dunst

Dunst is a lightweight notification daemon for the X Window System and Wayland. It receives notifications from applications and displays them on screen in a non-intrusive manner. It implements the Freedesktop.org notification specification and is designed to be simple, fast, and highly configurable.

The daemon runs in the background and can be customized using a single configuration file (dunstrc). Users can adjust where notifications appear, their size and opacity, how long they stay visible, and how they animate. Dunst supports multiple notifications, per-notification actions, icons, hints, and different urgency levels. It can replace or stack existing notifications as needed to fit user preferences.

Dunst is commonly used with lightweight and tiling window managers such as i3, Sway, and Openbox, as well as traditional desktop environments that prefer minimal notification systems. It includes a companion command-line tool, dunstify, for sending notifications programmatically. It also supports multi-monitor setups and per-monitor positioning, enabling tailored display on complex screens.

The project is open-source and widely packaged in Linux distributions and some BSDs. Its emphasis on minimal resource usage, configurability, and compatibility with the standard notification protocol has contributed to its longevity and popularity among users seeking a low-overhead notification solution that respects personal workflow.