PushForge

The push notification playground for mobile, web & AI agent developers.
Craft, send, and test push payloads on iOS Simulators, Android Emulators & macOS Desktop — zero config, zero cost.

Craft a payload, pick a target, hit Send. Notification appears instantly on iOS, Android, or macOS.
Watch the demo video | Read the detailed post

Why PushForge?

Every mobile developer has been here: you need to test a push notification, and what should take 10 seconds turns into a 10-minute detour:

Find the simulator UDID (xcrun simctl list devices... scroll... copy the UUID)
Write valid APNs JSON from memory (was it alert.title or aps.alert.title?)
Save it to a temp file
Run xcrun simctl push <that-uuid-you-copied> <bundle-id> /path/to/file.json
Typo in the JSON? Start over.

This workflow breaks your flow dozens of times a day.

PushForge eliminates every step. Open the app, pick a template, hit Send. The notification appears instantly. No terminal. No UUIDs. No temp files. No broken JSON.

Who is this for?

iOS developers testing notification handling, deep links, or UI updates triggered by push
Android developers testing notification behavior on emulators
AI/Agent developers testing task-complete, streaming-done, and approval notifications
Web/Desktop developers previewing how push notifications look in macOS Notification Center
QA engineers verifying notification content, badge counts, and sound behavior
Backend developers validating push payload structure before deploying
CI/CD pipelines — CLI companion coming soon (see Roadmap)

Coming soon: pushforge send --template agent_task_complete.json --sim "iPhone 17 Pro" — a headless CLI for scripting push notifications in CI pipelines, shell scripts, and agent toolchains. Follow the repo or check the Roadmap for updates.

How it compares

Tool	Platform	iOS Sim	Android Emu	Desktop	Free	Maintained
PushForge	macOS (native)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Knuff	macOS	No	No	No	Yes	Abandoned (2019)
NWPusher	macOS	No	No	No	Yes	Archived
Pusher	macOS	Yes	No	No	No ($15)	Yes
curl + terminal	Any	Yes	No	No	Yes	N/A

PushForge is the only free, multi-platform push notification tool with a native macOS UI.

Features

Multi-Platform Push

Target	How it works	Setup needed
iOS Simulator	`xcrun simctl push`	Xcode
Android Emulator	`adb shell cmd notification post`	Android Studio
Desktop	`osascript` with target app icon	None

Switch between platforms with a segmented picker. Template tabs, bundle ID dropdown, and validation all sync automatically.

Core Features

37 Built-in Templates — iOS (APNs), Android (FCM), Desktop (Web Push format), and AI Agent patterns
Platform-Synced UI — iOS/Android/Desktop template tabs sync with send panel target; switching one switches both
Syntax-Highlighted JSON Editor — NSTextView-backed editor with token colors, line numbers, bracket matching, format/minify, Cmd+/Cmd- zoom
Smart JSON Diagnostics — Detects smart quotes, trailing commas, mismatched braces with exact line:col and fix suggestions
Auto-fix — One-click repair for smart quotes and copy-paste artifacts from docs/Slack/email
Platform Mismatch Warnings — Orange warning if iOS payload targets Android or vice versa (all 6 combos)
Contextual Send Button — Shows "Send to iPhone 16e" / "Send to Pixel 7" / "Send to Desktop"
One-Click Simulator Boot — Boot any iOS Simulator directly from PushForge
Bundle ID Picker — Dropdown with 45+ pre-installed app IDs across all platforms (including Microsoft Teams)
Target App Icon — Desktop notifications show the selected app's icon (only if the app is running — never launches apps)
Notification History — Every sent notification logged with status, timestamp, full payload (SwiftData)
Save Devices — Label and save simulator + bundle ID combos for quick reuse
External Template Files — Templates loaded from JSON files; drop new ones in ~/Library/Application Support/PushForge/Templates/
Async Performance — ShellExecutor runs on background GCD threads, not the cooperative thread pool
Keyboard Shortcuts — Cmd+Enter to send, Cmd+0 to reset zoom
Lightweight — Native SwiftUI, no Electron, no external dependencies

Push Payload Formats — iOS vs Android vs Desktop

Push notification payloads are fundamentally different across platforms. PushForge handles all three. Desktop mode uses Web Push JSON format and delivers via macOS Notification Center (osascript) — it previews notification content, not the Web Push API itself.

