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Polybar Notification MCP

by khughitt
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ohai

MCP for displaying Quickshell-based notifications on Linux.

Installation

npm install
npm run build

Related MCP server: MCP Server Basic Example

Tools

ohai

Display a notification popup.

Parameter

Type

Required

Description

message

string

yes

Message body

title

string

no

Popup title (defaults to message)

severity

info | warn | crit

no

Accent color (default: info)

color

string

no

Custom accent color (CSS/hex; overrides severity)

timeoutSeconds

number

no

Auto-hide delay (default: 8; 0 = persistent)

pattern

string

no

Background pattern ID or path

image

string

no

Image ID or path (default: ghost)

workspace

string

no

Workspace to switch to on backtick

app

string

no

App/window to focus on backtick

transition

glow | ghost | ripple | none

no

Entry transition effect (default: glow)

ohai_status

Check if Quickshell is running with the ohai IPC target registered.

Transition Effects

Effect

Description

glow

Soft blur glow pulse (default)

ghost

Expanding/fading copies of actual notification content

ripple

Border ripples emanating outward

none

No transition effect

Set a default transition via environment variable:

export OHAI_TRANSITION=ghost

Quickshell Setup

  1. Start the popup daemon:

qs -p /path/to/ohai-mcp/ohai/shell.qml

  1. Verify the IPC target is registered:

qs ipc show
# Should list: target ohai

  1. Test manually:

qs ipc call ohai notify "Hello" "Test message" "info" 5 "" "" "" "" "" "glow"

  1. Controls while popup is visible:

    • Escape - hide popup

    • Backtick (`) - switch to workspace or focus app (if configured), then hide

Testing with ohai-test

A CLI helper for testing notification appearance:

bin/ohai-test [preset]           # Run a preset
bin/ohai-test custom [options]   # Custom notification

Presets:

Preset

Description

info

Basic info notification (default)

warn

Warning notification

crit

Critical notification

long

Long text (test layout)

short

Minimal notification

claude

Claude-themed

openai

OpenAI-themed

grid

Grid pattern background

stripes

Stripes pattern background

waves

Waves pattern background

glow

Test glow transition effect

ghost

Test ghost echo transition effect

ripple

Test ripple transition effect

all

Cycle through all presets

Custom options:

bin/ohai-test custom \
  -t "Title" \
  -b "Body text" \
  -s warn \
  -i claude \
  -p grid-01 \
  -d 10 \
  -c "#ff00ff" \
  -x ghost

Option

Description

-t, --title

Title text

-b, --body

Body text

-s, --severity

info | warn | crit

-i, --image

Image ID or path

-p, --pattern

Pattern ID or path

-d, --duration

Timeout in seconds

-c, --color

Custom accent color (hex)

-w, --workspace

Workspace to switch on backtick

-a, --app

App to focus on backtick

-x, --transition

glow | ghost | ripple | none

Bundled Assets

Patterns (background overlays):

  • waves-01, grid-01, stripes-01, sunset-01

Images (left panel):

  • ghost (default), claude, openai

Use an absolute path for custom assets.

Integration

Use environment variables to configure defaults per client.

Claude Code

To add via the CLI for user scope:

claude mcp add ohai \
    --scope user \
    --env OHAI_TRANSITION=glow \
    --env OHAI_DEFAULT_IMAGE=claude \
    -- node <OHAI_PATH>/bin/ohai-mcp

~/.claude.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ohai": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/ohai-mcp/bin/ohai-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "OHAI_DEFAULT_IMAGE": "claude",
        "OHAI_TRANSITION": "glow"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add to MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ohai": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/ohai-mcp/bin/ohai-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "OHAI_DEFAULT_IMAGE": "claude",
        "OHAI_TRANSITION": "ghost"
      }
    }
  }
}

codex-cli

~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.ohai]
command = "node"
args = ["/path/to/ohai-mcp/bin/ohai-mcp"]

[mcp_servers.ohai.env]
OHAI_DEFAULT_IMAGE = "openai"
OHAI_TRANSITION = "glow"

Auto-launch (Hyprland)

exec-once = qs -p /path/to/ohai-mcp/ohai/shell.qml

Environment Variables

Variable

Description

OHAI_DEFAULT_IMAGE

Default image when image param is not specified (e.g., claude, openai, ghost)

OHAI_TRANSITION

Default transition effect (e.g., glow, ghost, ripple, none)

Architecture

┌─────────────┐     qs ipc call      ┌─────────────────┐
│  MCP Client │ ──────────────────▶  │   Quickshell    │
│  (Claude)   │                      │   (shell.qml)   │
└─────────────┘                      └─────────────────┘
       │                                     │
       │                                     │
       ▼                                     ▼
┌─────────────┐                      ┌─────────────────┐
│  ohai-mcp   │                      │  IpcHandler     │
│  (Node.js)  │                      │  target: "ohai" │
└─────────────┘                      └─────────────────┘

The MCP server communicates with Quickshell via its built-in IPC mechanism (qs ipc call), which uses a Unix socket for instant, reliable delivery.

Development

npm run dev      # Watch mode
npm run build    # Build
npm run lint     # Lint
npm run format   # Format

Requirements

  • Linux with Quickshell

  • Node.js 18+

Credit

Original implementation adapted from neotanx/neomcps - sound notification mcp.

Install Server
A
security – no known vulnerabilities
F
license - not found
-
quality - not tested

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