apprise-rmcp

apprise-rmcp is a Rust MCP server and CLI for sending notifications through an Apprise API server.

It exposes one MCP tool, apprise, plus the rapprise CLI. Agents can send tagged notifications through a preconfigured Apprise server, run one-off Apprise URL sends, and check upstream health through stdio MCP, Streamable HTTP MCP, or direct shell commands.

30-second path: run npx -y apprise-rmcp health --json -> start loopback HTTP with APPRISE_MCP_HOST=127.0.0.1 npx -y apprise-rmcp serve -> call tools/call with {"action":"health"}.

Status: operational RMCP upstream-client server. Write-capable; notification sends are intentional side effects. HTTP MCP supports loopback dev mode, static bearer tokens, and Google OAuth through lab-auth.

Not for: replacing Apprise API, storing notification destinations in this repo, scheduling reminders, building a generic webhook relay, multi-tenant isolation, or passing upstream Apprise bearer tokens through MCP tool arguments.

Contents

• Naming
• Capabilities And Boundaries
• Install
• Quickstart
• Client Configuration
• Runtime Surfaces
• MCP Tool Reference
• CLI Reference
• Configuration
• Authentication
• Safety And Trust Model
• Architecture
• Distribution Contract
• Development
• Verification
• Deployment
• Troubleshooting
• Related Servers
• Documentation
• License

Naming

The repo and npm package use the RMCP family name, while the shipped binary uses the short Rust CLI name rapprise.

Capabilities And Boundaries

• Send notifications through tags configured in the upstream Apprise API server.
• Send one-off notifications to Apprise URL schemas with notify_url.
• Check upstream Apprise API health.
• Expose the send_alert prompt for critical alert workflows.
• Provide setup and doctor commands for local plugin/runtime checks.

Install

npm / npx

Run the stdio MCP server or CLI without a manual binary install:

npx -y apprise-rmcp --help
npx -y apprise-rmcp mcp
npx -y apprise-rmcp health --json

The npm package downloads rapprise during postinstall. Override download behavior only when testing packaging:

Build From Source

git clone https://github.com/jmagar/apprise-rmcp
cd apprise-rmcp
cargo build --release
./target/release/rapprise --help

Minimum supported Rust version: 1.86.

Quickstart

1. Start Or Point At Apprise API

The default upstream is http://localhost:8000.

docker run --rm -p 8000:8000 caronc/apprise:latest

Use APPRISE_URL when the API server is elsewhere:

export APPRISE_URL=http://100.120.242.29:8766

Set APPRISE_TOKEN only when your Apprise API server requires bearer auth:

export APPRISE_TOKEN=...

2. Run A Safe CLI Call

npx -y apprise-rmcp health --json

3. Start Loopback HTTP MCP

APPRISE_MCP_HOST=127.0.0.1 npx -y apprise-rmcp serve

In another shell:

curl -sf http://127.0.0.1:40050/health

4. Make A First MCP Call

curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:40050/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"apprise","arguments":{"action":"health"}}}'

Client Configuration

Claude Code Stdio

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apprise": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "apprise-rmcp", "mcp"],
      "env": {
        "APPRISE_URL": "http://localhost:8000"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code HTTP

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apprise": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:40050/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${APPRISE_MCP_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Codex / Labby Gateway

Register Apprise through Labby as an HTTP upstream when sharing one long-running server, or run it directly as stdio for local-only use.

[mcp_servers.apprise]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "apprise-rmcp", "mcp"]

Generic MCP JSON

{
  "command": "rapprise",
  "args": ["mcp"],
  "env": {
    "APPRISE_URL": "http://localhost:8000"
  }
}

Do not put APPRISE_TOKEN, OAuth secrets, SSH keys, passwords, or upstream bearer tokens in MCP tool arguments. Use env, config files, or the MCP client's secret storage.

Runtime Surfaces

MCP Tool Reference

One MCP tool is exposed: apprise. Pass the required action argument to select the operation.

Read Actions

Write Actions

Notification Types

MCP Call Examples

curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:40050/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"apprise","arguments":{"action":"health"}}}'

{
  "name": "apprise",
  "arguments": {
    "action": "notify",
    "body": "Deployment succeeded",
    "tag": "ops",
    "title": "Deploy complete",
    "type": "success"
  }
}

Curated action summaries live here. docs/INVENTORY.md is the current source of truth for complete parameters until a generated docs/MCP_SCHEMA.md is added.