Feature	iOS (APNs)	Android (FCM)	Desktop (Web Push format)
Root key	`aps`	`notification` / `data`	Top-level
Title	`aps.alert.title`	`notification.title`	`title`
Body	`aps.alert.body`	`notification.body`	`body`
Badge	`aps.badge` (number)	`notification_count`	`badge` (icon URL)
Sound	`aps.sound`	`notification.sound`	N/A (OS default)
Image	`mutable-content` + Service Extension	`notification.image` (URL)	`image` (URL)
Actions	`category` (registered in app)	`click_action`	`actions[]` array
Grouping	`thread-id`	`tag` + `channel_id`	`tag`
Priority	`interruption-level`	`android.priority`	`requireInteraction`
Silent/Data	`content-available: 1`	`data` (no `notification`)	N/A
Max payload	4,096 bytes	4,096 bytes	~4,078 bytes

Example — same notification across platforms

iOS (APNs):

{
  "aps": {
    "alert": { "title": "New Message", "body": "You have a new message waiting." },
    "badge": 3, "sound": "default"
  }
}

Android (FCM):

{
  "notification": {
    "title": "New Message", "body": "You have a new message waiting.",
    "sound": "default", "notification_count": 3, "channel_id": "messages"
  }
}

Desktop (Web Push format):

{
  "title": "New Message", "body": "You have a new message waiting.",
  "icon": "/icons/app-icon-192.png", "tag": "new-message"
}

Templates

PushForge ships with 37 ready-to-use templates organized by platform and sub-category:

Standard Templates (24)

Sub-Category	iOS	Android	Web
Basic	Basic Alert	Android Basic	Web Basic
Badge	Badge + Sound	Android Badge + Sound	—
Silent	Silent Push, Background Sync	Android Silent, Android Data	—
Rich	Rich Media, Actionable	Android Rich, Image, Actionable	Web Actions
Advanced	Long Payload, Grouped Thread, Critical Alert, Live Activity, Time Sensitive	Android Long Payload, Grouped, High Priority, Time Sensitive	—

AI Agent Templates (13) — NEW

Templates for modern agentic AI patterns used by ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot:

Pattern	iOS	Android	Web
Task Complete	`time-sensitive` + `thread-id` + deep link	notification + data + `click_action`	`requireInteraction` + action buttons
Streaming Done	`content-available` + token/duration metadata	chat channel + model metadata	—
Needs Approval	`category: AGENT_APPROVAL`	high priority + `APPROVE_ACTION`	Approve/Reject buttons
Agent Error	`critical` sound + `interruption-level`	alarm sound + red color	—
Live Progress	Live Activity `content-state` (75%, step 3/4)	—	—
Memory Sync	Silent `content-available: 1`	Data-only for background	—

AI Agent Notification Patterns Guide

Building an AI-powered mobile app? PushForge ships with a companion reference covering the 12 core push notification paradigms used by ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Cursor, and Devin — with exact payload examples, attribute-level annotations, and priority guidance for every pattern.

Read the Agentic Push Notification Patterns Guide →

Pattern	When to use it	iOS interruption level
Task Completion	Agent finished async work — user needs to see the result	`time-sensitive`
Human-in-the-Loop Approval	Agent blocked on a consequential decision	`time-sensitive` + `category`
Agent Error & Recovery	Automatic retries exhausted — user must intervene	`critical`
Background Memory Sync	Agent refreshing context — user sees nothing	`content-available: 1`
Streaming Response Complete	LLM finished generating while app was backgrounded	`active` + `content-available`
Live Progress Updates	Step-by-step progress for long-running tasks	Live Activity `content-state`
Multi-Agent Handoff	Triage agent transferred request to a specialist	`active`
Proactive Recommendations	Agent noticed something useful — not user-triggered	`passive`
Scheduled Agent Reports	Daily/weekly digest delivered on a schedule	`active`
Monitoring & Observability	Agent performance degraded in production	`critical`
Conversational Follow-Up	Agent has a follow-up question or new information	`active`
Autonomous Code Review	AI-authored PR ready for human review	`active`

Each pattern includes ready-to-send iOS and Android payloads, attribute-by-attribute annotations, and a priority rationale — paired with the matching PushForge template so you can test the exact payload in one click.

