7b..cb21381 100644
--- a/meshterm/ui/channels.py
+++ b/meshterm/ui/channels.py
@@ -2,11 +2,18 @@
 
 This is the user-facing channel-management experience for the ``channels`` tool: a live
 list of the device's channel slots with, for each, a detail view that shows the sharable
-QR code and key, renames or re-keys it, opens it in chat, or clears it. New channels are
-created four ways — a fresh private channel (random key), a public ``#`` channel (key
-derived from the name), joining by pasting a key, or importing a scanned ``meshcore://``
-link. Every change is written to the device immediately (like a phone app), so the list you
-see always reflects the radio.
+QR code and key, renames or re-keys it, opens it in chat, mutes its notifications, or clears
+it. New channels are created four ways — a fresh private channel (random key), a public ``#``
+channel (key derived from the name), joining by pasting a key, or importing a scanned
+``meshcore://`` link. Every change is written to the device immediately (like a phone app), so
+the list you see always reflects the radio.
+
+Muting is the one per-channel setting that is a local *preference* rather than device
+configuration: a muted channel's new messages stop raising the unread badge (its inbound
+messages no longer accrue unread, and muting zeros whatever it had), while still being
+recorded to history. The mute lives in :class:`~meshterm.core.mute_store.MuteStore`, keyed by
+the channel's intrinsic identity so it follows the channel across slot moves, and the list
+row shows a ``🔕`` in its (then always-empty) unread lane to mark it.
 
 The list is laid out like the config editor: fixed, column-aligned lanes under one header
 line — the openness glyph and name, unread badge, total messages, last-message age, and a
@@ -75,6 +82,7 @@ _BACK = "__back__"
 _QR = "qr"
 _KEY = "key"
 _CHAT = "chat"
+_MUTE = "mute"
 _EDIT = "edit"
 _CLEAR = "clear"
 
@@ -316,6 +324,29 @@ def _slot_label(slot: ChannelSlot) -> str:
     return f"{channel_glyph(slot.name, slot.secret)} {slot.name}"
 
 
+# --- notifications -------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def _is_muted(ctx: "AppContext", slot: ChannelSlot) -> bool:
+    """Whether this channel's new-message notifications are muted (see :class:`MuteStore`)."""
+    return ctx.mute_store.is_muted(slot.identity)
+
+
+def _toggle_mute(ctx: "AppContext", slot: ChannelSlot) -> None:
+    """Flip a channel's notification mute, zeroing its unread the moment it is muted.
+
+    Muting is a remembered per-channel preference (keyed by the channel's intrinsic
+    identity, so it follows the channel across slot moves) that stops its new messages from
+    raising the unread badge. Muting also clears whatever unread it had accrued this session,
+    so the badge drops immediately rather than lingering until the next open — the reverse
+    (unmuting) simply lets future messages start counting again.
+    """
+    now_muted = not _is_muted(ctx, slot)
+    ctx.mute_store.set_muted(slot.identity, now_muted)
+    if now_muted:
+        ctx.chat.clear_unread(slot.conversation.key)
+
+
 # --- message statistics --------------------------------------------------------
 
 
@@ -419,17 +450,22 @@ def _slot_text(
     :func:`_lanes_header` line. Colour stays light and purposeful: the name is the row's
     focus in the base colour, the descriptive lanes are muted, the unread ``●`` badge is
     red with its count in warn (the conversation picker's language), and the sparkline
-    draws in the ok green over a faint flatline. The row is always a Rich
-    :class:`~rich.text.Text` so those spans
-    survive under the select screen's row highlight.
+    draws in the ok green over a faint flatline. A muted channel shows a muted ``🔕`` in
+    the unread lane instead of a count — muting zeros its unread and stops it accruing, so
+    that lane is always free to carry the state. The row is always a Rich
+    :class:`~rich.text.Text` so those spans survive under the select screen's row highlight.
     """
     st = stats.get(slot.identity)
+    muted = _is_muted(ctx, slot)
     unread = ctx.chat.unread(slot.conversation.key)
     text = Text(no_wrap=True, overflow="ellipsis")
     text.append(f"{channel_glyph(slot.name, slot.secret)} ")  # ＃ / 🌐 / 🔒 (2 cells) + gap
     text.append(fit_cells(slot.name, name_w))
     text.append("  ")
-    if unread:
+    if muted:
+        text.append("🔕", style="muted")  # 2 cells; pad the rest of the lane
+        text.append(" " * (_BADGE_WIDTH - 2))
+    elif unread:
         text.append("●", style="err")
         text.append(f" {unread}".ljust(_BADGE_WIDTH - 1), style="warn")
     else:
@@ -492,14 +528,18 @@ def _menu_items(
 
