matrix-docker-ansible-deploy/docs/configuring-playbook-ntfy.md

Setting up the ntfy push notifications server (optional)

The playbook can install and configure the ntfy push notifications server for you.

Using the UnifiedPush standard, ntfy enables self-hosted (Google-free) push notifications from Matrix (and other) servers to UnifiedPush-compatible Matrix compatible client apps running on Android and other devices.

See the project’s documentation to learn what it does and why it might be useful to you.

Notes:

• To make use of your ntfy installation, you need to install the ntfy app on your device and configuring your UnifiedPush-compatible Matrix client. Otherwise your device will not receive push notifications from the ntfy server. Refer this section for details.
• This playbook focuses on setting up a ntfy server for getting it send UnifiedPush notifications to Matrix-related services that this playbook installs, while the installed server will be available for other non-Matrix apps as well like Tusky and DAVx⁵. This playbook does not intend to support all of ntfy’s features.

The Ansible role for ntfy is developed and maintained by the MASH (mother-of-all-self-hosting) project. For details about configuring ntfy, you can check them via:

• 🌐 the role’s documentation at the MASH project online
• 📁 roles/galaxy/ntfy/docs/configuring-ntfy.md locally, if you have fetched the Ansible roles

Adjusting DNS records

By default, this playbook installs ntfy on the ntfy. subdomain (ntfy.example.com) and requires you to create a CNAME record for ntfy, which targets matrix.example.com.

When setting, replace example.com with your own.

Adjusting the playbook configuration

To enable ntfy, add the following configuration to your inventory/host_vars/matrix.example.com/vars.yml file:

########################################################################
#                                                                      #
# ntfy                                                                 #
#                                                                      #
########################################################################

ntfy_enabled: true

########################################################################
#                                                                      #
# /ntfy                                                                #
#                                                                      #
########################################################################

As the most of the necessary settings for the role have been taken care of by the playbook, you can enable ntfy on your Matrix server with this minimum configuration.

See the role’s documentation for details about configuring ntfy per your preference (such as setting access control with authentication).

Adjusting the ntfy URL (optional)

By tweaking the ntfy_hostname variable, you can easily make the service available at a different hostname than the default one.

Example additional configuration for your vars.yml file:

# Change the default hostname
ntfy_hostname: push.example.com

After changing the domain, you may need to adjust your DNS records to point the ntfy domain to the Matrix server.

Enable web app (optional)

ntfy also has a web app to subscribe to and push to topics from the browser. This may be helpful to troubleshoot notification issues or to use ntfy for other purposes than getting ntfy send UnifiedPush notifications to your Matrix-related services.

To enable the web app, add the following configuration to your vars.yml file:

ntfy_web_root: app

See the official documentation for details about how to use it.

Installing

After configuring the playbook and potentially adjusting your DNS records, run the playbook with playbook tags as below:

ansible-playbook -i inventory/hosts setup.yml --tags=setup-all,start

The shortcut commands with the just program are also available: just install-all or just setup-all

just install-all is useful for maintaining your setup quickly (2x-5x faster than just setup-all) when its components remain unchanged. If you adjust your vars.yml to remove other components, you’d need to run just setup-all, or these components will still remain installed. Note these shortcuts run the ensure-matrix-users-created tag too.

Usage

Unlike push notifications using Google’s FCM or Apple’s APNs, each end-user can choose the UnifiedPush-enabled push notification server that one prefer. This means that deploying a ntfy server does not ensure any particular user, device or Matrix client will use it.

To receive push notifications from your ntfy server, you need to set up these two applications on your device:

• the ntfy app
• a UnifiedPush-compatible Matrix client

For details about installing and configuring the ntfy app, take a look at this section on the role’s documentation.

Note: on the app you do not need to subscribe to a notification topic by yourself, as UnifiedPush will do that automatically.

Setting up a UnifiedPush-compatible Matrix client

After installing the ntfy app, install any UnifiedPush-enabled Matrix client on that same device. The Matrix client will learn from the ntfy app that you have configured UnifiedPush on this device, and then it will tell your Matrix server to use it.

Steps needed for specific Matrix clients:

• FluffyChat-android: this should auto-detect and use the app. No manual settings required.

• SchildiChat-android:

  1. enable Settings -> Notifications -> UnifiedPush: Force custom push gateway.
  2. choose Settings -> Notifications -> UnifiedPush: Re-register push distributor. (For info, a more complex alternative to achieve the same is: delete the relevant unifiedpush registration in ntfy app, force-close SchildiChat, re-open it.)
  3. verify Settings -> Notifications -> UnifiedPush: Notification targets as described below in the “Troubleshooting” section.

• Element-android v1.4.26+:

  1. choose Settings -> Notifications -> Notification method -> ntfy
  2. verify Settings -> Troubleshoot -> Troubleshoot notification settings

If the Matrix client asks, “Choose a distributor: FCM Fallback or ntfy”, then choose “ntfy”.

If the Matrix client doesn’t seem to pick it up, try restarting it and try the Troubleshooting section below.

Troubleshooting

Check the Matrix client

First, make sure that the Matrix client you are using supports UnifiedPush. There may well be different variants of the app.

To check if UnifiedPush is correctly configured on the client device, look at “Settings -> Notifications -> Notification Targets” in Element Android or SchildiChat Android, or “Settings -> Notifications -> Devices” in FluffyChat. There should be one entry for each Matrix client that has enabled push notifications, and when that client is using UnifiedPush you should see a URL that begins with your ntfy server’s URL.

In the “Notification Targets” screen in Element Android or SchildiChat Android, two relevant URLs are shown, “push_key” and “Url”, and both should begin with your ntfy server’s URL. If “push_key” shows your server but “Url” shows an external server such as up.schildi.chat then push notifications will still work but are being routed through that external server before they reach your ntfy server. To rectify that, in SchildiChat (at least around version 1.4.20.sc55) you must enable the Force custom push gateway setting as described in the “Usage” section above.

If it is not working, useful tools are “Settings -> Notifications -> Re-register push distributor” and “Settings -> Notifications -> Troubleshoot Notifications” in SchildiChat Android (possibly also Element Android). In particular the “Endpoint/FCM” step of that troubleshooter should display your ntfy server’s URL that it has discovered from the ntfy client app.

The simple UnifiedPush troubleshooting app UP-Example can be used to manually test UnifiedPush registration and operation on an Android device.

Check the service’s logs

See this section on the role’s documentation for details.