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5 Installing Apprise - Notifications

Apprise sends notifications about your server and applications (e.g., backup success/failure). It supports email, Slack, Telegram, and 90+ providers. For detailed provider setup, see the official Apprise documentation.

Why Apprise?

  • ✅ Essential for backups - Borgmatic uses Apprise for alerts
  • ✅ Many providers - Email, Slack, Discord, Telegram, etc.
  • ✅ Simple - One container, easy configuration

Prerequisites

  • ✅ Traefik installed (Chapter 4)
  • ✅ Docker running (Chapter 3)
  • ✅ Optional: Subdomain (Chapter 4.5), e.g., notify.yourdomain.com

Step 1: Start Infinity Tools

sudo infinity-tools

Step 2: Install Apprise

  1. Go to 📱 APPLICATIONS
  2. Select Apprise
  3. Choose Install Apprise

What Happens

  • Apprise container is created
  • Optional domain + Traefik HTTPS routing
  • Service is exposed for local HTTP API calls

Step 3: Configure a Notification

Set your first notification target (example: email). You can add more later.

Example: Email (SMTP)

Collect: SMTP host, username, password, from address.

  • Provider URL example: mailtos://USERNAME:PASSWORD@SMTP_HOST:587/?from=from@yourdomain.com&to=you@example.com
  • Store this URL safely; you’ll paste it where notifications are configured (e.g., Borgmatic)

Test a Notification

  1. Find your Apprise endpoint (e.g., http://apprise:8000/notify or your domain)
  2. Send a test: 
    curl -X POST "http://apprise:8000/notify" \
  -d "title=Test" \
  -d "body=Hello from Apprise" \
  -d "url=YOUR_PROVIDER_URL"
  3. Confirm you received the notification

Where It’s Used

  • Borgmatic: Backup success/failure/security alerts
  • Other tools: Can post to the same endpoint

Troubleshooting

  • Check container logs: docker logs apprise
  • Verify provider URL syntax (see official docs)
  • Confirm network access to your SMTP/notification provider

You're Ready

Apprise is now running. Next, install Borgmatic (Chapter 6) so your backups can send notifications.

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