Fix desktop notifications on GNOME 46+ Linux (#1246)

Signed-off-by: benthecarman <benthecarman@live.com>
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

desktop/src-tauri/Cargo.lock

@@ -871,6 +871,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "mesh-llm-sdk",
  "neteq",
  "nostr",
+ "notify-rust",
  "objc2-app-kit",
  "opus",
  "png 0.18.1",

desktop/src-tauri/Cargo.toml

@@ -32,6 +32,14 @@ tauri-build = { version = "2", features = [] }
 libc = "0.2"
 ctrlc = { version = "3", features = ["termination"] }
 
+[target.'cfg(target_os = "linux")'.dependencies]
+keyring = { version = "3.6.3", default-features = false, features = ["sync-secret-service", "vendored"], optional = true }
+# Used directly (alongside tauri-plugin-notification) so we can hold the posting
+# D-Bus connection open. GNOME 46+ dismisses a notification the moment that
+# connection is dropped, which the plugin does immediately. Default features
+# keep the pure-Rust zbus backend, matching the plugin (no libdbus needed).
+notify-rust = "4"
+
 [target.'cfg(target_os = "macos")'.dependencies]
 objc2-app-kit = { version = "0.3.2", default-features = false, features = ["NSHapticFeedback"] }
 keyring = { version = "3.6.3", default-features = false, features = ["apple-native", "vendored"], optional = true }
@@ -41,9 +49,6 @@ security-framework = { version = "3.7.0", features = ["OSX_10_15"] }
 windows-sys = { version = "0.61", features = ["Win32_Storage_FileSystem", "Win32_System_JobObjects", "Win32_System_Threading", "Win32_Foundation"] }
 keyring = { version = "3.6.3", default-features = false, features = ["windows-native", "vendored"], optional = true }
 
-[target.'cfg(target_os = "linux")'.dependencies]
-keyring = { version = "3.6.3", default-features = false, features = ["sync-secret-service", "vendored"], optional = true }
-
 [dependencies]
 atomic-write-file = "0.3"
 anyhow = "1"

desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/mod.rs

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ mod media_transcode;
 #[cfg(feature = "mesh-llm")]
 mod mesh_llm;
 mod messages;
+mod notifications;
 pub mod pairing;
 mod personas;
 mod prevent_sleep;
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@ pub use media_download::*;
 #[cfg(feature = "mesh-llm")]
 pub use mesh_llm::*;
 pub use messages::*;
+pub use notifications::*;
 pub use pairing::*;
 pub use personas::*;
 pub use prevent_sleep::*;

desktop/src-tauri/src/commands/notifications.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+//! Native (Linux) desktop-notification helper.
+//!
+//! `tauri-plugin-notification` posts a notification by calling `notify_rust`'s
+//! `show()` and then immediately dropping the returned `NotificationHandle`.
+//! That handle owns the D-Bus connection used to post the notification, and on
+//! GNOME 46+ (Ubuntu 24.04+, Fedora 41+) tearing that connection down dismisses
+//! the notification the instant it appears — so notifications never show.
+//! See tauri-apps/plugins-workspace#2566 and hoodie/notify-rust#218.
+//!
+//! We side-step the plugin on Linux by posting the notification from a
+//! dedicated thread that holds the connection open (via `wait_for_action`)
+//! until the notification is closed. The same wait surfaces the default click
+//! action, which we forward to the frontend so it can focus the window and
+//! route to the notification target.
+
+/// Show a desktop notification natively.
+///
+/// On Linux this uses the connection-preserving path described above. On other
+/// platforms the bundled notification plugin already works correctly, so the
+/// frontend never calls this and we simply report that it is unused.
+#[tauri::command]
+pub fn show_native_notification(
+    app: tauri::AppHandle,
+    title: String,
+    body: Option<String>,
+    target: Option<serde_json::Value>,
+) -> Result<(), String> {
+    #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+    {
+        linux::show(app, title, body, target);
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    #[cfg(not(target_os = "linux"))]
+    {
+        let _ = (&app, &title, &body, &target);
+        Err("show_native_notification is only supported on Linux".to_string())
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+mod linux {
+    use tauri::Emitter;
+
+    /// Emitted to the frontend when the user clicks a native notification. The
+    /// payload is the opaque target object the frontend passed in.
+    const ACTIVATE_EVENT: &str = "native-notification-activated";
+
+    pub fn show(
+        app: tauri::AppHandle,
+        title: String,
+        body: Option<String>,
+        target: Option<serde_json::Value>,
+    ) {
+        // notify_rust's `show()` blocks on D-Bus and the returned handle must
+        // outlive the notification, so this runs on its own thread rather than
+        // the async runtime.
+        std::thread::spawn(move || {
+            let mut builder = notify_rust::Notification::new();
+            builder.summary(&title);
+            if let Some(body) = body.as_deref() {
+                builder.body(body);
+            }
+            if let Some(name) = app.config().product_name.clone() {
+                builder.appname(&name);
+            }
+            // Tie the notification to the installed desktop entry so GNOME shows
+            // the app's name and icon and groups our notifications together.
+            builder.hint(notify_rust::Hint::DesktopEntry(
+                app.config().identifier.clone(),
+            ));
+            builder.auto_icon();
+            // Match the silent posting used on other platforms; the app does its
+            // own unread cues and a per-message sound would be noisy.
+            builder.hint(notify_rust::Hint::SuppressSound(true));
+            // Declaring a default action makes the whole notification clickable.
+            builder.action("default", "Open");
+
+            let handle = match builder.show() {
+                Ok(handle) => handle,
+                Err(error) => {
+                    eprintln!("buzz-desktop: failed to post native notification: {error}");
+                    return;
+                }
+            };
+
+            // Block until the notification is actioned or closed. Holding the
+            // handle keeps its D-Bus connection alive, which is what stops
+            // GNOME 46+ from dismissing the notification immediately. The wait
+            // also returns when the notification expires or is dismissed, so
+            // the thread does not leak.
+            handle.wait_for_action(|action| {
+                if action != "default" {
+                    return;
+                }
+
+                // The frontend focuses the window on activation (the same path
+                // every other platform uses), so we only forward the target.
+                let _ = app.emit(ACTIVATE_EVENT, target);
+            });
+        });
+    }
+}

