diff --git a/desktop/README.md b/desktop/README.md
index cf8f38221..353a4a4e6 100644
--- a/desktop/README.md
+++ b/desktop/README.md
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ The module depends on the JVM variants of KMP modules:
 
 **Tray:** Uses `ComposeNativeTray` (`io.github.kdroidfilter:composenativetray`) for native tray rendering and menu interactions across Linux, macOS, and Windows.
 
-**Notifications:** `DesktopNotificationManager` uses DesktopNotifyKT (`io.github.kdroidfilter:knotify`) for desktop notifications. If delivery fails at runtime, the notifier logs the failure as a non-blocking fallback.
+**Notifications:** `DesktopNotificationManager` uses DesktopNotifyKT (`io.github.kdroidfilter:knotify`) for desktop notifications with native default styling. If delivery fails at runtime, the notifier logs the failure as a non-blocking fallback.
 
 **Localization:** Desktop exposes a language picker, persisting the selected BCP-47 tag in `UiPreferencesDataSource.locale`. `Main.kt` applies the override to the JVM default `Locale` and uses a `staticCompositionLocalOf`-backed recomposition trigger so Compose Multiplatform `stringResource()` calls update immediately without recreating the Navigation 3 backstack.
 
diff --git a/desktop/src/main/kotlin/org/meshtastic/desktop/DesktopSystemNotifier.kt b/desktop/src/main/kotlin/org/meshtastic/desktop/DesktopSystemNotifier.kt
index 0f2260f0c..e418c0972 100644
--- a/desktop/src/main/kotlin/org/meshtastic/desktop/DesktopSystemNotifier.kt
+++ b/desktop/src/main/kotlin/org/meshtastic/desktop/DesktopSystemNotifier.kt
@@ -23,8 +23,6 @@ import io.github.kdroidfilter.knotify.builder.NotificationInitializer
 import io.github.kdroidfilter.knotify.builder.notification
 import org.koin.core.annotation.Single
 import org.meshtastic.core.repository.Notification
-import java.nio.file.Files
-import java.nio.file.StandardCopyOption
 
 interface DesktopSystemNotifier {
     fun show(notification: Notification)
@@ -59,10 +57,11 @@ class DesktopSystemNotifierImpl(
 
     private companion object {
         const val APP_NAME = "Meshtastic"
-        private const val APP_ICON_RESOURCE = "icon.png"
+        const val NOTIFICATION_ICON_RESOURCE = "icon.png"
 
         @Volatile private var knotifyConfigured = false
-        @Volatile private var notificationIconPath: String? = null
+
+        private val notificationIconPath: String? by lazy { resolveResourcePath(NOTIFICATION_ICON_RESOURCE) }
 
         private fun configureKnotifyIfNeeded() {
             if (knotifyConfigured) return
@@ -70,11 +69,11 @@ class DesktopSystemNotifierImpl(
             synchronized(this) {
                 if (knotifyConfigured) return
 
-                notificationIconPath = resolveResourceToTempPath(APP_ICON_RESOURCE)
                 runCatching {
                         NotificationInitializer.configure(
                             AppConfig(
                                 appName = APP_NAME,
+                                smallIcon = notificationIconPath,
                             ),
                         )
                         knotifyConfigured = true
@@ -83,34 +82,52 @@ class DesktopSystemNotifierImpl(
             }
         }
 
