Enhanced Notification System

The marchat client now features a comprehensive notification system that goes beyond simple bell notifications.

Features

1. Multiple Notification Modes

• None: All notifications disabled
• Bell: Terminal bell only (original behavior)
• Desktop: Platform-specific desktop notifications for all messages
• Both: Bell + desktop notifications for all messages

Note: When you set mode to desktop or both, it automatically enables notifications for all messages. If you only want notifications for @mentions, enable desktop mode and then use :bell-mention to restrict to mentions only.

2. Notification Levels

Messages are classified by priority:

• Info: Regular chat messages
• Mention: When someone @mentions you
• DM: Direct messages (use :dm <user> <message> or :dm <user> to toggle DM mode)
• Urgent: System alerts and critical messages

3. Desktop Notifications

Cross-platform support:

• Linux: Uses notify-send (libnotify)
• macOS: Uses osascript with AppleScript
• Windows: Uses PowerShell toast notifications

Desktop notifications automatically:

• Detect platform support at startup
• Truncate long messages (100 chars max)
• Rate limit to prevent spam (2 seconds between notifications)
• Run asynchronously to avoid blocking

4. Smart Features

Quiet Hours

Disable notifications during specified hours:

:quiet 22 8        # Quiet from 10 PM to 8 AM
:quiet-off         # Disable quiet hours

Supports overnight ranges (e.g., 22:00 to 08:00).

Focus Mode

Temporarily disable all notifications:

:focus             # Default 30 minutes
:focus 1h          # 1 hour focus mode
:focus 2h30m       # 2 hours 30 minutes
:focus-off         # Disable focus mode

Mention-Only Mode

Only notify when someone @mentions you:

:bell-mention      # Toggle mention-only mode

Commands

Basic Notification Commands

Command	Description
:bell	Toggle bell notifications on/off
:bell-mention	Toggle mention-only bell mode

Enhanced Notification Commands

Command	Description
:notify-mode <mode>	Set mode: none, bell, desktop, or both
:notify-desktop	Toggle desktop notifications
:notify-status	Show current notification settings
:quiet <start> <end>	Enable quiet hours (24h format)
:quiet-off	Disable quiet hours
:focus [duration]	Enable focus mode (default 30m)
:focus-off	Disable focus mode

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key	Action
Alt+N	Toggle desktop notifications

Configuration

Notification settings are automatically saved to your client config.json (same directory as profiles and themes: per-user app data, or MARCHAT_CONFIG_DIR; see README.md and ARCHITECTURE.md). Run marchat-client -doctor to confirm the resolved path. Example shape:

{
  "notification_mode": "bell",
  "desktop_notifications": false,
  "desktop_on_mention": true,
  "desktop_on_dm": true,
  "desktop_on_all": false,
  "quiet_hours_enabled": false,
  "quiet_hours_start": 22,
  "quiet_hours_end": 8,
  "enable_bell": true,
  "bell_on_mention": false
}

Usage Examples

Setup Desktop Notifications

# Enable desktop notifications
:notify-mode desktop

# Or enable both bell and desktop
:notify-mode both

# Toggle desktop notifications with hotkey
Alt+N

Configure Quiet Hours

# No notifications from 10 PM to 8 AM
:quiet 22 8

# No notifications during work hours (9 AM - 5 PM)
:quiet 9 17

# Disable quiet hours
:quiet-off

Use Focus Mode

# Quick focus (30 minutes)
:focus

# Extended focus session
:focus 2h

# Exit focus mode early
:focus-off

Check Notification Status

:notify-status

# Output example:
# Mode: both | Bell: true (mention-only: false) | Desktop: true (supported: true) | Quiet hours: 22:00 - 08:00

Platform Requirements

Linux

• Desktop notifications: Requires libnotify (notify-send)

  # Ubuntu/Debian
  sudo apt install libnotify-bin
  
  # Fedora/RHEL
  sudo dnf install libnotify
  
  # Arch
  sudo pacman -S libnotify
  

macOS

• Desktop notifications: Built-in osascript (no installation needed)

Windows

• Desktop notifications: Built-in PowerShell (no installation needed)

Backward Compatibility

The new system maintains full backward compatibility:

• Existing :bell and :bell-mention commands work as before
• Legacy config settings (enable_bell, bell_on_mention) are preserved
• Default mode is bell (original behavior)

Implementation Details

Rate Limiting

• Bell: Minimum 500ms between notifications
• Desktop: Minimum 2 seconds between notifications

Notification Logic

1. Check if notifications are enabled (mode != none)
2. Check quiet hours and focus mode
3. Determine notification level based on message content
4. Apply user preferences (mention-only, desktop-only, etc.)
5. Send appropriate notifications (bell and/or desktop)

Thread Safety

The NotificationManager uses mutex locks to ensure thread-safe operation:

• Safe for concurrent notification calls
• Configuration updates are atomic

Testing

Run tests with:

go test ./client -v -run TestNotificationManager

The test suite covers:

• Manager initialization
• Mode switching
• Bell and desktop toggle
• Quiet hours configuration
• Focus mode
• Notification sending (all levels)

Future Enhancements

Potential future additions:

• Per-user notification rules
• Custom notification sounds
• Notification history/log
• Priority-based notification filtering
• Integration with system Do Not Disturb
• Notification action buttons (reply, dismiss, etc.)