desktop/src-tauri/src/lib.rs

@@ -802,6 +802,7 @@ pub fn run() {
             add_reaction,
             remove_reaction,
             get_event,
+            show_native_notification,
             upload_media,
             pick_and_upload_media,
             upload_media_bytes,

desktop/src/features/notifications/lib/desktop.ts

@@ -1,11 +1,16 @@
-import { isTauri } from "@tauri-apps/api/core";
+import { invoke, isTauri } from "@tauri-apps/api/core";
+import { listen } from "@tauri-apps/api/event";
 import { UserAttentionType, getCurrentWindow } from "@tauri-apps/api/window";
 import {
   isPermissionGranted,
   onAction,
   requestPermission,
 } from "@tauri-apps/plugin-notification";
-import { isMacPlatform } from "@/shared/lib/platform";
+import { isLinuxPlatform, isMacPlatform } from "@/shared/lib/platform";
+
+// Backend event emitted when the user clicks a native (Linux) notification.
+// See src-tauri/src/commands/notifications.rs.
+const NATIVE_NOTIFICATION_ACTIVATED_EVENT = "native-notification-activated";
 
 export type DesktopNotificationPermissionState =
   | NotificationPermission
@@ -172,6 +177,7 @@ export async function listenForDesktopNotificationActions(
   );
 
   let pluginListener: { unregister: () => Promise<void> } | null = null;
+  let nativeUnlisten: (() => void) | null = null;
 
   if (isTauri()) {
     try {
@@ -188,6 +194,24 @@ export async function listenForDesktopNotificationActions(
     } catch {
       pluginListener = null;
     }
+
+    // Clicks on Linux notifications come back via a backend event rather than
+    // the plugin's onAction (whose connection is torn down before it can fire).
+    try {
+      nativeUnlisten = await listen<unknown>(
+        NATIVE_NOTIFICATION_ACTIVATED_EVENT,
+        (event) => {
+          const target = parseNotificationTarget(event.payload);
+          if (!target) {
+            return;
+          }
+
+          dispatchDesktopNotificationTarget(target);
+        },
+      );
+    } catch {
+      nativeUnlisten = null;
+    }
   }
 
   return () => {
@@ -196,6 +220,7 @@ export async function listenForDesktopNotificationActions(
       handleNotificationAction,
     );
     void pluginListener?.unregister();
+    nativeUnlisten?.();
   };
 }
 
@@ -268,6 +293,23 @@ export async function sendDesktopNotification(
     return false;
   }
 
+  // On Linux the bundled notification plugin posts via a D-Bus connection that
+  // it drops immediately; GNOME 46+ then dismisses the notification before it
+  // is seen. Route through a backend command that keeps the connection alive.
+  // See src-tauri/src/commands/notifications.rs.
+  if (isTauri() && isLinuxPlatform()) {
+    try {
+      await invoke("show_native_notification", {
+        title: payload.title,
+        body: payload.body,
+        target: payload.target ?? null,
+      });
+      return true;
+    } catch {
+      return false;
+    }
+  }
+
   const notification = new window.Notification(payload.title, {
     body: payload.body,
     silent: true,

desktop/src/shared/lib/platform.ts

@@ -12,6 +12,17 @@ export function isMacPlatform(): boolean {
   return /mac|iphone|ipad|ipod/i.test(navigator.platform);
 }
 
+/** Returns true on Linux desktops (excludes Android). */
+export function isLinuxPlatform(): boolean {
+  if (typeof navigator === "undefined") {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  return (
+    /linux/i.test(navigator.platform) && !/android/i.test(navigator.userAgent)
+  );
+}
+
 /**
  * The platform's normal application-shortcut modifier:
  * - macOS: Command (Meta)