diff --git a/apps/emdash-desktop/src/main/core/automations/automations-service.ts b/apps/emdash-desktop/src/main/core/automations/automations-service.ts
index 292c079de5..4e7583d4ba 100644
--- a/apps/emdash-desktop/src/main/core/automations/automations-service.ts
+++ b/apps/emdash-desktop/src/main/core/automations/automations-service.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,17 @@
-import { and, asc, count, desc, eq, ne, sql } from 'drizzle-orm';
+import {
+  and,
+  asc,
+  count,
+  desc,
+  eq,
+  gt,
+  inArray,
+  isNotNull,
+  isNull,
+  ne,
+  or,
+  sql,
+} from 'drizzle-orm';
 import { db } from '@main/db/client';
 import { automationRuns, tasks } from '@main/db/schema';
 import { events } from '@main/lib/events';
@@ -9,7 +22,11 @@ import type {
   CreateAutomationParams,
   UpdateAutomationSettingsPatch,
 } from '@shared/core/automations/automation';
-import type { AutomationRun } from '@shared/core/automations/automation-run';
+import {
+  AUTOMATION_SKIP_CODES_EXCLUDED_FROM_NOTIFICATIONS,
+  TERMINAL_AUTOMATION_RUN_STATUSES,
+  type AutomationRun,
+} from '@shared/core/automations/automation-run';
 import {
   automationChangedChannel,
   automationRunChangedChannel,
@@ -31,6 +48,24 @@ import {
 import { markRunSkipped } from './run-transitions';
 import { mapAutomationRunRowToAutomationRun } from './utils';
 
+function notificationRunPredicate() {
+  return and(
+    inArray(automationRuns.status, [...TERMINAL_AUTOMATION_RUN_STATUSES]),
+    isNotNull(automationRuns.finishedAt)
+  );
+}
+
+function isExcludedFromUnreadNotifications() {
+  const excludedInList = AUTOMATION_SKIP_CODES_EXCLUDED_FROM_NOTIFICATIONS.map(
+    (code) => `'${code}'`
+  ).join(', ');
+  return or(
+    ne(automationRuns.status, 'skipped'),
+    isNull(sql`json_extract(${automationRuns.error}, '$.code')`),
+    sql`json_extract(${automationRuns.error}, '$.code') NOT IN (${sql.raw(excludedInList)})`
+  );
+}
+
 export type AutomationsServiceHooks = {
   'automation:created': (automation: Automation) => void | Promise<void>;
   'automation:updated': (automation: Automation) => void | Promise<void>;
@@ -49,13 +84,21 @@ export class AutomationsService implements Hookable<AutomationsServiceHooks> {
   private readonly scheduler = new AutomationScheduler({
     onRunStep: (run) => {
       this._hooks.callHookBackground('run:step-completed', run);
-      events.emit(automationRunChangedChannel, { automationId: run.automationId, run });
+      this.emitRunChanged(run);
     },
     onScheduledRunChanged: (automationId) => {
       events.emit(automationChangedChannel, { automationId });
     },
   });
 
+  private emitRunChanged(run: AutomationRun): void {
+    events.emit(automationRunChangedChannel, { automationId: run.automationId, run });
+  }
+
+  private emitRunChanges(runs: AutomationRun[]): void {
+    for (const run of runs) this.emitRunChanged(run);
+  }
+
   on<K extends keyof AutomationsServiceHooks>(name: K, handler: AutomationsServiceHooks[K]) {
     return this._hooks.on(name, handler);
   }
@@ -91,7 +134,8 @@ export class AutomationsService implements Hookable<AutomationsServiceHooks> {
     const automation = await updateSettingsInRepo(id, patch);
     if (!automation) throw new Error('automation_not_found');
     if (patch.triggerConfig !== undefined) {
-      await skipQueuedCronRuns(id, 'trigger_changed');
+      const skippedRuns = await skipQueuedCronRuns(id, 'trigger_changed');
+      this.emitRunChanges(skippedRuns);
       if (automation.enabled) {
         await ensureNextCronRun(automation);
         events.emit(automationChangedChannel, { automationId: id });
@@ -121,7 +165,8 @@ export class AutomationsService implements Hookable<AutomationsServiceHooks> {
     if (enabled) {
       await ensureNextCronRun(automation);
     } else {
-      await skipQueuedCronRuns(id, 'disabled');
+      const skippedRuns = await skipQueuedCronRuns(id, 'disabled');
+      this.emitRunChanges(skippedRuns);
     }
     this._hooks.callHookBackground('automation:enabled', automation);
     events.emit(automationChangedChannel, { automationId: id });
@@ -151,6 +196,28 @@ export class AutomationsService implements Hookable<AutomationsServiceHooks> {
     return rows.map(({ run, taskId }) => mapAutomationRunRowToAutomationRun(run, taskId));
   }
 
