docs » hs.notify

This module allows you to create on screen notifications in the User Notification Center located at the right of the users screen.

Notifications can be sent immediately or scheduled for delivery at a later time, even if that scheduled time occurs when Hammerspoon is not currently running. Currently, if you take action on a notification while Hammerspoon is not running, the callback function is not honored for the first notification clicked upon -- This is expected to be fixed in a future release.

When setting up a callback function, you have the option of specifying it with the creation of the notification (hs.notify.new) or by pre-registering it with hs.notify.register and then referring it to by the tag name specified with hs.notify.register. If you use this registration method for defining your callback functions, and make sure to register all expected callback functions within your init.lua file or files it includes, then callback functions will remain available for existing notifications in the User Notification Center even if Hammerspoon's configuration is reloaded or if Hammerspoon is restarted. If the callback tag is not present when the user acts on the notification, the Hammerspoon console will be raised as a default action.

A shorthand, based upon the original inspiration for this module from Hydra and Mjolnir, hs.notify.show, is provided if you just require a quick and simple informative notification without the bells and whistles.

This module is based in part on code from the previous incarnation of Mjolnir by Steven Degutis.

API Overview

API Documentation

Constants

activationTypes
Signature hs.notify.activationTypes[]
Type Constant
Description Convenience array of the possible activation types for a notification, and their reverse for reference.
Notes
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
defaultNotificationSound
Signature hs.notify.defaultNotificationSound
Type Constant
Description The string representation of the default notification sound. Use `hs.notify:soundName()` or set the `soundName` attribute in `hs:notify.new()`, to this constant, if you want to use the default sound
Source extensions/notify/internal.m

Variables

registry
Signature hs.notify.registry[]
Type Variable
Description A table containing the registered callback functions and their tags.
Notes
Source extensions/notify/init.lua
warnAboutMissingFunctionTag
Signature hs.notify.warnAboutMissingFunctionTag
Type Variable
Description A value indicating whether or not a missing notification function tag should cause a warning. Defaults to `true`.
Source extensions/notify/init.lua

Functions

deliveredNotifications
Signature hs.notify.deliveredNotifications() -> table
Type Function
Description Returns a table containing notifications which have been delivered.
Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • a table containing the notification userdata objects for all Hammerspoon notifications currently in the notification center
Notes
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
register
Signature hs.notify.register(tag, fn) -> id
Type Function
Description Registers a function callback with the specified tag for a notification. The callback function will be invoked when the user clicks on or interacts with a notification.
Parameters
  • tag - a string tag to identify the registered callback function. Use this as the function tag in hs.notify.new and hs.notify.show
  • fn - the function which should be invoked when a notification with this tag is interacted with.
Returns
Notes
  • If a function is already registered with the specified tag, it is replaced by with the new one.
Source extensions/notify/init.lua
scheduledNotifications
Signature hs.notify.scheduledNotifications() -> table
Type Function
Description Returns a table containing notifications which are scheduled but have not yet been delivered.
Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • a table containing the notification userdata objects for all Hammerspoon notifications currently scheduled to be delivered.
Notes
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
unregister
Signature hs.notify.unregister(id|tag)
Type Function
Description Unregisters a function callback so that it is no longer available as a callback when notifications corresponding to the specified entry are interacted with.
Parameters
  • id - the numerical id provided by hs.notify.register
  • tag - a string tag representing the callback function to be removed
Returns
  • None
Source extensions/notify/init.lua
unregisterall
Signature hs.notify.unregisterall()
Type Function
Description Unregisters all functions registered as callbacks.
Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • None
Notes
Source extensions/notify/init.lua
withdrawAll
Signature hs.notify.withdrawAll()
Type Function
Description Withdraw all delivered notifications from Hammerspoon
Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • None
Notes
  • This will withdraw all notifications for Hammerspoon, including those not sent by this module or that linger from a previous load of Hammerspoon.
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
withdrawAllScheduled
Signature hs.notify.withdrawAllScheduled()
Type Function
Description Withdraw all scheduled notifications from Hammerspoon
Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • None
Source extensions/notify/internal.m

