feat: Implement desktop notifications for user permission prompts by StoyanD · Pull Request #14927 · google-gemini/gemini-cli

StoyanD · 2025-12-11T01:49:17Z

Summary

Implements desktop notifications for permissions, should ease multitasking when
using gemini-cli

Details

This PR implements OS-level desktop notifications when the Gemini CLI pauses and
requires user confirmation or input. This significantly improves the user
experience by alerting users immediately when their input is needed, even if
they are focused on another application. Clicking the notification will bring
the terminal into focus, allowing for quick interaction.

Notification demo video:

policy-notification-promt.mp4

Settings toggle:

Related Issues

Related to #14696

How to Validate

Request a policy ask required permission in Xterm/VScode terminal, and move to
another screen causing focus to switch. Should see a notification that when
clicked takes you back to the terminal

Pre-Merge Checklist

…ompts This commit introduces desktop notifications to alert users when the Gemini CLI requires their permission to execute a command, especially when the CLI application is not in focus. Key changes include: - Added setting to control notification behavior. - Integrated for cross-platform desktop notifications. - Implemented React hook to manage notification logic, considering application focus, operating system, and terminal program for proper activation on macOS. - Included an icon asset for notifications.

Ensures that the desktop notification for user permission prompts is displayed only once per confirmation event. Toggling application focus while waiting for confirmation will no longer trigger repeated notifications. - Added `useRef` to track notification state. - Updated `useNotification` hook to reset state only when confirmation is no longer pending. - Added regression tests for duplicate notification scenarios.

gemini-code-assist · 2025-12-11T01:49:41Z

Summary of Changes

Hello @StoyanD, I'm Gemini Code Assist¹! I'm currently reviewing this pull request and will post my feedback shortly. In the meantime, here's a summary to help you and other reviewers quickly get up to speed!

This pull request significantly enhances the user experience of the Gemini CLI by integrating desktop notifications. When the CLI requires user confirmation or input, and the application is not in focus, a system-level notification will now be triggered. This feature aims to improve multitasking efficiency by providing immediate alerts, with the added benefit on macOS of bringing the terminal back into focus upon clicking the notification. The functionality is controlled by a new "ui.enableNotifications" setting, allowing users to opt-in.

Highlights

Desktop Notifications: Implemented OS-level desktop notifications for user permission prompts in the Gemini CLI.
User Experience Improvement: Notifications alert users when input is needed, even when multitasking, and can bring the terminal into focus on click (macOS).
Configurable Setting: A new "ui.enableNotifications" boolean setting has been added, defaulting to "false", allowing users to enable or disable this feature.
New Hook & Dependencies: Introduced a "useNotification" React hook and added "node-notifier" and its related dependencies to handle cross-platform notifications.
Documentation & Schema Updates: The new setting is documented in "configuration.md" and defined in "settingsSchema.ts" and "settings.schema.json".

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gemini-code-assist

Code Review

This pull request introduces desktop notifications for user permission prompts, which is a great enhancement for user experience, especially when multitasking. The implementation is solid, leveraging node-notifier and a new React hook useNotification. The logic correctly handles different states, platform specifics for macOS, and terminals with poor focus detection support. The addition of comprehensive unit tests for the new hook is commendable and ensures the feature is robust. The configuration options are well-documented and integrated into the settings schema. Overall, this is a high-quality contribution, and I have no high or critical concerns.

StoyanD · 2025-12-11T19:50:50Z

@Alexmarco-gif can i get a review?

nahid6970 · 2025-12-19T04:39:30Z

why anyone not reviewing i would love to havethis feature in windows

StoyanD · 2025-12-21T21:57:52Z

@nahid6970 do u have a windows machine? if so can you test this branch out to see if it works( im pretty sure it should)

nahid6970 · 2025-12-24T15:49:06Z

@StoyanD how to test it in windows? i dont see anything related to notification in windows latest version of gemini

StoyanD · 2025-12-27T14:07:13Z

@nahid6970 you'd have to install this branch locally on a windows machine and test. The notification library I'm using is cross platform, so it should work. The way I've tested is using a command to create a file, then opening another app before the cli asks for permission. When the cli app asks for permission it's already backgrounded so it shows a notification

samyarkd · 2026-01-02T10:22:50Z

This will be a big improvement to the user experience. I'm waiting for this.