 
 def _detail_summary(ctx: "AppContext", slot: ChannelSlot, stats: _LiveStats) -> str:
-    """One line of vital signs for the detail screen: slot, totals, unread, last activity."""
+    """One line of vital signs for the detail screen: slot, totals, unread, mute, last activity."""
     st = stats.get(slot.identity)
     unread = ctx.chat.unread(slot.conversation.key)
+    muted = _is_muted(ctx, slot)
     if st is None or not st.total:
-        return f"Slot {slot.idx} · no messages recorded yet"
+        base = f"Slot {slot.idx} · no messages recorded yet"
+        return f"{base} · muted" if muted else base
     parts = [f"Slot {slot.idx}", f"{st.total} message{'' if st.total == 1 else 's'}"]
     if unread:
         parts.append(f"{unread} unread")
+    if muted:
+        parts.append("muted")
     if st.last_at is not None:
         parts.append(f"last message {format_ago(_age_seconds(st.last_at))}")
     return " · ".join(parts)
@@ -510,19 +550,34 @@ def _detail_items(ctx: "AppContext", slot: ChannelSlot) -> list:
 
     The Device actions presentation (menu-style lanes, no header line — these are commands,
     not tabular data), padded in display cells so the double-width emoji can't skew the
-    description column. Open-in-chat carries the channel's live unread badge, and the one
-    destructive row keeps an err-tinted label so it reads as such.
+    description column. Open-in-chat carries the channel's live unread badge, the
+    notifications row reads as a toggle whose glyph and verb reflect the current mute state
+    (an immediate action, so no trailing ``…``), and the one destructive row keeps an
+    err-tinted label so it reads as such.
     """
     unread = ctx.chat.unread(slot.conversation.key)
     chat_label = Text("💬 Open in chat")
     if unread:
         chat_label.append("  ●", style="err")
         chat_label.append(f" {unread}", style="warn")
+    if _is_muted(ctx, slot):
+        mute_row = (
+            "🔔 Unmute notifications",
+            "Show new messages here in the unread badge",
+            _MUTE,
+        )
+    else:
+        mute_row = (
+            "🔕 Mute notifications",
+            "Hide new messages here from the unread badge",
+            _MUTE,
+        )
     items = menu_rows(
         [
             ("📱 Show QR code", "Share this channel as a scannable code", _QR),
             ("🔑 Show key", "The name, key, hash, and share link", _KEY),
             (chat_label, "Read and send messages on this channel", _CHAT),
+            mute_row,
             ("✎ Rename / change key…", "Edit the name or paste a different key", _EDIT),
             (
                 Text("🗑 Clear this slot…", style="err"),
@@ -561,6 +616,10 @@ async def _channel_detail(
             await _show_key(ctx, slot)
         elif choice == _CHAT:
             await _open_chat(ctx, slot)
+        elif choice == _MUTE:
+            # A preference, not a slot-config change: toggle in place and loop back to the
+            # detail (whose rows re-render to the new state) without counting a channel change.
+            _toggle_mute(ctx, slot)
         elif choice == _EDIT and await _edit(ctx, device, slot):
             return 1
         elif choice == _CLEAR and await _clear(ctx, device, slot):
diff --git a/tests/test_channels.py b/tests/test_channels.py
index 4668a78..7c4b9be 100644
--- a/tests/test_channels.py
+++ b/tests/test_channels.py
@@ -630,6 +630,129 @@ async def test_detail_summary_reads_slot_totals_and_unread(ctx: AppContext) -> N
     assert summary == "Slot 3 · 1 message · 1 unread · last message now"
 