Constructors

new
Signature hs.notify.new([fn,][attributes]) -> notification
Type Constructor
Description Creates a new notification object
Parameters
  • fn - An optional function or function-tag, which will be called when the user interacts with notifications. The notification object will be passed as an argument to the function. If you leave this parameter out or specify nil, then no callback will be attached to the notification.
  • attributes - An optional table for applying attributes to the notification. Possible keys are:
Returns
  • A notification object
Notes
  • A function-tag is a string key which corresponds to a function stored in the hs.notify.registry table with the hs.notify.register() function.
  • If a notification does not have a title attribute set, OS X will not display it, so by default it will be set to "Notification". You can use the title key in the attributes table, or call hs.notify:title() before displaying the notification to change this.
Source extensions/notify/init.lua
show
Signature hs.notify.show(title, subTitle, information[, tag]) -> notfication
Type Constructor
Description Shorthand constructor to create and show simple notifications
Parameters
  • title - the title for the notification
  • subTitle - the subtitle, or second line, of the notification
  • information - the main textual body of the notification
  • tag - a function tag corresponding to a function registered with hs.notify.register
Returns
  • a notification object
Notes
  • All three textual parameters are required, though they can be empty strings
  • This function is really a shorthand for hs.notify.new(...):send()
  • Notifications created using this function will inherit the default withdrawAfter value, which is 5 seconds. To produce persistent notifications you should use hs.notify.new() with a withdrawAfter attribute of 0.
Source extensions/notify/init.lua

