In this podcast, Jerod interviews Philipp Heckel, the creator of ntfy, a service that allows users to send notifications to their phone or desktop via scripts. They delve into the motivation behind building ntfy, its features, and plans for the future. The discussion also touches on collaborations with .tech domains and explores technical details of message delivery in the app. They explore the potential of ntfy as a platform and reflect on recent experiences and upcoming episodes.
Read more
AI Summary
AI Chapters
Episode notes
auto_awesome
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
Notify is a simple HTTP-based service that allows users to send push notifications to their phones or desktops via scripts from any computer.
The Zen of Convex promotes building applications in a scalable and simplified manner, focusing on clean abstractions, information hiding, and composability.
Notify was built out of personal need to simplify the process of sending push notifications and has gained popularity among self-hosted enthusiasts.
Deep dives
Notify: A Simple Push Notification Service
Notify (NTFY) is a simple push notification service that allows users to send notifications to their phones or desktops via scripts from any computer. The service is built on HTTP and PubSub, providing users with an open-source solution for push notifications. With Notify, users can subscribe to topics and receive push notifications for specific events. The service offers features such as topic subscription, message delivery via HTTP, REST API support, and the ability to add titles, priorities, and tags to notifications. Notify has gained popularity and has been well-received by the self-hosted community, and it continues to be developed and improved.
The Zen of Convex: Building Scalable Applications
The Zen of Convex is a concept that emphasizes the importance of building applications in a way that scales and simplifies development. Inspired by languages like Haskell, Convex encourages thinking in terms of transactions and deterministic execution. The goal is to focus on clean abstractions, information hiding, and composability while avoiding conditionals and corner cases. By structuring applications in this way, developers can achieve scalability, caching, and real-time updates. While the Zen of Convex promotes a specific way of building applications, it also allows developers to use Convex as a workhorse tool if they prefer.
The Story of Notify: From Personal Need to Open Source Tool
Notify was born out of personal need and a desire to simplify the process of sending push notifications. Initially, creator Philip Heckle used various methods like email and the Twitter API to fulfill this need. However, the demise of certain tools led him to create his own solution. Notify was built to provide a simple, HTTP-based approach to push notifications, eliminating the need for accounts or complex setups. The tool allows users to send push notifications to their phones or desktops by subscribing to a specific topic. Notify has gained popularity, especially among self-hosted enthusiasts, and continues to be developed and improved.
Maintaining Reliability and Addressing Abuse
Notify has implemented various measures to ensure reliability and prevent abuse. To handle large volumes of traffic and messages, the service utilizes rate limiting, token bucket-based rate limiters, access control lists, and banning mechanisms. While there have been instances of abuse and spamming, Notify has implemented proactive measures to enforce usage limits and prevent disruptions in delivery. The service has seen significant traffic and usage, but overall, it has maintained a reliable and stable operation.
Future Plans: Progress Bars and Synchronization
Looking ahead, Notify has several exciting features in the pipeline. One highly anticipated feature is the ability to update messages, allowing users to send progress updates or modify existing notifications. Another planned feature is synchronization between devices, ensuring that notifications are consistent across multiple devices. These upcoming additions aim to enhance the user experience and provide additional flexibility and functionality to users of the Notify service.
This week Jerod goes solo with Philipp Heckel, creator of ntfy, to discuss this simple HTTP-based service that lets you send notifications to your phone or desktop via scripts from any computer. They discuss why he built it, how he built it, and what his plans are for the future of this beloved side hustle.
Changelog++ members get a bonus 6 minutes at the end of this episode and zero ads. Join today!
Sponsors:
Convex – Convex is a better type of backend — the full-stack TypeScript development platform that lets you replace your database, server functions, and glue code. Get started at convex.dev
.Tech Domains – They’re giving selected startups guest spots on the biggest podcasts, conferences, and billboards in the tech game. Apply at startups.tech/changelog