Custom Templates

Drop a .json file into ~/Library/Application Support/PushForge/Templates/ and it appears in the app:

{
  "id": "my_custom",
  "name": "My Custom Template",
  "description": "Custom notification payload",
  "category": "alert",
  "payload": {
    "aps": { "alert": { "title": "Custom", "body": "Hello!" } }
  }
}

User templates override bundled ones with the same ID. Organize by subdirectory (ios/, android/, web/).

Download

Download PushForge.dmg (v0.9.0) — open the DMG, drag to Applications, done.

First launch: PushForge is not notarized yet. Right-click the app → Open → Open to bypass Gatekeeper.

Requirements

macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later
Xcode 16+ with iOS Simulator runtimes (for iOS)
Android Studio with ADB (for Android — optional)

Quick Start

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/VikrantSingh01/PushForge.git
cd PushForge
brew install xcodegen
xcodegen generate
open PushForge.xcodeproj

Or build from command line:

xcodebuild -project PushForge.xcodeproj -scheme PushForge -destination 'platform=macOS' build

First Push in 30 Seconds

Launch PushForge
Select a platform: iOS Simulator, Android Emulator, or Desktop
For iOS: click Boot next to any simulator. For Desktop: it's always ready.
Pick a template and select an app from the bundle ID dropdown
Press Cmd+Enter or click Send Push

Run Tests

xcodebuild -project PushForge.xcodeproj -scheme PushForgeTests -destination 'platform=macOS' test

23 tests: payload validation (14), template integrity (7), shell execution (2).

Architecture

PushForge/
├── Models/
│   ├── PayloadTemplate.swift         Platform + Category + payload string
│   ├── SavedDevice.swift             @Model — persisted device + bundle ID
│   └── NotificationRecord.swift      @Model — sent notification history
├── Services/
│   ├── SimulatorBridge.swift         actor — xcrun simctl wrapper
│   ├── ADBBridge.swift               actor — adb shell wrapper
│   ├── DesktopNotificationBridge.swift  actor — osascript with app icon detection
│   ├── PayloadValidator.swift        Smart JSON diagnostics + platform mismatch
│   └── TemplateManager.swift         Loads 37 JSON templates from bundle + user dir
├── ViewModels/
│   ├── PayloadComposerViewModel.swift  Template selection + payload state
│   └── DeviceManagerViewModel.swift    Device discovery + send flow + history
├── Views/
│   ├── ContentView.swift             HSplitView root layout
│   ├── TemplatePickerView.swift      iOS/Android/Web tabs + sub-categories
│   ├── PayloadComposerView.swift     JSON editor + validation bar
│   ├── JSONEditorView.swift          NSViewRepresentable — syntax highlighting, line numbers, bracket matching
│   ├── SendPanelView.swift           Device picker + contextual send button
│   ├── BundleIDPickerView.swift      45+ apps dropdown, platform-aware
│   ├── SimulatorPickerView.swift     Boot/select iOS simulators
│   ├── AndroidEmulatorPickerView.swift  ADB emulator selector
│   ├── StatusBannerView.swift        Animated success/failure/sending states
│   ├── HistoryView.swift             SwiftData query + clear all
│   └── HistoryRowView.swift          Expandable history entry
├── Utilities/
│   ├── ShellExecutor.swift           Async Process on GCD (not cooperative pool)
│   └── JSONFormatter.swift           Pretty-print + minify
└── Resources/
    └── Templates/                    37 JSON files in ios/, android/, web/

Key design decisions:

Async ShellExecutor — DispatchQueue.global + withCheckedThrowingContinuation (not actor serialization)
SwiftData persistence — Notification history and saved devices survive app restarts
External JSON templates — Runtime extensible, user-overridable, organized by platform
Bidirectional platform sync — Template tabs and send panel target are always in sync
Platform-aware validation — Warns when payload format doesn't match target platform
Smart quote prevention — Disabled at OS level + real-time auto-replacement in editor
NSTextView JSON editor — JSONEditorView (NSViewRepresentable) delivers syntax highlighting, line numbers, and bracket matching not available in SwiftUI's TextEditor