-        private fun resolveResourceToTempPath(resourcePath: String): String? =
-            runCatching {
-                    val stream = Thread.currentThread().contextClassLoader?.getResourceAsStream(resourcePath)
-                    stream?.use { input ->
-                        val suffix = "." + resourcePath.substringAfterLast('.', "png")
-                        val tempFile = Files.createTempFile("meshtastic-knotify-icon-", suffix)
-                        Files.copy(input, tempFile, StandardCopyOption.REPLACE_EXISTING)
-                        tempFile.toFile().deleteOnExit()
-                        tempFile.toAbsolutePath().toString()
-                    }
-                }
-                .onFailure { Logger.w(it) { "Failed to resolve DesktopNotifyKT icon resource: $resourcePath" } }
-                .getOrNull()
-
         @OptIn(ExperimentalNotificationsApi::class)
-        private fun sendWithKnotify(notification: Notification): Boolean =
-            runCatching {
+        private fun sendWithKnotify(notification: Notification): Boolean {
+            val styled = style(notification)
+            return runCatching {
                     notification(
-                        title = notification.title,
-                        message = notification.message,
-                        largeIcon = notificationIconPath,
+                        title = styled.title,
+                        message = styled.message,
                         smallIcon = notificationIconPath,
+                        largeIcon = notificationIconPath,
                         onFailed = { Logger.w { "DesktopNotifyKT failed to display notification" } },
                     ).send()
                     true
                 }
                 .onFailure { Logger.w(it) { "DesktopNotifyKT threw while sending notification" } }
                 .getOrDefault(false)
+        }
+
+        private fun style(notification: Notification): Notification {
+            val prefix =
+                when (notification.category) {
+                    Notification.Category.Message -> "Message"
+                    Notification.Category.NodeEvent -> "Node"
+                    Notification.Category.Battery -> "Battery"
+                    Notification.Category.Alert -> "Alert"
+                    Notification.Category.Service -> "Service"
+                }
+
+            val title =
+                when {
+                    notification.title.startsWith("$prefix: ") -> notification.title
+                    else -> "$prefix: ${notification.title}"
+                }
+
+            return notification.copy(title = title)
+        }
+
+        private fun resolveResourcePath(resourceName: String): String? {
+            return runCatching {
+                    Thread.currentThread()
+                        .contextClassLoader
+                        ?.getResource(resourceName)
+                        ?.toURI()
+                        ?.toString()
+                }
+                .onFailure { Logger.w(it) { "Unable to resolve notification icon resource: $resourceName" } }
+                .getOrNull()
+        }
     }
 }
-
diff --git a/desktop/src/main/kotlin/org/meshtastic/desktop/Main.kt b/desktop/src/main/kotlin/org/meshtastic/desktop/Main.kt
index da4a5b8e7..133c87c40 100644
--- a/desktop/src/main/kotlin/org/meshtastic/desktop/Main.kt
+++ b/desktop/src/main/kotlin/org/meshtastic/desktop/Main.kt
@@ -73,7 +73,10 @@ import org.meshtastic.desktop.di.desktopModule
 import org.meshtastic.desktop.di.desktopPlatformModule
 import org.meshtastic.desktop.ui.DesktopMainScreen
 import java.awt.Desktop
+import java.awt.Taskbar
+import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream
 import java.util.Locale
+import javax.imageio.ImageIO
 
 /**
  * Meshtastic Desktop — the first non-Android target for the shared KMP module graph.
@@ -115,6 +118,8 @@ private fun classpathPainterResource(path: String): Painter {
 fun main(args: Array<String>) = application(exitProcessOnExit = false) {
     Logger.i { "Meshtastic Desktop — Starting" }
 
+    LaunchedEffect(Unit) { setTaskbarDockIcon("icon.png") }
+
     val koinApp = remember { startKoin { modules(desktopPlatformModule(), desktopModule()) } }
     val systemLocale = remember { Locale.getDefault() }
     val uiViewModel = remember { koinApp.koin.get<UIViewModel>() }
@@ -299,6 +304,22 @@ fun main(args: Array<String>) = application(exitProcessOnExit = false) {
     }
 }
 
+private fun setTaskbarDockIcon(resourcePath: String) {
+    if (!Taskbar.isTaskbarSupported()) return
+
+    val taskbar = Taskbar.getTaskbar()
+    if (!taskbar.isSupported(Taskbar.Feature.ICON_IMAGE)) return
+
+    runCatching {
+            val stream = Thread.currentThread().contextClassLoader?.getResourceAsStream(resourcePath) ?: return
+            stream.use {
+                val image = ImageIO.read(ByteArrayInputStream(it.readAllBytes())) ?: return
+                taskbar.iconImage = image
+            }
+        }
+        .onFailure { Logger.w(it) { "Unable to set dock/taskbar icon from $resourcePath" } }
+}
+
 /** Replaces the backstack with a single top-level destination route. */
 private fun navigateTopLevel(backStack: MutableList<NavKey>, route: NavKey) {
     backStack.add(route)