Methods

actionButtonTitle
Signature hs.notify:actionButtonTitle([buttonTitle]) -> notificationObject | current-setting
Type Method
Description Get or set the label of a notification's action button
Parameters
  • buttonTitle - An optional string containing the title for the notification's action button. If no parameter is provided, then the current setting is returned.
Returns
  • The notification object, if buttonTitle is present; otherwise the current setting.
Notes
  • The affects of this method only apply if the user has set Hammerspoon notifications to Alert in the Notification Center pane of System Preferences
  • This value is ignored if hs.notify:hasReplyButton is true.
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
activationType
Signature hs.notify:activationType() -> number
Type Method
Description Returns how the notification was activated by the user.
Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • the integer value corresponding to how the notification was activated by the user. See the table hs.notify.activationTypes[] for more information.
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
actualDeliveryDate
Signature hs.notify:actualDeliveryDate() -> number
Type Method
Description Returns the date and time when a notification was delivered
Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • A number containing the delivery date/time of the notification, in seconds since the epoch (i.e. 1970-01-01 00:00:00 +0000)
Notes
  • You can turn epoch times into a human readable string or a table of date elements with the os.date() function.
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
additionalActions
Signature hs.notify:additionalActions([actionsTable]) -> notificationObject | table
Type Method
Description Get or set additional actions which will be displayed for an alert type notification when the user clicks and holds down the action button of the alert.
Parameters
  • an optional table containing an array of strings specifying the additional options to list for the user to select from the notification.
Returns
  • The notification object, if an argument is present; otherwise the current value
Notes
  • The additional items will be listed in a pop-up menu when the user clicks and holds down the mouse button in the action button of the alert.
  • If the user selects one of the additional actions, hs.notify:activationType will equal hs.notify.activationTypes.additionalActionClicked
  • See also hs.notify:additionalActivationAction
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
additionalActivationAction
Signature hs.notify:additionalActivationAction() -> string | nil
Type Method
Description Return the additional action that the user selected from an alert type notification that has additional actions available.
Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • If the notification has additional actions assigned with hs.notify:additionalActions and the user selects one, returns a string containing the selected action; otherwise returns nil.
Notes
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
alwaysPresent
Signature hs.notify:alwaysPresent([alwaysPresent]) -> notificationObject | current-setting
Type Method
Description Get or set whether a notification should be presented even if this overrides Notification Center's decision process.
Parameters
  • alwaysPresent - An optional boolean parameter indicating whether the notification should override Notification Center's decision about whether to present the notification or not. Defaults to true. If no parameter is provided, then the current setting is returned.
Returns
  • The notification object, if alwaysPresent is provided; otherwise the current setting.
Notes
  • This does not affect the return value of hs.notify:presented() -- that will still reflect the decision of the Notification Center
  • Examples of why the users Notification Center would choose not to display a notification would be if Hammerspoon is the currently focussed application, being attached to a projector, or the user having set Do Not Disturb.
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
alwaysShowAdditionalActions
Signature hs.notify:alwaysShowAdditionalActions([state]) -> notificationObject | boolean
Type Method
Description Get or set whether an alert notification should always show an alternate action menu.
Parameters
  • state - An optional boolean, default false, indicating whether the notification should always show an alternate action menu.
Returns
  • The notification object, if an argument is present; otherwise the current value.
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
autoWithdraw
Signature hs.notify:autoWithdraw([shouldWithdraw]) -> notificationObject | current-setting
Type Method
Description Get or set whether a notification should automatically withdraw once activated
Parameters
  • shouldWithdraw - An optional boolean indicating whether the notification should automatically withdraw. Defaults to true. If no parameter is provided, then the current setting is returned.
Returns
  • The notification object, if shouldWithdraw is present; otherwise the current setting.
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
contentImage
Signature hs.notify:contentImage([image]) -> notificationObject | current-setting
Type Method
Description Get or set a notification's content image.
Parameters
  • image - An optional hs.image parameter containing the image to display. Defaults to nil. If no parameter is provided, then the current setting is returned.
Returns
  • The notification object, if image is provided; otherwise the current setting.
Notes
  • See hs.image for details on how to specify or define an image
  • This method is only supported in OS X 10.9 or greater. A warning will be displayed in the console and the method will be treated as a no-op if used on an unsupported system.
Source extensions/notify/init.lua
delivered
Signature hs.notify:delivered() -> bool
Type Method
Description Returns whether the notification has been delivered to the Notification Center
Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • A boolean indicating whether the notification has been delivered to the users Notification Center
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
getFunctionTag
Signature hs.notify:getFunctionTag() -> functiontag
Type Method
Description Return the name of the function tag the notification will call when activated.
Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • The function tag for this notification as a string.
Notes
  • This tag should correspond to a function in hs.notify.registry and can be used to either add a replacement with hs.notify.register(...) or remove it with hs.notify.unregister(...)
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
hasActionButton
Signature hs.notify:hasActionButton([hasButton]) -> notificationObject | current-setting
Type Method
Description Get or set the presence of an action button in a notification
Parameters
  • hasButton - An optional boolean indicating whether an action button should be present. If no parameter is provided, then the current setting is returned.
Returns
  • The notification object, if hasButton is present; otherwise the current setting.
Notes
  • The affects of this method only apply if the user has set Hammerspoon notifications to Alert in the Notification Center pane of System Preferences
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
hasReplyButton
Signature hs.notify:hasReplyButton([state]) -> notificationObject | boolean
Type Method
Description Get or set whether an alert notification has a "Reply" button for additional user input.
Parameters
  • state - An optional boolean, default false, indicating whether the notification should include a reply button for additional user input.