CLI Reference

The CLI calls the same service methods as the MCP tool.

rapprise health [--json]
rapprise notify <body> [--tag TAG] [--title T] [--type info|success|warning|failure] [--json]
rapprise notify-url <urls> <body> [--title T] [--type info|success|warning|failure] [--json]

rapprise serve
rapprise serve mcp
rapprise mcp
rapprise doctor [--json]
rapprise setup check
rapprise setup repair
rapprise setup plugin-hook [--no-repair]

Configuration

Configuration loads from config.toml when present, then environment variables override those values. On startup, the binary also loads ~/.apprise/.env on hosts or /data/.env in containers without overriding already-set variables.

Upstream Variables

Runtime Variables

Authentication

MCP scopes are apprise:notify and apprise:admin. OAuth tokens are checked before MCP calls are dispatched.

Safety And Trust Model

• MCP callers never provide APPRISE_TOKEN, OAuth secrets, static bearer tokens, passwords, SSH keys, or API keys as tool arguments.
• Upstream Apprise credentials are loaded from env/config only.
• notify is the preferred path because destinations are configured upstream under tags.
• notify_url intentionally accepts Apprise URL schemas in MCP arguments for one-off sends. Treat those URLs as sensitive payloads and avoid using them when a tagged upstream destination is available.
• Apprise API is the durable source of destination configuration; this server is a thin projection over that API.
• HTTP mode should not be exposed beyond loopback without bearer or OAuth auth plus TLS from an upstream reverse proxy.

Architecture

MCP client / CLI
       |
       v
rapprise
       |
       +-- MCP shim: JSON args -> AppriseService -> structured result
       +-- CLI shim: argv -> AppriseService -> stdout
       |
       v
AppriseService
       |
       v
AppriseClient
       |
       v
Apprise API server
       |
       v
Notification backends

The thin-shim rule is intentional: MCP and CLI parse inputs, call AppriseService, and return output. Credential loading, auth policy, and Apprise API behavior stay outside the MCP and CLI shims.

Distribution Contract

Release invariant: npm package version, Rust crate version, server.json.version, GitHub Release tag, release asset names, and README install examples should move together. README examples must use canonical repo and binary names, not older aliases.

Development

cargo fmt -- --check
cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings
cargo test
cargo build --release
npm --prefix packages/apprise-rmcp run check

Verification

# Binary and CLI
cargo build --release
./target/release/rapprise --version
./target/release/rapprise health --json

# HTTP health
APPRISE_MCP_HOST=127.0.0.1 ./target/release/rapprise serve
curl -sf http://127.0.0.1:40050/health

# MCP tool call
curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:40050/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"apprise","arguments":{"action":"health"}}}'

For live notification tests, configure at least one destination in the Apprise API server and call notify with its tag.

Deployment

Docker / Compose

cp .env.example .env
$EDITOR .env
docker compose up -d
curl -sf http://127.0.0.1:40050/health

The container stores app data under /data, normally mounted from ${HOME}/.apprise.

Reverse Proxy

Expose only /mcp and /health. Preserve Streamable HTTP headers, require TLS, and configure bearer or OAuth auth before exposing the server beyond loopback.

Plugin

claude plugin install plugins/apprise
rapprise setup check

Troubleshooting

Related Servers

• unifi-rmcp / rustifi - UniFi controller REST API bridge.
• tailscale-rmcp / rustscale - Tailscale API bridge for devices, users, and tailnet operations.
• unraid-rmcp / unrust - Unraid GraphQL bridge for NAS and server management.
• gotify-rmcp - Gotify push notification bridge for sends, messages, apps, and clients.
• arcane-rmcp - Arcane Docker management bridge for containers and related resources.
• yarr-rmcp - Media-stack bridge for Sonarr, Radarr, Prowlarr, Plex, and related services.
• ytdl-mcp - Media download and metadata workflow server.
• synapse - Local Synapse workflow server for scout and flux actions.
• cortex - Syslog and homelab log aggregation MCP server.
• axon - RAG, crawl, scrape, extract, and semantic search project.
• lab - Homelab control plane and Labby gateway project.
• lumen - Local semantic code search MCP server.
• nugs - Project/package management helper for local agent workflows.
• agentcast - Agent transcript and activity publishing project.
• soma - RMCP scaffold/runtime template for new provider-backed servers.

Documentation

Start here:

• docs/QUICKSTART.md - focused setup flow.
• docs/INVENTORY.md - component inventory for actions, CLI commands, env vars, and endpoints.
• docs/README.md - docs index.
• server.json - MCP registry metadata.
• packages/apprise-rmcp/README.md - npm package launcher notes.

This README is curated. Generated or exhaustive catalogs should be refreshed in their own files and treated as the source of truth for current branch details.

License

MIT