Polybar Notification MCP

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for displaying messages via polybar and notify-send / dunst.

Based on neotanx/neomcps - sound notification mcp.

Installation

npm install npm run build

Related MCP server: MCP Node-Notifier Server

Usage

Available Tools

`display_polybar_message`

Display a message in polybar status bar.

Parameters:

message (string): The message to display
duration (number, optional): Duration in seconds (default: 5)
color (string, optional): Text color (default: #ffffff)
background (string, optional): Background color (default: #333333)

`show_popup_notification`

Show a desktop popup notification.

Parameters:

title (string): Notification title
message (string): Notification message
urgency (string, optional): "low", "normal", or "critical" (default: normal)
timeout (number, optional): Timeout in milliseconds (default: 5000)
icon (string, optional): Icon name or path

Polybar Setup

To integrate with polybar, add this module to your polybar config, e.g.:

[module/mcp-notification] type = custom/script exec = cat /tmp/polybar-mcp-message 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.message // ""' 2>/dev/null || echo "" interval = 1 format = <label> format-prefix = "🤖 " format-underline = ${xrdb:color7} label = %output%

Cursor Integration

To configure Cursor to use this MCP server:

Open Cursor Settings: Press Ctrl+, (or Cmd+, on Mac) to open settings
Navigate to MCP Settings: Search for "MCP" in the settings or look for "Model Context Protocol" settings
Add the MCP Server Configuration: Add the following to your MCP settings configuration:

{ "mcpServers": { "polybar-notification": { "command": "node", "args": ["~/cursor-polybar-mcp/bin/polybar-mcp"], "env": {} } } }

Next, in Cursor Settings -> Rules, add a User rule to tell cursor when to use the MCP, e.g.:

Always, after completing any user request (success or failure), call the "display_polybar_message" tool with a summary of the last action or result, before waiting for further user input.

Or:

Always, when you reach a point where you need user input, use the `show_popup_notification` to send a concise notification to let them know.

Troubleshooting Cursor Integration:

Restart Cursor after adding the MCP configuration
Check the Developer Console (Help → Toggle Developer Tools) for any MCP connection errors
Verify the path to the bin/polybar-mcp file is correct
Ensure the project is built by running npm run build before configuring Cursor
Test the MCP server manually by running: node bin/polybar-mcp to ensure it starts without errors