+  async getNotificationsBaselineTimestamp(): Promise<number> {
+    const [row] = await db
+      .select({ ts: sql<number | null>`MAX(${automationRuns.finishedAt})` })
+      .from(automationRuns)
+      .where(notificationRunPredicate());
+    return row?.ts ?? Date.now();
+  }
+
+  async countUnreadFinishedRuns(sinceMs: number): Promise<number> {
+    const [result] = await db
+      .select({ count: count() })
+      .from(automationRuns)
+      .where(
+        and(
+          notificationRunPredicate(),
+          isExcludedFromUnreadNotifications(),
+          gt(automationRuns.finishedAt, sinceMs)
+        )
+      );
+    return result?.count ?? 0;
+  }
+
   async countAutomationRunsByStatus(
     automationId: string
   ): Promise<{ all: number; done: number; failed: number; skipped: number }> {
@@ -238,6 +305,7 @@ export class AutomationsService implements Hookable<AutomationsServiceHooks> {
     }
     this._hooks.callHookBackground('run:stopped', stopped);
     this._hooks.callHookBackground('run:step-completed', stopped);
+    this.emitRunChanged(stopped);
     return stopped;
   }
 
@@ -246,7 +314,8 @@ export class AutomationsService implements Hookable<AutomationsServiceHooks> {
   }
 
   async deleteAutomation(id: string): Promise<void> {
-    await skipQueuedCronRuns(id, 'automation_deleted');
+    const skippedRuns = await skipQueuedCronRuns(id, 'automation_deleted');
+    this.emitRunChanges(skippedRuns);
     const deleted = await softDeleteAutomation(id);
     if (!deleted) throw new Error('automation_not_found');
     this._hooks.callHookBackground('automation:deleted', id);
diff --git a/apps/emdash-desktop/src/main/core/automations/controller.ts b/apps/emdash-desktop/src/main/core/automations/controller.ts
index ea76812721..c8ba61b8b5 100644
--- a/apps/emdash-desktop/src/main/core/automations/controller.ts
+++ b/apps/emdash-desktop/src/main/core/automations/controller.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ export const automationsController = createRPCController({
   listAutomationRuns: automationsService.listAutomationRuns.bind(automationsService),
   countAutomationRunsByStatus:
     automationsService.countAutomationRunsByStatus.bind(automationsService),
+  countUnreadFinishedRuns: automationsService.countUnreadFinishedRuns.bind(automationsService),
+  getNotificationsBaselineTimestamp:
+    automationsService.getNotificationsBaselineTimestamp.bind(automationsService),
   getLatestRun: automationsService.getLatestRun.bind(automationsService),
   getNextScheduledRun: automationsService.getNextScheduledRun.bind(automationsService),
   runAutomation: automationsService.runAutomation.bind(automationsService),
diff --git a/apps/emdash-desktop/src/main/core/settings/schema.ts b/apps/emdash-desktop/src/main/core/settings/schema.ts
index 96701939f4..82bedc1ab8 100644
--- a/apps/emdash-desktop/src/main/core/settings/schema.ts
+++ b/apps/emdash-desktop/src/main/core/settings/schema.ts
@@ -91,6 +91,8 @@ export const interfaceSettingsSchema = z.object({
   showLeftSidebarTimestamps: z.boolean(),
   confirmTabClose: z.boolean(),
   hideContextBar: z.boolean(),
+  /** Timestamp (ms) of the last time the user viewed automations; used for unread run badges. */
+  automationsLastReadAt: z.number(),
 });
 
