a new release from an appdaemon app by @caiosweet and @jumping2000
Universal Notifier è un componente custom per Home Assistant che centralizza e potenzia la gestione delle notifiche.
Trasforma semplici automazioni in un sistema di comunicazione "Smart Home" che conosce l'ora del giorno, rispetta il tuo sonno (DND), saluta in modo naturale e gestisce automaticamente il volume degli assistenti vocali.
- Piattaforma Unificata: Un solo servizio (
universal_notifier.send) per Telegram, App Mobile, Alexa, Google Home, ecc. - Notifiche personalizzate a più destinatari (ad esempio, notifica di allarme sia a Telegram che ad Alexa)
- Voce vs Testo: Distingue automaticamente tra messaggi da leggere (con prefissi
[Jarvis - 12:30]) e messaggi da pronunciare (solo testo pulito). - Time Slots & Volume Smart: Imposta volumi diversi per Mattina, Pomeriggio, Sera e Notte. Il componente regola il volume prima di parlare.
- Do Not Disturb (DND): Definisci un orario di silenzio per gli assistenti vocali. Le notifiche critiche (
priority: true) passano comunque. - Saluti Casuali: "Buongiorno", "Buon pomeriggio", ecc., scelti casualmente da liste personalizzabili.
- Gestione Comandi: Supporto nativo per comandi Companion App (es.
TTS,command_volume_level) inviati in modalità "RAW". - Coda Intelligente (FIFO): Le notifiche vocali vengono gestite da un worker in background tramite asyncio.Queue. Questo impedisce la sovrapposizione audio riproducendo i messaggi in sequenza.
- Snapshot e Ripristino: Il sistema salva lo stato (volume, traccia e app) dei lettori multimediali prima di una notifica e tenta di ripristinarlo dopo che l'intera coda è stata svuotata.
| Entità | Tipo | Descrizione |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | Sensor | Mostra in tempo reale la percentuale di volume che verrà usata per la prossima notifica, calcolata automaticamente in base alla fascia oraria attiva. Icona dinamica in base al livello. Attributi extra: current_slot, raw_volume. |
| Family | Sensor | Traccia lo stato di presenza della famiglia (home / not_home) in base alle entità person configurate. |
| DND | Binary Sensor | Indica se la modalità "Non Disturbare" è attualmente attiva o inattiva. |
| Voice Buffer | Number | Tempo di buffer regolabile (0.5–10.0 s, step 0.5) per la riproduzione TTS, per garantire la consegna completa del messaggio. Default: 1.5 s. |
| Priority Volume | Select | Imposta il livello di volume per le notifiche prioritarie. Opzioni: da 0.1 a 1.0. |
| Text Format | Select | Seleziona il formato di testo per le notifiche: html o markdown. |
| Notification Mode | Select | Controlla l'instradamento delle notifiche in base alla presenza: Normal (tutte passano), Voice home (voce solo se in casa), Text home (solo testo, niente voce). |
| Default Media Players | Sensor | Mostra i media player predefiniti configurati per i canali vocali. Stato: numero di canali con un default. Attributi: mappa {alias_canale: media_player.xxx}. |
Universal Notifier is a custom Home Assistant component that centralizes and enhances notification management.
It transforms simple automations into a "Smart Home" communication system that knows the time of day, respects your sleep (Do Not Disturb - DND), greets naturally, and automatically manages the volume of voice assistants.
- Unified Platform: A single service (
universal_notifier.send) for Telegram, Mobile App, Alexa, Google Home, etc. - Personalized notifications to several targets (i.e. alarm notification to both Telegram and Alexa)
- Voice vs. Text: Automatically differentiates between messages to be read (with prefixes like
[Jarvis - 12:30]) and messages to be spoken (clean text only). - Smart Time Slots & Volume: Set different volumes for Morning, Afternoon, Evening, and Night. The component adjusts the volume before speaking.
- Do Not Disturb (DND): Define quiet hours for voice assistants. Critical notifications (
priority: true) will still go through. - Random Greetings: "Good morning," "Good afternoon," etc., chosen randomly from customizable lists.
- Command Handling: Native support for Companion App commands (e.g.,
TTS,command_volume_level) sent in "RAW" mode. - Intelligent Queueing (FIFO): Voice notifications are handled by a background worker using asyncio.Queue. This prevents audio overlapping by playing messages sequentially.
- Snapshot & Resume: The system saves the state (volume, track, and app) of media players before a notification and tries to restore it after the entire queue is empty.
| Entity | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | Sensor | Real-time sensor showing the exact volume percentage for the next notification, automatically calculated based on the current active time slot. Dynamic icon based on level. Extra attributes: current_slot, raw_volume. |
| Family | Sensor | Tracks family presence status (home / not_home) based on configured person entities. |
| DND | Binary Sensor | Indicates whether Do Not Disturb mode is currently active or inactive. |
| Voice Buffer | Number | Adjustable buffer time (0.5–10.0 s, step 0.5) for TTS playback to ensure complete message delivery. Default: 1.5 s. |
| Priority Volume | Select | Sets the volume level for priority notifications. Options: 0.1 to 1.0. |
| Text Format | Select | Selects the text formatting mode for notifications: html or markdown. |
| Notification Mode | Select | Controls notification routing based on presence: Normal (all go through), Voice home (voice only when home), Text home (text only, no voice). |
| Default Media Players | Sensor | Shows the default media players configured for voice channels. State: number of channels with a default. Attributes: map {channel_alias: media_player.xxx}. |
Click to show installation instructions
- Install files:
- Using HACS:
In the HACS panel, search for 'Universal Notifier', open the repository and click 'Download'. - Manually:
Download the latest release as a zip file and extract it into the `custom_components` folder in your HA installation. - Restart HA to load the integration into HA.