Returns
  • The notification object, if an argument is present; otherwise the current value
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
informativeText
Signature hs.notify:informativeText([informativeText]) -> notificationObject | current-setting
Type Method
Description Get or set the informative text of a notification
Parameters
  • informativeText - An optional string containing the informative text to be set on the notification object. This can be an empty string. If nil is passed, any existing informative text will be removed. If no parameter is provided, then the current setting is returned.
Returns
  • The notification object, if informativeText is present; otherwise the current setting.
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
otherButtonTitle
Signature hs.notify:otherButtonTitle([buttonTitle]) -> notificationObject | current-setting
Type Method
Description Get or set the label of a notification's other button
Parameters
  • buttonTitle - An optional string containing the title for the notification's other button. If no parameter is provided, then the current setting is returned.
Returns
  • The notification object, if buttonTitle is present; otherwise the current setting.
Notes
  • The affects of this method only apply if the user has set Hammerspoon notifications to Alert in the Notification Center pane of System Preferences
  • Due to OSX limitations, it is NOT possible to get a callback for this button.
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
presented
Signature hs.notify:presented() -> bool
Type Method
Description Returns whether the users Notification Center decided to display the notification
Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • A boolean indicating whether the users Notification Center decided to display the notification
Notes
  • Examples of why the users Notification Center would choose not to display a notification would be if Hammerspoon is the currently focussed application, being attached to a projector, or the user having set Do Not Disturb.
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
response
Signature hs.notify:response() -> string | nil
Type Method
Description Get the users input from an alert type notification with a reply button.
Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • If the notification has a reply button and the user clicks on it, returns a string containing the user input (may be an empty string); otherwise returns nil.
Notes
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
responsePlaceholder
Signature hs.notify:responsePlaceholder([string]) -> notificationObject | string
Type Method
Description Set a placeholder string for alert type notifications with a reply button.
Parameters
  • string - an optional string specifying placeholder text to display in the reply box before the user has types anything in an alert type notification with a reply button.
Returns
  • The notification object, if an argument is present; otherwise the current value
Notes
  • In macOS 10.13, this text appears so light that it is almost unreadable; so far no workaround has been found.
  • See also hs.notify:hasReplyButton
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
schedule
Signature hs.notify:schedule(date) -> notificationObject
Type Method
Description Schedules a notification for delivery in the future.
Parameters
  • date - the date the notification should be delivered to the users Notification Center specified as the number of seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00Z or as a string in rfc3339 format: "YYYY-MM-DD[T]HH:MM:SS[Z]".
Returns
  • The notification object
Notes
  • See also hs.notify:send()
  • hs.settings.dateFormat specifies a lua format string which can be used with os.date() to properly present the date and time as a string for use with this method.
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
send
Signature hs.notify:send() -> notificationObject
Type Method
Description Delivers the notification immediately to the users Notification Center.
Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • The notification object
Notes
  • See also hs.notify:schedule()
  • If a notification has been modified, then this will resend it.
  • You can invoke this multiple times if you wish to repeat the same notification.
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
setIdImage
Signature hs.notify:setIdImage(image[, withBorder]) -> notificationObject
Type Method
Description Set a notification's identification image (replace the Hammerspoon icon with a custom image)
Parameters
  • image - An hs.image object, a string containing an image path, or a string defining an ASCIImage
  • withBorder - An optional boolean to give the notification image a border. Defaults to false
Returns
  • The notification object
Notes
  • See hs.image for details on how to specify or define an image
  • WARNING: This method uses a private API. It could break at any time. Please file an issue if it does
Source extensions/notify/init.lua
soundName
Signature hs.notify:soundName([soundName]) -> notificationObject | current-setting
Type Method
Description Get or set the sound for a notification
Parameters
  • soundName - An optional string containing the name of a sound to play with the notification. If nil, no sound will be played. Defaults to nil. If no parameter is provided, then the current setting is returned.
Returns
  • The notification object, if soundName is present; otherwise the current setting.
Notes
  • Sounds will first be matched against the names of system sounds. If no matches can be found, they will then be searched for in the following paths, in order:
    • ~/Library/Sounds
    • /Library/Sounds
    • /Network/Sounds
    • /System/Library/Sounds
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
subTitle
Signature hs.notify:subTitle([subtitleText]) -> notificationObject | current-setting
Type Method
Description Get or set the subtitle of a notification
Parameters
  • subtitleText - An optional string containing the subtitle to be set on the notification object. This can be an empty string. If nil is passed, any existing subtitle will be removed. If no parameter is provided, then the current setting is returned.
Returns
  • The notification object, if subtitleText is present; otherwise the current setting.
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
title
Signature hs.notify:title([titleText]) -> notificationObject | current-setting
Type Method
Description Get or set the title of a notification
Parameters
  • titleText - An optional string containing the title to be set on the notification object. The default value is "Notification". If nil is passed, then the title is set to the empty string. If no parameter is provided, then the current setting is returned.
Returns
  • The notification object, if titleText is present; otherwise the current setting.
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
withdraw
Signature hs.notify:withdraw() -> notificationObject
Type Method
Description Withdraws a delivered notification from the Notification Center.
Parameters
  • None
Returns
  • The notification object
  • This method allows you to unlock a dispatched notification so that it can be modified and resent.
Source extensions/notify/internal.m
withdrawAfter
Signature hs.notify:withdrawAfter([seconds]) -> notificationObject | number
Type Method
Description Get or set the number of seconds after which to automatically withdraw a notification
Parameters
  • seconds - An optional number, default 5, of seconds after which to withdraw a notification. A value of 0 will not withdraw a notification automatically
Returns
  • The notification object, if an argument is present; otherwise the current value.
Source extensions/notify/internal.m