diff --git a/update-notify b/update-notify
old mode 100755
new mode 100644
index 321c923..586291b
--- a/update-notify
+++ b/update-notify
@@ -1,69 +1,117 @@
 #!/bin/bash
+set -u
 
-# Default threshold or user argument
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Config
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 threshold=${1:-30}
+AUR_REPO="aur-local"
+# stock kernel package -> your custom build of it. Add or remove entries freely.
+declare -A KERNELS=(
+    [linux]="linux-custom"
+    [linux-lts]="linux-lts-custom"
+    [linux-zen]="linux-zen-custom"
+)
+state_dir="${XDG_STATE_HOME:-$HOME/.local/state}/check-updates"
 
-# Fetch checkupdates once to prevent multiple network/disk calls
-mapfile -t arch_list < <(checkupdates 2>/dev/null)
-arch_updates=${#arch_list[@]}
+[[ $threshold =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] || { echo "Threshold must be a number" >&2; exit 1; }
+mkdir -p "$state_dir"
 
-# Count AUR updates safely
-aur_updates=$(aur repo -u -d aur-local 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
-updates=$((arch_updates + aur_updates))
+# notify-send from cron/systemd needs the session bus address
+export DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS="${DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS:-unix:path=/run/user/$(id -u)/bus}"
 
-# Check kernel running environment
-running_kernel=$(uname -r)
-is_lts=0; [[ $running_kernel == *lts* ]] && is_lts=1
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Helpers
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-# Convert the array to a single string for quick regex matching
-arch_str="${arch_list[*]}"
-
-# Check for custom package updates in the list
-has_custom=0;     [[ $arch_str == *linux-custom* ]] && has_custom=1
-has_custom_lts=0; [[ $arch_str == *linux-lts-custom* ]] && has_custom_lts=1
-
-# Define localized logic for kernel checking
-check_kernel_update() {
-    local pkg=$1
-    local item
-
-    # Precise array element matching (avoids false-positive substring matches)
-    for item in "${arch_list[@]}"; do
-        if [[ "$item" == "$pkg "* ]]; then
-            return 0 # Package found in the updates array, update is definitely available
-        fi
-    done
-
-    # Fallback to vercmp if running kernel doesn't match the sync repo
-    local repo_ver
-    repo_ver=$(pacman -Si "$pkg" 2>/dev/null | awk -F': ' '/Version/ {print $2}')
-
-    # Crucial Fix: vercmp returns > 0 ONLY if repo_ver is strictly newer than running_kernel
-    if [[ -n $repo_ver ]] && (( $(vercmp "$repo_ver" "$running_kernel") > 0 )); then
+# Send a notification only if its body changed since last time for this key.
+notify_once() {
+    local key=$1 title=$2 body=$3
+    local file="$state_dir/$key"
+    if [[ -f $file && $(<"$file") == "$body" ]]; then
         return 0
     fi
+    printf '%s' "$body" > "$file"
+    notify-send "$title" "$body"
+}
+
+# Forget a key so the next occurrence notifies again.
+clear_state() {
+    rm -f "$state_dir/$1"
+}
+
+# If $1 has a pending update, print its new version and return 0.
+# checkupdates lines look like: "pkgname oldver -> newver"
+pending_version() {
+    local pkg=$1 item new
+    for item in "${arch_list[@]}"; do
+        if [[ $item == "$pkg "* ]]; then
+            read -r _ _ _ new <<< "$item"
+            printf '%s\n' "$new"
+            return 0
+        fi
+    done
     return 1
 }
 
-# Evaluate Kernel notifications based on environment
-if (( is_lts == 0 && has_custom == 0 )); then
-    check_kernel_update "linux" && notify-send "Kernel update available" "Rebuild custom kernel"
-elif (( is_lts == 1 && has_custom_lts == 0 )); then
-    check_kernel_update "linux-lts" && notify-send "LTS Kernel update available" "Rebuild custom kernel"
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Gather updates
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+# Fetch checkupdates once. Exit codes: 0 = updates, 2 = none, 1 = error.
+checkupdates_out=$(checkupdates 2>/dev/null)
+checkupdates_rc=$?
+if (( checkupdates_rc == 1 )); then
+    echo "checkupdates failed (network or sync problem?)" >&2
 fi
 
+arch_list=()
+if [[ -n $checkupdates_out ]]; then
+    mapfile -t arch_list <<< "$checkupdates_out"
+fi
+arch_updates=${#arch_list[@]}
 
-# Main updates notification threshold logic
+aur_updates=0
+if command -v aur >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    aur_updates=$(aur repo -u -d "$AUR_REPO" 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
+fi
+updates=$((arch_updates + aur_updates))
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Kernel check: the stock kernel updated, but your custom build didn't
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+for stock_pkg in "${!KERNELS[@]}"; do
+    custom_pkg=${KERNELS[$stock_pkg]}
+
+    # Only relevant if the custom kernel is installed and has no pending update itself
+    if pacman -Q "$custom_pkg" >/dev/null 2>&1 && ! pending_version "$custom_pkg" >/dev/null; then
+        if stock_ver=$(pending_version "$stock_pkg"); then
+            notify_once "kernel-$stock_pkg" "Kernel update available: $stock_pkg" \
+                "Rebuild $custom_pkg ($stock_pkg $stock_ver)"
+            continue
+        fi
+    fi
+    clear_state "kernel-$stock_pkg"
+done
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# General updates threshold
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 if (( updates >= threshold )); then
-    notify-send "Updates available" "Arch: $arch_updates, AUR: $aur_updates"
+    notify_once "updates" "Updates available" "Arch: $arch_updates, AUR: $aur_updates"
 
-    # Directly check command availability inline (no function needed)
-    if command -v git-monitor >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        notify-send "Check git packages" "Use git-monitor for git packages updates"
-    fi
-
-    if command -v fwupdmgr >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        notify-send "Check firmware" "Use fwupdmgr to check for firmware updates"
-    fi
+    hints=(
+        "git-monitor|Check git packages|Use git-monitor for git packages updates"
+        "fwupdmgr|Check firmware|Use fwupdmgr to check for firmware updates"
+    )
+    for hint in "${hints[@]}"; do
+        IFS='|' read -r cmd title body <<< "$hint"
+        if command -v "$cmd" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            notify_once "hint-$cmd" "$title" "$body"
+        fi
+    done
+else
+    clear_state "updates"
+    clear_state "hint-git-monitor"
+    clear_state "hint-fwupdmgr"
 fi
-