anowardear062-svg · 2026-01-02T12:07:03Z

Thanks

gemini-code-assist

Code Review

This pull request introduces desktop notifications for user permission prompts, which is a great enhancement for user experience. The implementation is solid, adding a new NotificationService and integrating it with the existing configuration and event systems. I've found one critical issue related to string quoting in a platform-specific command which would cause a crash on Windows, and another high-severity issue for using a synchronous, blocking call where an asynchronous one would be safer and more performant, aligning with our guidelines on avoiding blocking the event loop. Once these are addressed, the feature should be in good shape.

packages/core/src/services/notification/focusUtils.ts

Replace blocking execSync with exec in focusUtils to improve event loop performance. Update NotificationService to handle async focus checks.

StoyanD · 2026-01-30T18:51:54Z

/gemini review

gemini-code-assist

Code Review

This pull request introduces a well-implemented desktop notification system for user permission prompts, which is a significant improvement to the user experience, especially for those who multitask. The implementation is robust, featuring a new NotificationService, integration with the policy engine through a notify flag, and a sophisticated focus detection mechanism with OS-level checks and fallbacks. The inclusion of terminal-specific notifications for iTerm, Kitty, and Warp demonstrates great attention to detail. The code is well-structured, thoroughly tested, and all relevant documentation and configuration schemas have been updated. Overall, this is a high-quality contribution with no major issues identified.

Adib234 · 2026-02-06T17:17:44Z

packages/core/src/hooks/hookSystem.ts

-    default:
-      return `Tool requires confirmation`;
-  }
+  const name = confirmationDetails.title.startsWith('Confirm: ')


Why was this changed?

Adib234 · 2026-02-06T17:18:36Z

Pull Request Review

I have reviewed the changes in PR #14927. Overall, the implementation of desktop notifications is a great addition to the user experience. However, I've identified a few areas for improvement to ensure consistency with project standards and to prevent potential bugs.

Core Architecture & Memory Management

Memory Leak in Core Config: The NotificationService subscribes to both coreEvents and the MessageBus. In packages/core/src/config/config.ts, the notificationService.dispose() method should be called within the Config.dispose() method to ensure event listeners are properly cleaned up.
Settings Update Logic: The new ui.enableNotifications setting is marked with requiresRestart: false, but there is currently no logic to propagate settings changes to the NotificationService during a session. Please add an update mechanism in the core Config class to call notificationService.updateConfig() when settings are updated.

Test Quality & Best Practices

Use Existing Mocks: In NotificationService.test.ts, you are manually mocking the MessageBus. Please use the existing MockMessageBus from packages/core/src/test-utils/mock-message-bus.ts instead to maintain consistency and leverage existing test utilities.
Platform Mocking: For better Vitest consistency, consider using vi.spyOn(process, 'platform', 'get') rather than Object.defineProperty when mocking the operating system in tests.

General Observations

MacOS Seatbelt Verification: The focus detection on macOS relies on lsappinfo. Could you confirm if this command has been verified to work specifically when running within the MacOS Seatbelt sandbox?

Please let me know if you have any questions about these suggestions!

Adib234 · 2026-02-06T17:19:32Z

Hi, thanks for addressing my comments! Sorry for getting back to you now, I was a bit busy this week 😅

- Propagate notification settings dynamically without restart - Prevent memory leaks by disposing NotificationService in Config - Improve tests with MockMessageBus and idiomatic platform spying - Fix TypeScript errors in NotificationService callbacks

StoyanD · 2026-02-10T21:38:45Z

@Adib234 thanks for the reviews. i updated the pr

Adib234 · 2026-02-11T14:51:10Z

hi the build is failing

…policy-notifications

…-cli into feat/policy-notifications

jackwotherspoon

@StoyanD I did a quick pass.

We definitely want this to be disabled by default and be opt-in for the first little while.

Once we have more users testing it and any bugs or issues (Windows/Linux support) that may arise have been fixed we can then make it enabled by default.