 export const changesViewModeSchema = z.object({
diff --git a/apps/emdash-desktop/src/main/core/settings/settings-registry.ts b/apps/emdash-desktop/src/main/core/settings/settings-registry.ts
index 2c6a83ccae..6212d8d9b9 100644
--- a/apps/emdash-desktop/src/main/core/settings/settings-registry.ts
+++ b/apps/emdash-desktop/src/main/core/settings/settings-registry.ts
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ export const SETTINGS_DEFAULTS = {
     showLeftSidebarTimestamps: true,
     confirmTabClose: false,
     hideContextBar: false,
+    automationsLastReadAt: 0,
   },
   browserPreview: {
     enabled: true,
diff --git a/apps/emdash-desktop/src/renderer/features/automations/use-automation-unread-count.ts b/apps/emdash-desktop/src/renderer/features/automations/use-automation-unread-count.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1cb339cedb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/emdash-desktop/src/renderer/features/automations/use-automation-unread-count.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+import { useQuery, useQueryClient } from '@tanstack/react-query';
+import { useCallback, useEffect } from 'react';
+import { useAppSettingsKey } from '@renderer/features/settings/use-app-settings-key';
+import { events, rpc } from '@renderer/lib/ipc';
+import { isTerminalAutomationRunStatus } from '@shared/core/automations/automation-run';
+import { automationRunChangedChannel } from '@shared/core/automations/automationEvents';
+
+export const automationUnreadCountQueryKey = (lastReadAt: number) =>
+  ['automations', 'unread-count', lastReadAt] as const;
+
+export function useAutomationUnreadCount() {
+  const { value: interfaceSettings, updateAsync } = useAppSettingsKey('interface');
+  const lastReadAt = interfaceSettings?.automationsLastReadAt ?? 0;
+  const queryClient = useQueryClient();
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (lastReadAt !== 0 || interfaceSettings === undefined) return;
+    void rpc.automations.getNotificationsBaselineTimestamp().then((baseline) => {
+      void updateAsync({ automationsLastReadAt: baseline });
+    });
+  }, [interfaceSettings, lastReadAt, updateAsync]);
+
+  const query = useQuery({
+    queryKey: automationUnreadCountQueryKey(lastReadAt),
+    queryFn: () => rpc.automations.countUnreadFinishedRuns(lastReadAt),
+    enabled: lastReadAt > 0,
+  });
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    return events.on(automationRunChangedChannel, ({ run }) => {
+      if (!isTerminalAutomationRunStatus(run.status)) return;
+      void queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ['automations', 'unread-count'] });
+    });
+  }, [queryClient]);
+
+  return query.data ?? 0;
+}
+
+export function useMarkAutomationsRead() {
+  const { updateAsync } = useAppSettingsKey('interface');
+  const queryClient = useQueryClient();
+
+  return useCallback(async () => {
+    await updateAsync({ automationsLastReadAt: Date.now() });
+    void queryClient.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ['automations', 'unread-count'] });
+  }, [updateAsync, queryClient]);
+}
diff --git a/apps/emdash-desktop/src/renderer/features/sidebar/automations-sidebar-item.tsx b/apps/emdash-desktop/src/renderer/features/sidebar/automations-sidebar-item.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..508c165771
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/emdash-desktop/src/renderer/features/sidebar/automations-sidebar-item.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+import { CheckCheck, Clock } from 'lucide-react';
+import { observer } from 'mobx-react-lite';
+import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
+import {
+  useAutomationUnreadCount,
+  useMarkAutomationsRead,
+} from '@renderer/features/automations/use-automation-unread-count';
+import { toast } from '@renderer/lib/hooks/use-toast';
+import {
+  isCurrentView,
+  useNavigate,
+  useWorkspaceSlots,
+} from '@renderer/lib/layout/navigation-provider';
+import {
+  ContextMenu,
+  ContextMenuContent,
+  ContextMenuItem,
+  ContextMenuTrigger,
+} from '@renderer/lib/ui/context-menu';
+import { cn } from '@renderer/utils/utils';
+import { SidebarMenuAction, SidebarMenuRow } from './sidebar-primitives';
+
+function formatUnreadCount(count: number): string {
+  if (count > 99) return '99+';
+  return String(count);
+}
+
+export const AutomationsSidebarItem = observer(function AutomationsSidebarItem() {
+  const { navigate } = useNavigate();
+  const { currentView } = useWorkspaceSlots();
+  const unreadCount = useAutomationUnreadCount();
+  const markAsRead = useMarkAutomationsRead();
+  const isActive = isCurrentView(currentView, 'automations');
+  const [menuOpen, setMenuOpen] = useState(false);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (unreadCount === 0) setMenuOpen(false);
+  }, [unreadCount]);
+
+  async function handleMarkAsRead() {
+    try {
