# Companion notification builder Make a rule, preview it here, then copy the CLI commands or apply and test it over USB. The device needs firmware containing the new notification commands. The programmable alert engine is enabled on ESP32, nRF52 and RP2040 builds. Compact STM32WL Companions retain their existing alerts because the engine does not fit their 224 KiB application partition. Browser previews show one cycle; device tests use the configured repeat and stop policy. USB testing uses Binary Companion mode at 115200 baud.

Who should trigger the alert?

Connected means an active phone/app, USB, WiFi, Ethernet or serial companion client. It selects a message rule; connecting or disconnecting alone does not create an alert. Contact matching uses the full public key. Channel slots resolve to the channel's key when the rule is saved.

What should the device do?

50,300,40,20,500 means on for 50 ms, off for 300 ms, on for 40 ms, off for 20 ms, then on for 500 ms. A rule controls only outputs physically supported by its firmware. The USB connection reports the supported outputs and approved GPIO pins before applying anything.

Repeating and stopping

Node connected stops an active alert when a companion client connects. Never disables button/connection dismissal; a finite repeat count still finishes. notify.stop always stops playback. A new matching message replaces the current alert.

Allow notification strings from this contact or room

Only applies to a contact or room server's full public key, without a connection condition. An allowed contact can DM the notification string below, or it can be posted in an allowed room. Trusting a room allows its posters to send alerts through that server. GPIO, stop-policy and permission changes are forbidden in DMs or room posts. The device stops playback after at most 15 seconds, including infinite repeats. Incoming strings do not save settings and obey the recipient's master switches.

Preview one cycle

VibrationLEDGPIOScreen

Ready

Ready to play the melody

The melody plays on this device after a one-second audio warmup, then the timer and output indicators start together. No contact or room key is needed to preview an example. Sound set to off or inherit plays no melody here.

Timing here is a visual approximation. Firmware schedules outputs using millisecond timestamps without blocking radio work; loop and hardware latency can delay an edge. A haptic motor also takes time to start/stop.

Device commands

Notification DM or room post

The recipient must first grant your contact or room permission. Send the string as an ordinary DM or room post; it contains no GPIO action. Long patterns may need shortening to fit 159 characters for a DM, or 150 for a room post.

Try it on your device

No device connected

Save writes the generated commands in order and stops at the first device error; earlier successful settings remain saved. A test with a connection suffix selects that profile even over USB. Stop-on-connect still watches real subsequent connections. USB testing requires Chrome or Edge.


