Gotify

Open source alternative to Pushover and Pushsafer

16.2K stars
MIT
Active this week
Last commit 1 day ago

Last verified Nov 4, 2026

Host a self-managed push notification server with a REST API, real-time WebSocket delivery, a web UI, and an official Android client.

Visit website GitHub16.2K Deploy on Hostinger

Gotify landing page showing the gopher mascot and the web UI

Read the full breakdownWho it is for, how it works, trade-offs, the quick start and the FAQ

who it's for

Who Gotify is for#

Homelab operators monitoring self-hosted services

Uptime alerts, backup completion notices, and system health checks routed through a local Gotify instance keep all monitoring traffic on private infrastructure. Gotify's REST API connects to monitoring agents and automation scripts with a single POST request, requiring no vendor account.

Skip if:

Skip if your server cannot be reliably online 24/7. Without a persistent host, Gotify stops relaying notifications during downtime, which defeats the purpose of real-time monitoring alerts.

Developers scripting automated alerts

Any script that can make an HTTP POST can send a Gotify notification. CI jobs, cron tasks, deployment scripts, and data pipeline failures all become phone alerts with one curl command. No SDK, vendor account, or API key registration required beyond the self-hosted server.

Skip if:

Skip if your team needs notifications on iOS devices and wants a first-class client experience. The official client is Android-only; iOS users need a third-party app with no guaranteed update cadence.

Privacy-conscious users replacing commercial notification apps

Gotify removes the commercial notification provider from the data path entirely. For users who want to avoid Pushover or Pushsafer routing their application messages through external servers, running Gotify on a home server or VPS eliminates that dependency with no ongoing cost.

Skip if:

Skip if you need a notification service that works immediately without server administration. The managed-service convenience of Pushover or Pushsafer is a real advantage if maintaining a server is not part of your workflow.

the problem

The problem it solves#

Most scripts and monitoring tools have no good built-in way to notify a human in real time. Email piles up and gets missed. Polling a dashboard means someone has to remember to look. The practical path is a push notification service, but every commercial option routes messages through external infrastructure you do not control.

The harder issue is vendor dependency. When a commercial service changes its pricing or API, every integration built on it breaks. Teams running private servers, home automation systems, or internal monitoring tools often want notifications that never leave their own infrastructure and that do not depend on a third party that might change terms or shut down.

how Gotify solves it

How it solves it#

REST API for sending messages

Any HTTP client can send a message to Gotify by making a POST request with an application token. The API requires no SDK or library. A single curl command is enough. This makes scripts, cron jobs, monitoring agents, and CI pipelines first-class notification senders without any additional dependencies.

Real-time WebSocket delivery

Receiving clients connect over a persistent WebSocket and get messages delivered as they arrive. The official web UI and Android app both use this channel. Third-party clients that speak the Gotify WebSocket protocol can also subscribe to the same stream.

Web UI included with the server

The server ships with a web interface for reading messages, managing applications, and configuring users and clients. No separate installation step is needed. The UI is part of the gotify/server binary and is served from the same port.

Android app on Google Play and F-Droid

The official gotify/android app subscribes to the message stream and shows push notifications for newly received messages. It is available on both Google Play and F-Droid, covering standard Android installs and de-Googled custom ROMs that cannot use Google Play Services.

User and application management

The server manages multiple users, each with their own set of applications and clients. Applications are what send messages; clients are what receive them. This separation lets you run Gotify for a small team or household and keep notification streams from different services distinct.

strengths · trade-offs

Strengths and trade-offs#

Strengths

MIT license with no message limits or feesThe MIT license grants full rights to run, modify, and distribute Gotify on your own infrastructure. There are no message limits, no per-device fees, and no subscription tiers. Unlike Pushover's one-time per-platform purchase or Pushsafer's monthly plans, the only cost is the server it runs on.
Messages never leave your serverEvery notification stays inside your own infrastructure. No third-party service sees message content, timestamps, or frequency. This matters for internal monitoring, security alerts, or any workflow where message metadata could expose operational details you want kept private.
Android client available on F-DroidThe gotify/android app is listed on F-Droid alongside Google Play. This means it installs on de-Googled Android without Google Play Services, which is a meaningful differentiator for privacy-focused users running custom ROMs who want notifications without a Google dependency.
Actively maintained since 2018The repository had its last push on 2026-11-02 and holds 16,174 GitHub stars with 900 forks. The project has been in continuous development since January 2018, suggesting a stable long-term maintenance trajectory for a self-hosted dependency.