+      await markAsRead();
+      setMenuOpen(false);
+    } catch {
+      toast({
+        title: 'Could not mark as read',
+        description: 'Your read state could not be saved. Please try again.',
+        variant: 'destructive',
+      });
+    }
+  }
+
+  return (
+    <ContextMenu
+      open={menuOpen}
+      onOpenChange={(open) => {
+        if (open && unreadCount === 0) return;
+        setMenuOpen(open);
+      }}
+    >
+      <ContextMenuTrigger className="w-full">
+        <SidebarMenuRow
+          isActive={isActive}
+          aria-label="Automations"
+          className="w-full justify-between"
+          onMouseDown={(e) => e.preventDefault()}
+          onClick={() => navigate('automations')}
+        >
+          <SidebarMenuAction aria-label="Automations" className="gap-2">
+            <Clock className="h-5 w-5 shrink-0 sm:h-4 sm:w-4" />
+            <span className="truncate">Automations</span>
+          </SidebarMenuAction>
+          {unreadCount > 0 ? (
+            <span
+              aria-label={`${unreadCount} unread automation run${unreadCount === 1 ? '' : 's'}`}
+              className={cn(
+                'ml-2 inline-flex h-5 min-w-5 shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full',
+                'bg-background-tertiary-2 px-1.5 text-[10px] font-medium tabular-nums text-foreground-tertiary'
+              )}
+            >
+              {formatUnreadCount(unreadCount)}
+            </span>
+          ) : null}
+        </SidebarMenuRow>
+      </ContextMenuTrigger>
+      <ContextMenuContent side="bottom" align="start">
+        <ContextMenuItem onClick={() => void handleMarkAsRead()}>
+          <CheckCheck className="size-4" />
+          Mark all as read
+        </ContextMenuItem>
+      </ContextMenuContent>
+    </ContextMenu>
+  );
+});
diff --git a/apps/emdash-desktop/src/renderer/features/sidebar/left-sidebar.tsx b/apps/emdash-desktop/src/renderer/features/sidebar/left-sidebar.tsx
index 676bd7c987..73744ea446 100644
--- a/apps/emdash-desktop/src/renderer/features/sidebar/left-sidebar.tsx
+++ b/apps/emdash-desktop/src/renderer/features/sidebar/left-sidebar.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { Clock, FolderInput, Library, MessageSquareShare, Settings } from 'lucide-react';
+import { FolderInput, Library, MessageSquareShare, Settings } from 'lucide-react';
 import { observer } from 'mobx-react-lite';
 import React from 'react';
 import {
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import {
 import { useShowModal } from '@renderer/lib/modal/modal-provider';
 import { BoundShortcut } from '@renderer/lib/ui/shortcut';
 import { cn } from '@renderer/utils/utils';
+import { AutomationsSidebarItem } from './automations-sidebar-item';
 import { SidebarPinnedTaskList } from './pinned-task-list';
 import { ProjectsGroupLabel } from './projects-group-label';
 import {
@@ -66,17 +67,7 @@ export const LeftSidebar: React.FC = observer(function LeftSidebar() {
         <SidebarFooter>
           <SidebarMenu>
             <SidebarSearchTrigger />
-            <SidebarMenuButton
-              isActive={isCurrentView(currentView, 'automations')}
-              onClick={() => navigate('automations')}
-              aria-label="Automations"
-              className="w-full justify-between"
-            >
-              <span className="flex min-w-0 items-center gap-2">
-                <Clock className="h-5 w-5 shrink-0 sm:h-4 sm:w-4" />
-                <span className="truncate">Automations</span>
-              </span>
-            </SidebarMenuButton>
+            <AutomationsSidebarItem />
             <SidebarMenuButton
               isActive={
                 isCurrentView(currentView, 'library') ||
diff --git a/apps/emdash-desktop/src/shared/core/automations/automation-run.ts b/apps/emdash-desktop/src/shared/core/automations/automation-run.ts
index 3e9b58794d..f64b9726de 100644
--- a/apps/emdash-desktop/src/shared/core/automations/automation-run.ts
+++ b/apps/emdash-desktop/src/shared/core/automations/automation-run.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,22 @@ export type RunError = {
   message?: string; // supplementary context (branch name, timeout ms, etc.)
 };
 
+export const TERMINAL_AUTOMATION_RUN_STATUSES = ['done', 'failed', 'skipped'] as const;
+
+export type TerminalAutomationRunStatus = (typeof TERMINAL_AUTOMATION_RUN_STATUSES)[number];
+
+export function isTerminalAutomationRunStatus(
+  status: AutomationRunStatus
+): status is TerminalAutomationRunStatus {
+  return (TERMINAL_AUTOMATION_RUN_STATUSES as readonly AutomationRunStatus[]).includes(status);
+}
+
+/** Skip reasons that reflect user-initiated lifecycle changes, not actionable run outcomes. */
+export const AUTOMATION_SKIP_CODES_EXCLUDED_FROM_NOTIFICATIONS = [
+  'disabled',
+  'automation_deleted',
+] as const;
+
 export type AutomationRun = {
   id: string;
   automationId: string;