 
+# -- muting channel notifications ---------------------------------------------
+
+
+def test_mute_store_round_trips_and_persists(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    """A muted channel is remembered across store reloads; unmuting forgets it."""
+    from meshterm.core.mute_store import MuteStore
+
+    path = tmp_path / "mutes.json"
+    store = MuteStore(path)
+    assert store.is_muted("wardriving-id") is False
+    assert store.is_muted(None) is False  # an unresolved channel is never muted
+
+    store.set_muted("wardriving-id", True)
+    assert store.is_muted("wardriving-id") is True
+    assert MuteStore(path).is_muted("wardriving-id") is True  # survived a reload from disk
+
+    store.set_muted("wardriving-id", False)
+    assert store.is_muted("wardriving-id") is False
+    assert MuteStore(path).muted() == set()  # the unmute persisted too
+
+
+async def test_muting_suppresses_unread_but_still_records(ctx: AppContext) -> None:
+    """A muted channel's inbound message lands in history but never bumps the unread badge."""
+    from meshterm.core.events import MeshEvent
+    from meshterm.core.models import Message
+
+    device = await ctx.device()
+    await device.set_channel(0, "#wardriving", None)  # public, key derived from the name
+    slot = (await read_channel_slots(device))[0]
+    ctx.mute_store.set_muted(slot.identity, True)
+
+    await ctx.chat.start()
+    try:
+        ctx.events.publish(
+            MeshEvent.message_event(Message(text="auto beacon", channel=0, is_channel=True))
+        )
+        await ctx.chat._queue.join()
+        # Muted: no unread accrued anywhere, but the transcript is all there.
+        assert ctx.chat.unread(slot.conversation.key) == 0
+        assert ctx.chat.unread_total() == 0
+        stored = ctx.repo.recent_chat_messages(is_channel=True, channel_id=slot.identity)
+        assert [m.text for m in stored] == ["auto beacon"]
+    finally:
+        await ctx.chat.stop()
+
+
+async def test_unmuted_channel_still_bumps_unread(ctx: AppContext) -> None:
+    """The control case: an ordinary (unmuted) channel does raise the unread badge."""
+    from meshterm.core.events import MeshEvent
+    from meshterm.core.models import Message
+
+    device = await ctx.device()
+    await device.set_channel(0, "Ops", bytes(range(16)))
+    slot = (await read_channel_slots(device))[0]
+
+    await ctx.chat.start()
+    try:
+        ctx.events.publish(
+            MeshEvent.message_event(Message(text="hey", channel=0, is_channel=True))
+        )
+        await ctx.chat._queue.join()
+        assert ctx.chat.unread(slot.conversation.key) == 1
+    finally:
+        await ctx.chat.stop()
+
+
+async def test_toggle_mute_zeros_unread_and_persists(ctx: AppContext) -> None:
+    """Muting through the detail toggle flips the store and clears the channel's unread."""
+    from meshterm.ui.channels import _is_muted, _toggle_mute
+
+    device = await ctx.device()
+    await device.set_channel(0, "Ops", bytes(range(16)))
+    slot = (await read_channel_slots(device))[0]
+    ctx.chat._unread[slot.conversation.key] = 4  # as the service would after four arrivals
+    assert ctx.chat.unread_total() == 4
+
+    _toggle_mute(ctx, slot)  # mute
+    assert _is_muted(ctx, slot) is True
+    assert ctx.chat.unread(slot.conversation.key) == 0  # muting zeroed it
+    assert ctx.chat.unread_total() == 0
+
+    _toggle_mute(ctx, slot)  # unmute
+    assert _is_muted(ctx, slot) is False
+
+
+async def test_muted_channel_row_shows_bell_not_unread(ctx: AppContext) -> None:
+    """A muted channel's list row carries the 🔕 glyph in place of an unread badge."""
+    from meshterm.ui.channels import _LiveStats, _menu_items
+    from meshterm.ui.tui import Choice
+
+    device = await ctx.device()
+    await device.set_channel(0, "#wardriving", None)
+    slots = await read_channel_slots(device)
+    slot = slots[0]
+    ctx.chat._unread[slot.conversation.key] = 3  # stale unread that muting must not display
+    ctx.mute_store.set_muted(slot.identity, True)
+
+    _, items = _menu_items(ctx, slots, 8, _LiveStats(ctx))
+    row = next(it for it in items if isinstance(it, Choice) and it.value == 0)
+    plain = row.label.plain
+    assert "🔕" in plain
+    assert "● 3" not in plain  # the mute glyph replaces the unread badge
+
+
+async def test_detail_mute_row_reflects_state(ctx: AppContext) -> None:
+    """The detail's notifications row reads 'Mute' when on and 'Unmute' once muted."""
+    from meshterm.ui.channels import _detail_items
+    from meshterm.ui.tui import Choice
+
+    device = await ctx.device()
+    await device.set_channel(0, "Ops", bytes(range(16)))
+    slot = (await read_channel_slots(device))[0]
+
+    def mute_label() -> str:
+        items = _detail_items(ctx, slot)
+        row = next(it for it in items if isinstance(it, Choice) and it.value == "mute")
+        return row.label.plain
+
+    assert "🔕 Mute notifications" in mute_label()
+    ctx.mute_store.set_muted(slot.identity, True)
+    assert "🔔 Unmute notifications" in mute_label()
+
+
 # -- the tool against the simulator -------------------------------------------