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Pushbullet Notifications for Server Updates - Cross-Device Push Notifications

Pushbullet Notifications for Server Updates - Cross-Device Push Notifications

Update-Watcher sends server update notifications to all your devices through Pushbullet. Pushbullet delivers push notifications across Android, iOS, Windows, and browser extensions simultaneously. The setup requires only a single access token, making it one of the simplest notifiers to configure for individual administrators who want update alerts on their personal devices.

Setup on Pushbullet

Step 1: Create an Account

  1. Sign up or log in at pushbullet.com.
  2. Install the Pushbullet app or browser extension on the devices where you want to receive notifications:
    • Android – Available on Google Play.
    • Windows – Desktop client available at pushbullet.com/apps.
    • Browser – Extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera.

Step 2: Create an Access Token

  1. Go to pushbullet.com/account (or click your avatar -> Settings).
  2. Scroll to the Access Tokens section.
  3. Click Create Access Token.
  4. Copy the token. It looks like o.aBcDeFgHiJkLmNoPqRsTuVwXyZ012345.

Step 3: Store the Token

Store the token in an environment variable:

Terminal
export UPDATE_WATCHER_PUSHBULLET_TOKEN="<your-pushbullet-access-token>"

Step 4: Optional Device Targeting

If you want to send notifications to a specific device instead of all devices:

  1. Go to pushbullet.com/account and click Devices.
  2. Use the Pushbullet API to list devices:
Terminal
curl -H "Access-Token: YOUR_TOKEN" https://api.pushbullet.com/v2/devices
  1. Copy the iden field for the target device.
Store the access token in an environment variable rather than placing it directly in your configuration file.

Configuration Options

OptionRequiredDefaultDescription
access_tokenYes–Pushbullet access token. Use an environment variable reference.
device_idenNo–Target a specific device by its identifier string. If omitted, the notification is sent to all devices associated with the account.
channel_tagNo–Publish to a Pushbullet channel by its tag. Useful for broadcasting update notifications to multiple subscribers.

Configuration Example

config.yaml
notifiers:
  - type: pushbullet
    access_token: ${UPDATE_WATCHER_PUSHBULLET_TOKEN}
    device_iden: "ujpah72o0sjAoRtnM0jc"

Minimal Configuration (All Devices)

config.yaml
notifiers:
  - type: pushbullet
    access_token: ${UPDATE_WATCHER_PUSHBULLET_TOKEN}

Publish to a Channel

If you run a Pushbullet channel for your team, you can publish update notifications to all subscribers:

config.yaml
notifiers:
  - type: pushbullet
    access_token: ${UPDATE_WATCHER_PUSHBULLET_TOKEN}
    channel_tag: "server-updates"

Notification Format

Pushbullet notifications are delivered as “note” type pushes:

  • Title – Server hostname and update count (e.g., “12 updates available on web-prod-01”).
  • Body – A text summary listing each checker with available updates, package names, and version information. Security updates are labeled distinctly.

The notification appears as a standard push notification on all configured devices, with the full body available when expanded.

Device Targeting

Pushbullet offers flexible targeting:

  • All devices (default) – When neither device_iden nor channel_tag is set, the notification is sent to all devices linked to the account.
  • Specific device – Set device_iden to target a single device (e.g., your phone but not your laptop).
  • Channel – Set channel_tag to broadcast to all subscribers of a Pushbullet channel. This is useful for teams where multiple people want to subscribe to update notifications.

Testing

Run Update-Watcher to verify the Pushbullet notification:

Terminal
update-watcher run

Check the Pushbullet app or browser extension on your devices. If no updates are available and send_policy is only-on-updates, temporarily set send_policy: "always" to force a notification.

For troubleshooting:

Terminal
update-watcher run --verbose

A successful delivery returns HTTP status 200 OK with a JSON body containing the push details. Common errors include an invalid access token (401 Unauthorized) or an invalid device identifier.

💡
Testing tip: If no updates are available on your system, temporarily set send_policy: "always" in your configuration to force a notification and verify the integration is working.

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