ntfy

WHAT IS IT?

ntfy is an HTTP-based pub-sub push notification service. You send a PUT/POST request to a topic, and the message lands instantly on your phone or desktop. No signup, no SDK, no mandatory API key — just curl and a URL. Use it through the public ntfy.sh service or self-host it yourself.

WHY IS IT INTERESTING?

• One curl request is enough: curl -d "Backup done" ntfy.sh/my-topic and you're notified — any script, cron job or tool that can make an HTTP call becomes an alert source
• Self-hostable: a single Go binary, no mandatory external dependencies, you keep full control over your notifications and data
• Native cross-platform apps: Android (Google Play, F-Droid), iOS (App Store), web UI and desktop notifications — you get your alerts everywhere
• Topic-based pub-sub: subscribe to a topic, anyone publishing to it notifies you — a simple, zero-config model
• Rich notifications: priorities, tags/emojis, titles, clickable actions, attachments and links — far beyond plain text
• Optional auth: per-topic ACLs, users and access tokens whenever you want to lock down your instance

USE CASES

• Job completion alerts: backups, cron scripts, long-running tasks that ping you when done
• CI/CD pipeline statuses pushed straight to your phone
• Server monitoring and health checks wired into ntfy via webhook
• Automation workflow notifications (n8n, Home Assistant, homegrown scripts)
• A unified alert channel for a homelab or small team, hosted in-house