Agent Bark Notify

Use when the user asks an agent to send a Bark push notification, notify them from the terminal, test Bark notification delivery, or use a Bark notification skill.

Bark Notify

Overview

Use this skill to send Bark notifications from an agent. The bundled script is scripts/bark-notify.py, resolved relative to this SKILL.md.

Safety

• Never print, commit, or quote BARK_KEY.
• Do not put Bark keys in repository files.
• Prefer local private config at ~/.config/bark-notify.env.
• Use --agent <name> for agent-originated pushes so group/icon metadata can come from config.
• Only pass --server, --key, --group, or --icon when the user explicitly asks to override defaults.
• If command output could include sensitive config, summarize it instead of pasting raw output.

Send

Run the bundled script from this skill directory:

bash

python3 scripts/bark-notify.py "Title" "Body"
python3 scripts/bark-notify.py Title Body words without quoting the body
python3 scripts/bark-notify.py --agent codex --level passive "Build finished" "Codex completed the requested task"

Use explicit overrides only when requested:

bash

python3 scripts/bark-notify.py --agent codex --group Custom --icon "https://example.com/custom.png" "Title" "Body"

Notification Level

Choose the lowest Bark interruption level that fits the situation:

Situation	Level
Agent completed work, tests passed, background status, FYI	passive
User explicitly asked for a normal notification	active
Agent is blocked and needs user input soon	timeSensitive
Deployment failed, service is unavailable, long task crashed	timeSensitive
User explicitly requested an emergency/critical alert	critical

Rules:

• Default to passive for agent-initiated completion/status notifications.
• Use active for ordinary user-requested notifications when no urgency is stated.
• Use timeSensitive only when the user should notice promptly.
• Use critical only when explicitly requested or clearly safety/incident critical; do not use it for routine task failures.
• If the user specifies a level, obey the user.

Configure

Initialize local private config:

bash

python3 scripts/bark-notify.py --save-config --server "https://api.day.app" --key "<Bark device key>"

Agent metadata is optional and lives outside the repository at ~/.config/bark-notify-agents.json:

json

{
  "codex": {
    "group": "Codex",
    "icon": "https://example.com/icons/codex.png"
  }
}

Bark icons must be URLs reachable by the receiving device. Local .app, .icns, or filesystem paths are not valid notification icon values. If no icon URL is configured, omit the icon and still send the notification.

Check

bash

python3 scripts/bark-notify.py --help
python3 scripts/bark-notify.py --ping

If sending fails, first check --ping; then inspect server/network status. Preserve HTTP status and short messages without exposing credentials.