- Go to Settings -> Devices & services and click 'ADD INTEGRATION' button. Look for Universal Notifier and click to add it.
- The Universal Notifier integration is ready for YAML configuration.
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Before configuring Universal Notifier, ensure you have installed and set up the underlying notification integrations you plan to use:
- Google Home / TTS: Install the Google Translate Text-to-Speech (TTS) integration to enable voice announcements on Google Assistant devices.
- Alexa / Echo Devices: Install the Alexa Media Player Custom Component (via HACS) to allow Home Assistant to send announcements and set volume on Echo devices.
- Telegram: Configure and install the Telegram Bot integration to send visual messages.
- Mobile App: Ensure the Mobile App integration is active and configured for your devices (this is usually set up automatically when you log in via the app).
This component acts as a "router"; it must have the target services available to function correctly.
Universal Notifier is fully configurable from the Home Assistant UI. No YAML configuration is needed.
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After installing the integration, go to Settings > Devices & Services > Add Integration and search for Universal Notifier. The setup wizard will guide you through the following steps:
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Assistant Name | Name displayed in text message prefixes (e.g. [Jarvis - 12:30]) |
Jarvis |
| Time Format | strftime format for the time prefix | %H:%M |
| Include Time in Message Prefix | Whether to show the time in text notifications | true |
| Bold Message Prefix | Whether to bold the assistant name and time | true |
| Priority Volume | Volume used when priority: true (0.0 – 1.0) |
0.9 |
| Person Entities | Optional person entities for presence detection | — |
| DND Start | Do Not Disturb start time (HH:MM) | 23:00 |
| DND End | Do Not Disturb end time (HH:MM) | 06:00 |
Set the start time and default TTS volume for each time period.
| Time Slot | Default Start | Default Volume |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | 07:00 | 0.35 |
| Afternoon | 12:00 | 0.4 |
| Evening | 19:00 | 0.3 |
| Night | 22:00 | 0.1 |
Enter one greeting per line for each time slot. A random greeting will be chosen each time a notification is sent.
You must add at least one notification channel to complete the setup. Each channel requires:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Alias | A unique name for the channel (e.g. alexa_living_room) |
| Service | The HA service to call in domain.service format (e.g. notify.mobile_app_pixel) |
| Target | Target entity_id (optional, comma-separated for multiple targets) |
| Voice Channel | Enable for TTS devices (applies volume, DND, and greeting logic) |
| Alt Services | Optional JSON dict for alternative services (e.g. Telegram photo/video) |
After initial setup, go to Settings > Devices & Services > Universal Notifier > Configure to access the options menu:
- Global Settings — Edit assistant name, time format, prefix options, and priority volume
- Do Not Disturb — Change DND start/end times
- Time Slots — Adjust start times and volumes for each period
- Greetings — Customize greetings for each time slot
- Channels — Add or remove notification channels
- if you forget configured channels, go to
Integrations-Universal Notifier-Configure-Channels-Remove channel - for Telegram photo and video add in channel configuration:
{
"photo": {"service": "telegram_bot.send_photo"},
"video": {"service": "telegram_bot.send_video"}
}
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| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| message | string | Yes | The main text of the notification. |
| targets | list | Yes | List of channel aliases defined in configuration.yaml. |
| title | string | No | Notification |
| data | dict | No | Generic extra data applied to ALL underlying services. |
| target_data | dict | No | Dictionary {target_alias: {specific_data}} for targeted overrides. |
| priority | bool | No | If true, bypasses DND and sets high volume (default 0.9). |
| skip_greeting | bool | No | If true, does not add the time-based greeting (e.g., Good Morning). |
| include_time | bool | No | Overrides the configuration to include/exclude the time in the visual prefix. |
| bold_prefix | bool | No | Overrides the configuration to have assistant name and time in bold |
| assistant_name | string | No | Overrides the global assistant name. |
| override_greetings | dict | No | Overrides the default greetings. |
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If sent at 3:00 PM, it will use the afternoon volume (0.60). If sent at 2:00 AM (DND is active), Alexa will be skipped, but Telegram will receive the message.
action: universal_notifier.send
data:
message: "The laundry is finished."
targets:
- alexa_living_room
- telegram_adminUse the priority flag for critical alerts.
action: universal_notifier.send
data:
title: "CRITICAL ALERT"
message: "Water leak detected, valve closed!"
priority: true # <--- FORCES SENDING AND MAX VOLUME (0.9)
skip_greeting: true # <--- Avoids greetings like "Good night" during an alarm
targets:
- alexa_living_room
- telegram_bobIf the message is a recognized command (like "TTS") or starts with command_, greetings and prefixes are automatically stripped.
action: universal_notifier.send
data:
message: "TTS" # The component sends "TTS" RAW, without prefixes.
targets:
- my_android
target_data:
my_android:
tts_text: "The postman is at the door."
media_stream: alarm_stream_max
clickAction: /lovelace/mainHow to send to multiple targets.
action: universal_notifier.send
data:
message: The washing machine has finished its cycle.
title: Laundry Alert
priority: true
targets:
- google_home
- telegram_bob
- mobile_bob
target_data:
google_home:
entity_id: media_player.kitchen
volume: 0.3
mobile_bob:
image: "https://www.home-assistant.io/images/default-social.png"
color: red
channel: "washing-alert"
telegram_bob:
type: photo
url: "https://www.home-assistant.io/images/default-social.png"Click me
For debug, add in configuration.yaml:
logger:
default: info
logs:
custom_components.universal_notifier: debug
