System Notifications

System notifications are native operating system alerts that appear in your system’s notification center or system tray. Unlike IDE-embedded notifications—which only appear within the editor—system notifications remain visible even when:

• The IDE is minimized or running in the background
• You’re using other applications
• Your screen is locked (depending on OS settings)
• You’re away from your computer

These notifications inform you about:

• Task completion status
• Critical errors or warnings
• Progress updates for long-running operations
• Key system events

Supported Operating Systems

System notifications work across all major platforms, though they rely on different underlying technologies:

Operating System	Technology	Requirements
macOS	AppleScript + terminal-notifier	Built-in support; optional enhancements
Windows	PowerShell + Windows Runtime	Configured PowerShell execution policy
Linux	notify-send	libnotify package installed

Platform-Specific Setup

macOS Configuration

macOS offers the best built-in support for system notifications, with two available methods:

Method 1: Built-in AppleScript (Fallback)
No additional setup required. Uses macOS-native commands to display notifications.

Method 2: Enhanced via terminal-notifier (Recommended)
For richer notifications with custom icons, install terminal-notifier:

# Install via Homebrew
brew install terminal-notifier

# Or via npm
npm install -g terminal-notifier

How it works: VJSP first attempts to use terminal-notifier. If not found, it automatically falls back to AppleScript.

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Windows Configuration

Windows notifications require proper PowerShell execution policy configuration.

Step 1: Configure PowerShell Execution Policy
Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

# Check current policy
Get-ExecutionPolicy

# Allow local scripts to run (recommended)
Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Step 2: Verify Windows Runtime Access
Notifications use the Windows.UI.Notifications API via PowerShell. Supported on:

• ✅ Windows 10 (all editions)
• ✅ Windows 11 (all editions)
• ✅ Windows Server 2016+
• ❌ Windows 8.1 and earlier (limited or no support)

Execution Policy Options

Policy	Description	Security Level	Recommendation
Restricted	Blocks all script execution (default)	Highest	❌ Prevents notifications
RemoteSigned	Local scripts run; downloaded scripts must be signed	High	✅ Recommended
Unrestricted	All scripts run (with warnings)	Medium	⚠️ Use with caution
AllSigned	All scripts must be digitally signed	Highest	❌ Overly restrictive

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Linux Configuration

Linux requires the libnotify package and the notify-send command.

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt update
sudo apt install libnotify-bin
which notify-send  # Verify installation

Red Hat / CentOS / Fedora

# RHEL/CentOS
sudo yum install libnotify

# Fedora
sudo dnf install libnotify

which notify-send  # Verify

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S libnotify
which notify-send  # Verify

Desktop Environment Compatibility

Desktop Environment	Support Level	Notes
GNOME	✅ Full	Native notification center
KDE Plasma	✅ Full	Integrated notification system
XFCE	✅ Good	Requires notification daemon
Unity	✅ Full	Ubuntu’s notification system
i3 / Sway	⚠️ Limited	Manual daemon setup needed
Headless	❌ None	No display server available

Notification Daemon Setup (Advanced)

For lightweight window managers, manually start a notification daemon:

# Install dunst (lightweight daemon)
sudo apt install dunst    # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo pacman -S dunst      # Arch

# Start manually
dunst &

# Or auto-start with your WM
echo "dunst &" >> ~/.xinitrc

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Verifying System Notifications

Test Commands by Platform

macOS

# Test AppleScript
osascript -e 'display notification "Test message" with title "Test Title" sound name "Tink"'

# Test terminal-notifier (if installed)
terminal-notifier -message "Test message" -title "Test Title" -sound Tink

Windows

$template = @"
<toast>
    <visual>
        <binding template="ToastText02">
            <text id="1">Test Title</text>
            <text id="2">Test message</text>
        </binding>
    </visual>
</toast>
"@

[Windows.UI.Notifications.ToastNotificationManager, Windows.UI.Notifications, ContentType = WindowsRuntime] | Out-Null
[Windows.Data.Xml.Dom.XmlDocument, Windows.Data.Xml.Dom.XmlDocument, ContentType = WindowsRuntime] | Out-Null
$xml = New-Object Windows.Data.Xml.Dom.XmlDocument
$xml.LoadXml($template)
$toast = [Windows.UI.Notifications.ToastNotification]::new($xml)
[Windows.UI.Notifications.ToastNotificationManager]::CreateToastNotifier("Test App").Show($toast)

Linux

# Basic test
notify-send "Test Title" "Test message"

# With icon (optional)
notify-send -i dialog-information "Test Title" "Test message"

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Troubleshooting

Common Issues & Solutions

macOS

Issue: Notifications don’t appear

• ✅ Check System Settings → Notifications → Terminal (or IDE) → Ensure “Allow Notifications” is on
• ✅ Disable Do Not Disturb mode
• ✅ Test manually using commands above
• ✅ Reinstall terminal-notifier: brew install --force terminal-notifier

Windows

Issue: “Execution of scripts is disabled”

• 🔧 Run: Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Issue: Notifications missing in Windows 11

• ✅ Go to Settings → System → Notifications → Enable notifications
• ✅ Turn off Focus Assist
• ✅ Ensure Windows Push Notifications User Service is running

Issue: PowerShell script errors

• 🔧 Update PowerShell to v5.1+
• 🔍 Check version: $PSVersionTable.PSVersion

Linux

Issue: notify-send: command not found

• 🔧 Install libnotify-bin (Debian/Ubuntu), libnotify (RHEL/Fedora), or libnotify (Arch)

Issue: No notifications in i3/Sway

• 🔧 Install and run a daemon: sudo apt install dunst && dunst &

Issue: Permission denied or blank display

• 🔍 Verify X11/Wayland session: echo $DISPLAY should return :0 or similar
• 🔐 Ensure your user has access to the display server

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With properly configured system notifications, you’ll never miss critical updates—even when you’re away from your IDE.