Trade-offs

-No official iOS clientThe official client ecosystem covers web and Android only. There is no official iOS app listed in the README or on the product website. iOS users must rely on third-party apps that implement the Gotify WebSocket API, and support quality and update frequency vary across those options.
-Requires a persistent serverUnlike Pushover or Pushsafer, which handle server infrastructure for you, Gotify requires a Linux server that is always online. If the server goes down, notifications stop. This is not a limitation for homelab operators with existing infrastructure, but it is a real setup cost for someone starting from scratch.
-72 open issues as of November 2026The repository carried 72 open issues at the time of writing. For a mature project with 8+ years of history this is not alarming, but it indicates that some edge cases and feature requests may sit unaddressed for extended periods before receiving attention.

versus alternatives

Gotify vs alternatives#

Gotify vs Pushover

Gotify and Pushover both solve the same problem: getting a notification from a script or service to a person's phone. The key difference is infrastructure. Pushover is a managed service with no self-hosting option; Gotify runs on a server you control.

Feature	Gotify	Pushover
License	MIT	Proprietary
Self-hosting	Yes	No
Pricing	Free (self-hosted)	One-time fee per platform
iOS client	Third-party only	Official
Android client	Official (Play + F-Droid)	Official
REST API	Yes	Yes
Message limits	None	None (after purchase)

Gotify is the stronger choice when you want push notifications without routing data through a third-party service, need Android on F-Droid for a de-Googled install, or want no per-platform fee. Pushover is worth considering when you need an official iOS app, have no server to maintain, or want a service with a long track record and minimal setup overhead.

Gotify vs Pushsafer

Pushsafer is a commercial push notification service with a subscription model. Like Pushover, it handles all infrastructure, covering iOS, Android, and desktop clients with no server requirement.

Feature	Gotify	Pushsafer
License	MIT	Proprietary
Self-hosting	Yes	No
Pricing	Free (self-hosted)	Subscription
iOS client	Third-party only	Official
Android client	Official (Play + F-Droid)	Official
REST API	Yes	Yes

Gotify wins on cost for high-volume notification use cases: once your server is running, there is no per-message charge and no subscription to maintain. Pushsafer is the better choice when you need a service that works immediately across iOS and Android without infrastructure management, or when multi-device targeting and official client support on all platforms justify the subscription cost.

install · quick start

Quick start#

bash

Self-hosting uses the official gotify/server Docker image with a local data directory for persistence.
```bash
docker run -p 80:80 -v /opt/gotify/data:/app/data gotify/server
```

tech stack · detected from GitHub

What it's built on#

Languages: GoJavaScriptTypeScript
Frameworks: React

frequently asked

FAQ#

Is Gotify free to use?

Yes. Gotify is MIT licensed and free to self-host with no message limits or subscription fees. You need a server to run it on, which has its own hosting cost, but the software itself carries no licensing fee and places no cap on message volume or connected devices.

Does Gotify have an iOS app?

There is no official iOS app. The official client ecosystem covers web and Android, with the Android app available on Google Play and F-Droid. For iOS, third-party apps that implement the Gotify WebSocket protocol exist, but they are not officially maintained by the project.

How do I send a notification to Gotify?

Any HTTP client works. Send a POST request to your server's /message endpoint with an application token and a JSON body containing a title and message field. The official gotify/cli tool wraps this into a command-line interface, but a curl command achieves the same result without any additional installation.

Can I run Gotify with Docker?

Yes. The official Docker image is gotify/server on Docker Hub. Mount a local directory as the data volume for persistence and expose port 80. The official install documentation at gotify.net/docs/install covers the full Docker setup and bare-metal alternatives.

What is the difference between Gotify and Pushover?

Gotify runs on your own server and routes no data through external services; Pushover is a managed service with a one-time per-platform purchase. Pushover is easier to set up and has an official iOS app; Gotify is better when you want full data ownership, no ongoing fees, and no third-party data path. Pushover suits users who have no server to maintain and want a service that works immediately across all devices.

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Hostinger

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Keep it running 24/7, even when your laptop is off. A Hostinger VPS gives it a server of its own.

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Focus on the app, not the server

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Gotify vs Pushover

Feature	Gotify	Pushover
License	MIT	Proprietary
Self-hosting	Yes	No
Pricing	Free (self-hosted)	One-time fee per platform
iOS client	Third-party only	Official
Android client	Official (Play + F-Droid)	Official
REST API	Yes	Yes
Message limits	None	None (after purchase)

Gotify vs Pushsafer

Pushsafer is a commercial push notification service with a subscription model. Like Pushover, it handles all infrastructure, covering iOS, Android, and desktop clients with no server requirement.

Feature	Gotify	Pushsafer
License	MIT	Proprietary
Self-hosting	Yes	No
Pricing	Free (self-hosted)	Subscription
iOS client	Third-party only	Official
Android client	Official (Play + F-Droid)	Official
REST API	Yes	Yes