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What is push.js?

nickersoft/push.js — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

8,671JavaScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

In one sentence

A small JavaScript library that lets websites show desktop notification popups in any browser without writing separate code for Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((push.js))
    What it does
      Desktop popups
      Cross-browser support
      Background alerts
    Tech Stack
      JavaScript
      Notification API
    Use Cases
      Chat alerts
      Task completion
      Background events
    Setup
      npm install
      One function call
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Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Send a desktop popup when a new chat message arrives on your website.

USE CASE 2

Alert a user about a background event even when they are on a different tab.

USE CASE 3

Show a completion notification after a long upload or task finishes in the browser.

What is it built with?

JavaScript

How does it compare?

nickersoft/push.jsgotwarlost/istanbulprosemirror/prosemirror
Stars8,6718,6698,678
LanguageJavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript
Setup difficultyeasyeasyhard
Complexity2/52/54/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

So what is it?

Push.js is a small JavaScript library that makes it straightforward to show desktop notification popups from a web page. When a website wants to alert you about a new message or an event, it can use the browser's built-in Notification API to show a small popup in the corner of your screen, even when the browser tab is in the background. Push.js wraps that browser API so you do not have to write different code for each browser. The cross-browser problem it solves is real: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and older versions of Internet Explorer all implemented notifications slightly differently at different times. Push.js handles those differences internally and falls back to older approaches when a browser does not support the current standard. From your code, you just call Push and it figures out the right method to use. Installing it is simple: one line with npm or Bower, and then you can send a desktop notification with a short function call. Full documentation is available on the project's website at pushjs.org. The library is in a low-activity maintenance state. The original author notes that he is occupied with other work and is looking for co-maintainers to help answer questions and fix bugs. The core functionality is stable and the library still works, but active development has slowed. If you need desktop notifications in a JavaScript project and want something that requires almost no setup, this library does that job. If you are starting something new and need long-term support guarantees, the README suggests checking whether a co-maintainer has stepped in since this was written.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Using push.js, write a function that requests notification permission and then shows a desktop alert with a title, body text, and an icon URL.
Prompt 2
How do I install push.js with npm and send my first notification in under 10 lines of JavaScript?
Prompt 3
Write push.js code that shows a notification when new data arrives from a polling API call and closes it automatically after 4 seconds.
Prompt 4
Using push.js, how do I handle the case where a browser does not support notifications and fall back to a visible on-page alert instead?

Frequently asked questions

What is push.js?

A small JavaScript library that lets websites show desktop notification popups in any browser without writing separate code for Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.

What language is push.js written in?

Mainly JavaScript. The stack also includes JavaScript.

How hard is push.js to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is push.js for?

Mainly developer.

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