Feature Request: Add config flag to disable desktop notifications in VoiceServer

[virtualian]

Summary

Add a configuration option to disable macOS desktop notification banners while keeping voice output enabled. Currently, desktop notifications are always displayed alongside voice - there's no way to have voice-only output.

Use Case

• Users who find desktop banners distracting but want voice feedback
• Presentation/recording scenarios where banners would be visible on screen
• Personal preference for audio-only notifications

Proposed Solution

Add notifications.desktop.enabled to settings.json:

{
  "notifications": {
    "desktop": {
      "enabled": false
    }
  }
}

Additionally, support per-request override via POST body:

curl -X POST http://localhost:8888/notify \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"message": "Hello", "desktop": false}'

Implementation

I have a working implementation in my fork that:

• Adds global config loaded from settings.json (defaults to true for backwards compatibility)
• Wraps the osascript call in a conditional
• Supports per-request desktop parameter override
• Reports status in /health endpoint

PR available: virtualian/pai#7

Happy to submit a PR to upstream if this is desired.

[danielmiessler]

Thanks for this feedback! We're currently working on PAI v3.0, which includes significant architectural changes. We're evaluating this issue in the context of the new architecture and will provide an update once v3.0 is closer to release.

Please stand by — we haven't forgotten about this and appreciate your contribution to making PAI better!

[Mutdogus]

We've implemented this in our local setup — similar approach to what @virtualian proposed in their fork PR.

What We Built

Our VoiceServer supports independent control of voice and desktop notifications:

1. Global config in settings.json:

   {
     "notifications": {
       "desktop": true,
       "sound": false
     }
   }

2. Per-request override via POST body:

   curl -X POST http://localhost:8888/notify \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"message": "Task complete", "voice_enabled": true, "desktop": false}'

3. Separate sound control — we also added the ability to disable the macOS notification chime independently from the banner, since having both voice TTS and the system chime playing simultaneously is jarring.

The implementation is a simple conditional wrapping the osascript display notification call, with the sound name parameter controlled separately. Backwards compatible — defaults to current behavior (both enabled).

This is a straightforward change. Happy to submit a PR if desired — the core diff is ~20 lines in VoiceServer/server.ts.

[kaimagnus]

Thanks for the suggestion! Added in the v3.0 release. You can now disable desktop notification banners by adding this to your settings.json:

{
  "notifications": {
    "desktop": {
      "enabled": false
    }
  }
}

When set to false, the VoiceServer will still play TTS audio but skip the macOS notification banner (osascript display notification). Default is true (banners enabled) for backward compatibility — existing setups are unaffected.