Notelert

What is Notelert

Notelert is an app that sets notifications and reminders in the Android systems thanks to the Notelert plug-in in Obsidian. This app and plugin act as a bridge between Obsidian and the Android native capavilites regarding notifications. So you want a notification in a certain line of your note, you trigger the pop up select the notification type and confirm. Notelert opens, register the notification in the Android system and return you back to Obsidian in less than two seconds. So the notification is set and you can continue with your notes. The app also acts as list or log of your current active notifications and the old ones, and you can set some preferences also. But that's it. Notelert app or plugin does not scans you vault in any way.

⚠️ Technical Privacy Disclosure:

No Personal Identification: The app does not sell or share your data. We use Firebase only as a delivery bridge.

Data Minimization: We only store the specific line of text you select for notification and its timestamp.

Infrastructure Logs: Firebase (provided by Google) may collect ephemeral technical data like IP addresses and device models to manage the secure connection and deliver Push Notifications. This is a technical requirement of the Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) service.

No Marketing Trackers: Google Analytics and Google Signals have been disabled to prioritize user privacy.

Installation

Method 1: Download from Releases Folder (Easiest - Recommended)

1. Download the plugin files:

   • Go to the releases folder in the repository
   • Option A - Download ZIP: Click on notelert-plugin.zip → Click "Download" → Extract the ZIP file
   • Option B - Download individual files:
     • Click on main.js → Click "Raw" → Right-click → "Save As" → Save as main.js
     • Click on manifest.json → Click "Raw" → Right-click → "Save As" → Save as manifest.json

2. Find the Obsidian plugins folder:

   • Method A (Easiest): In Obsidian, go to Settings → Community Plugins → Click "Open plugins folder"
   • Method B (Manual): Navigate to your vault folder → Open .obsidian folder → Open plugins folder
     • Windows: Usually in Documents/Obsidian/YourVaultName/.obsidian/plugins/
     • macOS: Usually in ~/Documents/Obsidian/YourVaultName/.obsidian/plugins/ or in your vault location
     • Linux: Usually in ~/Documents/Obsidian/YourVaultName/.obsidian/plugins/ or in your vault location

3. Create the plugin folder and install:

   • In the plugins folder, create a new folder named notelert
   • Copy main.js and manifest.json into the notelert folder
   • Go back to Obsidian Settings → Community Plugins
   • Turn off "Safe mode" (if enabled)
   • Enable "Notelert"

Method 2: Download ZIP from GitHub Actions

1. Download the plugin ZIP:

   • Go to the Actions tab
   • Click on the latest successful workflow run (green checkmark)
   • Scroll down to "Artifacts" section
   • Download notelert-plugin.zip

2. Extract and install:

   • Extract the ZIP file to get main.js and manifest.json
   • Follow the installation steps from Method 1, steps 2-3

Method 3: Download files from dist folder

1. Download the files:

   • Go to the dist folder in the repository
   • Click on main.js → Click "Raw" → Right-click → "Save As" → Save as main.js
   • Click on manifest.json → Click "Raw" → Right-click → "Save As" → Save as manifest.json

2. Install in Obsidian:

   • Follow the installation steps from Method 1, steps 2-3

Requirements

• Obsidian version 0.15.0 or higher
• Notelert mobile app installed on your Android device (for mobile features)
• Premium subscription (for location and email notifications)

Demo Videos

• Demo Video 1
• Demo Video 2

Note for Obsidian Team

The plugin still need some polishing, and also the app is in an open beta test in Google Play but I do not want to go further without your consent. I really want you to test the app and plugin fully so if you provide me of some emails that the team use for testing I can add you to the beta test in Google Play so you will be able to download the app and test it properly. Without the app the plugin does nothing. If there is another way that you like to use to test the whole system I'm completely open to know about. