What can you do with this server?

This server displays notification popups via Quickshell on Linux with rich customization options. Core Capabilities: * Display notifications - Show customizable popup notifications with messages, titles, and severity levels (info/warn/crit) * Customize appearance - Control accent colors (via severity or custom hex), background patterns (waves, grid, stripes, sunset), and left panel images (ghost, claude, openai, or custom paths) * Configure behavior - Set auto-hide timeouts (0 for persistent), transition effects (glow, ghost, ripple, none), and actions on backtick keypress (switch workspace or focus app) * Check status - Verify if Quickshell is running with the ohai IPC target registered * Test notifications - Use the bundled CLI tool to test preset notifications or create custom ones * Client integration - Configure for use with Claude, Cursor, or codex-cli via environment variables for default image and transition settings * Setup Quickshell - Launch the popup daemon and verify IPC target registration for communication between the MCP server and Quickshell

Which integrations are available for this server?

Enables displaying notifications in Linux desktop environments through polybar status bars and system notifications (notify-send/dunst) Provides the runtime environment for the MCP server, requiring Node.js 18+ for operation

How do I use Polybar Notification MCP?

1. Click on "Install Server". 2. Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state. 3. In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@Polybar Notification MCP show a warning notification saying 'Build failed' with title 'CI Pipeline'" That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed. Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.

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

Start the popup daemon:

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

Verify the IPC target is registered:

qs ipc show
# Should list: target ohai

Test manually:

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

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.

Polybar Notification MCP

ohai

Installation

Tools

`ohai`

`ohai_status`

Transition Effects

Quickshell Setup

Testing with `ohai-test`

Bundled Assets

Integration

Claude Code

Cursor

codex-cli

Auto-launch (Hyprland)

Environment Variables

Architecture

Development

Requirements

Credit

Resources

Tools

Latest Blog Posts

MCP directory API

ohai

Installation

Tools

ohai

ohai_status

Transition Effects

Quickshell Setup

Testing with ohai-test

Bundled Assets

Integration

Claude Code

Cursor

codex-cli

Auto-launch (Hyprland)

Environment Variables

Architecture

Development

Requirements

Credit

Resources

Tools

Latest Blog Posts

MCP directory API

`ohai`

`ohai_status`

Testing with `ohai-test`