Also I think we want to also notify when agent is finished, not just on tool/prompt confirmations.

Let me know what you think.

jackwotherspoon · 2026-02-16T15:24:47Z

docs/cli/settings.md

 | Show Spinner                         | `ui.showSpinner`                        | Show the spinner during operations.                                                                                                                               | `true`  |
 | Enable Loading Phrases               | `ui.accessibility.enableLoadingPhrases` | Enable loading phrases during operations.                                                                                                                         | `true`  |
 | Screen Reader Mode                   | `ui.accessibility.screenReader`         | Render output in plain-text to be more screen reader accessible                                                                                                   | `false` |
+| Enable Notifications                 | `ui.enableNotifications`                | Enable notifications for user permission prompts when the CLI is not in focus. Tested on mac, experimental on win/linux                                           | `true`  |


ui components should be Gemini CLI UI related flags.

Notifications are not a Gemini CLI UI specific setting, would rather see this move to general I think.

jackwotherspoon · 2026-02-16T15:26:57Z

docs/get-started/configuration.md

+  - **Description:** Enable notifications for user permission prompts when the
+    CLI is not in focus. Tested on mac, experimental on win/linux
+  - **Default:** `true`


Should not default to true to begin with. Especially when we are saying this is potentially a macOS only feature. This should be opt-in to begin with and default to false.

Also does this only notify when use confirmation is needed? Or does it also notify when agent is finished?

I think we would want notifications on agent being done as well.

jackwotherspoon · 2026-02-16T15:32:23Z

packages/core/src/services/notification/focusUtils.ts

is there a reason we can't leverage existing useFocus for some of this?

https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/blob/bb7bb11736c363f3368a61f4bc4557ab8bb660a2/packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useFocus.ts

scidomino · 2026-02-18T19:53:06Z

Inspired by this PR we pulled out the MacOS stuff (which we felt is more stable) and will be merging our own version in #19056. The linux/win stuff feels shakier to us so we're leaving that out for now. Closing this out as support for non-macos should build on top of #19056.

Thanks for the contribution!

helalsoft · 2026-02-19T19:50:11Z

As a windows user, my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

StoyanD added 7 commits December 10, 2025 20:25

adding plan for implementing the feature

acd469a

feat(notifications): Update useAlternateBuffer and useNotification hooks

ce9a0a2

prepare for pr

7d9f76a

fix linter complaint

4cdd035

Merge branch 'google-gemini:main' into feat/policy-notifications

c42baa8

StoyanD requested review from a team as code owners December 11, 2025 01:49

StoyanD mentioned this pull request Dec 11, 2025

Implement Desktop Notification for User Permission Prompts #14696

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Merge branch 'main' into feat/policy-notifications

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StoyanD added 4 commits December 11, 2025 14:50

Merge branch 'main' into feat/policy-notifications

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StoyanD added 2 commits January 30, 2026 13:50

refactor(core/notification): make terminal focus check asynchronous

4c41a7b

Replace blocking execSync with exec in focusUtils to improve event loop performance. Update NotificationService to handle async focus checks.

Merge branch 'main' into feat/policy-notifications

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StoyanD and others added 6 commits January 30, 2026 14:45

docs: update notifications documentation and settings schema

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Merge branch 'main' into feat/policy-notifications

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StoyanD added 3 commits February 9, 2026 16:04

Merge branch 'main' into feat/policy-notifications

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Merge branch 'upstream/main' into feat/policy-notifications

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StoyanD requested a review from Adib234 February 10, 2026 21:38

StoyanD added 5 commits February 11, 2026 14:55

Merge branch 'main' into feat/policy-notifications

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Merge branch 'main' of github.com:google-gemini/gemini-cli into feat/…

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Merge branch 'feat/policy-notifications' of github.com:StoyanD/gemini…

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jackwotherspoon requested changes Feb 16, 2026

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gemini-cli bot added the 🔒 maintainer only ⛔ Do not contribute. Internal roadmap item. label Feb 16, 2026

scidomino closed this Feb 18, 2026

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Summary

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Related Issues

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Pre-Merge Checklist

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