Skip to content

ntfy

ntfy is a dead-simple HTTP-based pub/sub push service. Pick a topic name, POST to https://ntfy.sh/<topic>, and every subscriber to that topic gets the message. The mobile app is on F-Droid and Play; the web app works from any browser. No accounts required for the public instance, though self-hosting is straightforward.

The lowest-friction of the three push options: you can be sending notifications inside two minutes without running anything yourself.

Two ways to run it

Public ntfy.sh instance

Free, no account, works out of the box. Fine for personal use and small setups. The public instance rate-limits requests (roughly 60 messages per hour and a handful of concurrent subscribers per topic without an account); paid tiers raise the limits. Anyone who guesses your topic name can send to it, so pick something unguessable if that matters to you.

Self-hosted

For unlimited throughput, ACL-controlled topics, or offline use.

services:
  ntfy:
    image: binwiederhier/ntfy
    command: serve
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - ./ntfy/cache:/var/cache/ntfy
      - ./ntfy/config:/etc/ntfy
    environment:
      NTFY_BASE_URL: https://ntfy.example.com
      NTFY_CACHE_FILE: /var/cache/ntfy/cache.db
      NTFY_AUTH_FILE: /var/cache/ntfy/auth.db
      NTFY_BEHIND_PROXY: "true"
    ports:
      - "8080:80"

Front it with Caddy or nginx for TLS. The ntfy config docs cover ACL setup, user accounts, and web-push subscription.

Point TraceApps at it

Open Settings, Notifications:

  • Set Push service to ntfy.
  • ntfy Server URL: https://ntfy.sh (the default) or your own base URL, e.g. https://ntfy.example.com.
  • Topic: any string. Choose something unguessable if you're on the public instance, e.g. nutritrace-4f2a9c8b1d.
  • Token (optional): a Bearer token, needed only if the server or the topic requires auth. Blank is fine for the public instance and for open topics on a self-hosted server.

Stored setting keys: notifPushService=ntfy, ntfyUrl, ntfyTopic, ntfyToken. The token stays server-side.

Subscribe on your device

Install the ntfy Android app or iOS app, tap Subscribe to topic, enter your server URL and topic name. Notifications arrive over a battery-friendly long-polling connection.

Multiple people can subscribe to the same topic; every subscriber gets every message. That is how you fan a household's notifications to several phones without configuring anything server-side.

Priority mapping

TraceApps sends priorities 1 to 8. ntfy accepts 1 to 5, so the server clamps the value with Math.min(5, priority). Wellness alerts and sync failures land at ntfy priority 5 (max, "urgent"), regular reminders at 4 or 5.