---
id: performance-battery.what-does-the-performance-notice-in-the-bell-mean
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/performance-battery/what-does-the-performance-notice-in-the-bell-mean
category: "Performance & battery"
subcategory: "Performance modes"
question: "What does the \"Performance: Automatic\" notice in Storage Studio's notification bell mean?"
alt_questions:
  - "Performance: Automatic · Good notification"
  - "Why is there a performance notice in the bell?"
  - "Running light to stay out of your way notification"
  - "storage studio notification performance mode"
  - "Storage Studio paused itself notification"
short_answer: "It's a quiet, informational notice showing Storage Studio's current performance level — normal, running light (with the reason), or paused under heavy load. It needs no action and arrives without a banner."
tags: ["notifications", "performance mode", "status"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/performance-battery/what-are-storage-studio-performance-modes", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/performance-battery/what-is-survival-mode"]
applies_to: "all"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-01
---

# What does the "Performance: Automatic" notice in Storage Studio's notification bell mean?

It's an informational notice that tells you how Storage Studio is treating your Mac right now. You'll see one of three:

- **Performance: Automatic · Good** (or the level you picked) — normal operation; full features are on and it eases off on its own if your Mac gets busy.
- **Running light to stay out of your way** — it has switched off live graphs and is working gently, with the reason.
- **Storage Studio paused itself** — your Mac is under heavy load, so background indexing is paused until things settle.

These notices don't add to the attention badge and arrive quietly in macOS Notification Centre, without a banner. Nothing needs doing. See [what each mode means](https://storagestudio.us/faq/performance-battery/what-are-storage-studio-performance-modes).