binwiederhier/ntfy

Analysis updated 2026-06-20

★ 30,053GoAudience · ops devopsComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((ntfy))
    What it does
      Push notifications
      No signup needed
      Phone and browser
      Instant delivery
    How it works
      Publish to topic
      Subscribe on device
      Single web request
    Use cases
      Script completion alerts
      Server health checks
      Download notifications
    Hosting
      Free public service
      Self-hosted option
    Audience
      Developers
      Home server users

mindmap root((ntfy)) What it does Push notifications No signup needed Phone and browser Instant delivery How it works Publish to topic Subscribe on device Single web request Use cases Script completion alerts Server health checks Download notifications Hosting Free public service Self-hosted option Audience Developers Home server users

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Get a phone notification the moment a long-running backup script or download finishes, without watching the terminal.

USE CASE 2

Alert yourself when a home server runs low on disk space or a monitored service goes down, using a simple curl command in a health-check script.

USE CASE 3

Self-host the notification server on your own machine for private notifications without sending data to a third-party service.

USE CASE 4

Receive real-time alerts from any automated pipeline or cron job by adding a single HTTP request at the end of the script.

What is it built with?

How does it compare?

	binwiederhier/ntfy	hashicorp/consul	spf13/viper
Stars	30,053	29,877	30,239
Language	Go	Go	Go
Setup difficulty	easy	hard	easy
Complexity	2/5	4/5	2/5
Audience	ops devops	ops devops	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

The free public service at ntfy.sh requires no setup at all, self-hosting adds a Docker or binary deployment step but is still straightforward.

In plain English

ntfy (pronounced "notify") is a simple notification service that lets you send push notifications to your phone or computer by making a basic web request, no sign-up, no app registration, and no complex setup required. The idea is that any script, server, or automated process can notify you the moment something happens. The way it works is through a publish-subscribe model: you subscribe to a topic (essentially a named channel, which can be any word you choose) on your phone or browser, and then anything that sends a message to that topic URL, using a simple web request, appears instantly as a notification. For example, a backup script finishing, a server running out of disk space, or a download completing could all trigger a notification without you needing to be watching a terminal. You can use the free public service at ntfy.sh without creating an account, or self-host the open-source server on your own machine if you want privacy or more control. There are companion apps for Android and iOS, and a web interface for subscribing from a browser. You would use ntfy when you have a background process, a script, a scheduled job, a home server, anything that runs unattended, and you want it to be able to reach you on your phone when something needs attention. The server is written in Go. The service also offers a paid tier with additional features for those who prefer not to self-host.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Show me how to use ntfy to send a push notification to my phone when a Bash script finishes. I want the message to say 'Backup complete' and include the timestamp.

Prompt 2

I want to self-host ntfy on a Linux VPS using Docker. Walk me through the docker-compose setup, how to configure a topic, and how to subscribe from the iOS or Android app.

Prompt 3

How do I use ntfy in a Python script to send a notification when an exception is caught, including the error message in the notification body?

Prompt 4

I have a cron job that runs every hour. How do I add ntfy notifications so I get alerted only when the job fails, using its exit code to decide whether to send the message?

Frequently asked questions

What is ntfy?

ntfy lets any script, server, or automated process send a push notification to your phone or browser with a single web request, no account required, just subscribe to a topic and anything that pings that URL reaches you instantly.

What language is ntfy written in?

Mainly Go. The stack also includes Go.

How hard is ntfy to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is ntfy for?

Mainly ops devops.

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