Gotify — Self-Hosted Push Notification Server

What it is

Gotify is a self-hosted push notification server written in Go. It provides a REST API for sending notifications, real-time WebSocket delivery for receiving them, a web UI for management, and an Android app for mobile alerts. It is MIT licensed and designed to be simple to deploy and operate.

Gotify serves developers and sysadmins who need a private notification channel for server alerts, CI/CD events, cron job results, or any automated messaging without relying on third-party services.

How it saves time or tokens

Gotify replaces complex notification setups (email servers, Slack webhooks, SMS gateways) with a single self-hosted service and a one-line curl command. No external accounts, no API quotas, no per-message costs.

How to use

1. Deploy with Docker:

docker run -d --name gotify -p 8080:80 \
  -v gotify-data:/app/data \
  gotify/server

1. Open http://localhost:8080, log in with default credentials, and create an application token.
2. Send a notification:

curl -X POST 'http://localhost:8080/message?token=YOUR_TOKEN' \
  -F 'title=Alert' \
  -F 'message=Deployment complete' \
  -F 'priority=5'

Example

# Deploy Gotify
docker run -d --name gotify -p 8080:80 \
  -v gotify-data:/app/data gotify/server

# Send a notification via REST
curl -X POST 'http://localhost:8080/message?token=APP_TOKEN' \
  -F 'title=Build Status' \
  -F 'message=Build #42 passed' \
  -F 'priority=5'

Related on TokRepo

• Self-Hosted Tools — More self-hosted infrastructure and services
• DevOps Tools — DevOps workflows that integrate with notification systems

Key considerations

When evaluating Gotify for your workflow, consider the following factors. First, assess whether your team has the technical prerequisites to adopt this tool effectively. Second, evaluate the maintenance burden against the productivity gains. Third, check community activity and documentation quality to ensure long-term viability. Integration with your existing toolchain matters more than feature count alone. Start with a small pilot project before rolling out across the organization. Monitor resource usage during the initial adoption phase to identify bottlenecks early. Document your configuration decisions so team members can onboard independently.

Common pitfalls

• The default admin password should be changed immediately after first login; leaving it exposes your notification server.
• WebSocket connections through reverse proxies (Nginx, Caddy) require proper upgrade headers; misconfiguration causes dropped connections.
• The Android app is not on Google Play; install it from F-Droid or the GitHub releases page.