  
## CLI reference Settings apply immediately and survive reboot and filesystem-preserving updates. They live in a separate checked file, `/notify_prefs`, with an atomic replacement and backup. There are 12 rule slots. Existing alerts stay in use until a rule or master control enables the new system. Unmatched messages keep their existing alert behavior, subject to the master switches. ### Master controls ```text get notify set notify.enabled on set notify.sound on set notify.vibration on set notify.led on set notify.screen on set notify.gpio off get notify.gpio.pins ``` Each output has `get notify.` and `set notify. on|off`. Master off cannot be overridden by a contact, channel or incoming notification DM. `set notify.enabled off` disables custom rules and DM actions and returns to the existing alert behavior. Supported-output bits in `get notify` are vibration=1, sound=2, LED=4, screen=8 and GPIO=16. GPIO uses the same board pin approval as repeater GPIO control and is inactive by default. ### Rules Targets are `all`, `contact:<64 hexadecimal public-key digits>`, `room:<64 hexadecimal room server public-key digits>`, and `channel:`. A channel's 32-digit key also works. Add `@connected` or `@disconnected` to select the client state; no suffix matches either state. ```text set notify.vibration channel:3 50,300,40,20,500 set notify.sound channel:3 order:d=8,o=5,b=180:c,e,g,4c6 set notify.led channel:3 100,100,100,500 set notify.screen channel:3 on set notify.gpio channel:3 22:50,300,50 set notify.repeat channel:3 forever set notify.gap channel:3 2000 set notify.stop channel:3 button get notify.vibration channel:3 notify.test channel:3 notify.stop notify.delete channel:3 get notify.rules get notify.rules 0 ``` The GPIO example works only if pin 22 appears in `get notify.gpio.pins`. Pulse lists have up to 12 positive durations of 1-60000 ms each. GPIO output is active-high, inactive-low. Sound is one note at a time, not chords. RTTTL requires `name:d=<1|2|4|8|16|32>,o=<4..7>,b=<25..900>:notes`; names use up to 12 ASCII letters/digits/underscores. Melodies are at most 63 characters and 60 seconds. Notes use `a` through `g`, `p` for rest, optional duration/octave, `#` for sharps on a/c/d/f/g, and one `.` for a dotted duration. For example `16c#6` and `4g.5` are valid. Invalid melodies are rejected before the buzzer library sees them. This ASCII format matches the installed NonBlockingRTTTL driver's pitch table; musical staff symbols and polyphony are not supported. For any rule output, `off` explicitly disables it and `inherit` removes that field's override. Rules combine per field: shared `all`, shared state rule, contact/channel rule, then contact/channel state rule. A matching rule replaces the old message sound/vibration; unspecified outputs are off unless inherited from a shared rule. An unspecified screen keeps its normal display policy. `screen on|off` temporarily overrides that policy and restores it when the alert ends. A selected LED pattern temporarily takes ownership from the usual status heartbeat; the master LED switch also controls that heartbeat. Finite repeats are `1..65535`; `forever` loops until dismissed. Gap is `1..60000` ms after the longest output sequence. Stop modes are `button`, `connected`, and `never`. Triple-press sound/vibration mute controls also update their notification master switch where those buttons are supported. Continuous alerts prevent MCU sleep so their timers can run. ### Contact and room permission for notification strings On the recipient, replace `PUBLIC_KEY` with the sender's complete public key: ```text set notify.remote contact:PUBLIC_KEY on get notify.remote contact:PUBLIC_KEY set notify.remote contact:PUBLIC_KEY off set notify.remote room:ROOM_PUBLIC_KEY on ``` Permission defaults to off, is saved per contact or room key, and cannot be granted to `all`, channels or connection-state variants. The identity comes from the authenticated received DM, not a key written inside its text. The permission alone does not replace the contact's normal message alerts. A trusted room's forwarded `!notify` posts use the room server's complete key for permission, not the post author's four-byte prefix. Trusting a room allows its posters to send notifications; trusting a chat contact alone does not authorize their posts forwarded by an untrusted room. Both plain DMs and signed room posts pass through the same validation and 15-second playback cap. The allowed sender can send: ```text !notify vibration=50,300,40,20,500 led=100,100,100,500 sound=order:d=8,o=5,b=180:c,e,g screen=on repeat=forever gap=2000 ``` Allowed fields are `vibration`, `sound`, `led`, `screen`, `repeat` and `gap`. The whole notification string is validated before any output changes. Unknown/duplicate fields, GPIO, stop modes, permission changes and `inherit` are rejected. The command cannot change saved rules. Button dismissal is always allowed, `notify.stop` works, and playback stops at 15000 ms even when the requested pattern or repeat count is longer. Unapproved or invalid notification strings remain ordinary message text. Repeated delivery of the same recently received post or DM does not restart its playback deadline. Channel messages cannot execute notification strings. Receiver master switches apply even while connected. ## Examples - **Find my node:** use an allowed sender to DM a short sound/LED pattern, or use authorized remote CLI to run a saved `notify.test all@disconnected` rule. A local saved find rule can repeat until a companion client connects. A notification DM always ends within 15 seconds. - **Food truck pager:** use a private order channel rule that repeats until the customer presses the button, or let the customer grant the order desk's contact permission and send the notification DM when the order is ready. - **VIP chat:** match the VIP's full public key and set a distinctive melody and vibration. Add a connected profile with sound/vibration off if the phone should handle notifications while attached. Permission to send notification strings is separate from a VIP's ordinary message rule.