ntfy

ntfy (pronounced notify) is a simple, open-source HTTP-based pub-sub notification service that allows users to send push notifications to their phone, desktop, or any other device using nothing more than simple HTTP PUT or POST requests. Created by Philipp C. Heckel in 2021, this tool eliminates the need for third-party notification services, proprietary APIs, or complex server setups, enabling anyone to set up their own notification infrastructure in minutes. The service operates on a simple topic-based pub-sub model: clients subscribe to topics by making GET requests to a topic URL (via WebSocket, Server-Sent Events, or HTTP long polling), and messages are published by sending POST requests to the same topic URL. Messages can include a title, message body, priority levels (1-5 with min, low, default, high, urgent), tags for emojis, click action URLs, and file attachments. Delivery is supported to Android devices via Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM), to Apple devices via Apple Push Notification service (APNs), and to any device via progressive web app (PWA) notifications. The Android app, available on Google Play and F-Droid, provides a polished native experience with notification channels, DND modes, per-topic settings, and widget support. Key features include message caching and scheduled delivery, email-to-notification forwarding, a unified push provider for app developers, access control with token-based authentication, per-topic ACL permissions, rate limiting, and a web-based UI for managing subscriptions and viewing message history. The project can be self-hosted with a single Go binary or Docker container, or used via the free hosted service. Available under the Apache License 2.0 with over 20,000 GitHub stars.