Roadmap

Common Bundle IDs

iOS Simulator (15 apps)

App	Bundle ID
Settings	`com.apple.Preferences`
Safari	`com.apple.mobilesafari`
Messages	`com.apple.MobileSMS`
Maps	`com.apple.Maps`
Calendar	`com.apple.mobilecal`
Photos	`com.apple.mobileslideshow`
Notes	`com.apple.mobilenotes`
Contacts	`com.apple.MobileAddressBook`
Reminders	`com.apple.reminders`
Clock	`com.apple.mobiletimer`
Weather	`com.apple.weather`
Files	`com.apple.DocumentsApp`
Camera	`com.apple.camera`
Health	`com.apple.Health`
Microsoft Teams	`com.microsoft.teams`

Android Emulator (15 apps)

App	Bundle ID
Settings	`com.android.settings`
Contacts	`com.android.contacts`
Phone	`com.android.dialer`
Messages	`com.android.messaging`
Calendar	`com.android.calendar`
Camera	`com.android.camera2`
Gallery	`com.android.gallery3d`
Chrome	`com.android.chrome`
Gmail	`com.google.android.gm`
Google Maps	`com.google.android.apps.maps`
YouTube	`com.google.android.youtube`
Play Store	`com.android.vending`
Clock	`com.google.android.deskclock`
Calculator	`com.google.android.calculator`
Microsoft Teams	`com.microsoft.teams`

Desktop (15 apps)

App	Bundle ID
Safari	`com.apple.Safari`
Mail	`com.apple.mail`
Messages	`com.apple.MobileSMS`
Calendar	`com.apple.iCal`
Notes	`com.apple.Notes`
Reminders	`com.apple.reminders`
Maps	`com.apple.Maps`
Finder	`com.apple.finder`
Music	`com.apple.Music`
News	`com.apple.news`
Slack	`com.tinyspeck.slackmacgap`
Microsoft Teams	`com.microsoft.teams2`
Chrome	`com.google.Chrome`
Firefox	`org.mozilla.firefox`
VS Code	`com.microsoft.VSCode`

Contributing

Contributions welcome! PushForge is built with SwiftUI — if you're a mobile developer, you already know the stack.

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/PushForge.git
cd PushForge
xcodegen generate
open PushForge.xcodeproj

Good first issues:

Live notification preview panel (mock iOS/Android rendering)
Homebrew cask formula
APNs real device support (.p8 auth)
Import/export notification collections

License

MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

Acknowledgments

This project was developed with assistance from GitHub Copilot, an AI pair programmer.

If PushForge saves you time, give it a ⭐!

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 77 Commits
PushForge.xcodeproj		PushForge.xcodeproj
PushForge		PushForge
PushForgeTests		PushForgeTests
.gitignore		.gitignore
AGENTIC_NOTIFICATION_PATTERNS.md		AGENTIC_NOTIFICATION_PATTERNS.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
demo.png		demo.png
icon.png		icon.png
project.yml		project.yml

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PushForge

Why PushForge?

Who is this for?

How it compares

Features

Multi-Platform Push

Core Features

Push Payload Formats — iOS vs Android vs Desktop

Templates

Standard Templates (24)

AI Agent Templates (13) — NEW

AI Agent Notification Patterns Guide

Custom Templates

Download

Requirements

Quick Start

Build from Source

First Push in 30 Seconds

Run Tests

Architecture

Roadmap

Common Bundle IDs

Contributing

License

Acknowledgments

About

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PushForge

Why PushForge?

Who is this for?

How it compares

Features

Multi-Platform Push

Core Features

Push Payload Formats — iOS vs Android vs Desktop

Templates

Standard Templates (24)

AI Agent Templates (13) — NEW

AI Agent Notification Patterns Guide

Custom Templates

Download

Requirements

Quick Start

Build from Source

First Push in 30 Seconds

Run Tests

Architecture

Roadmap

Common Bundle IDs

Contributing

License

Acknowledgments

About

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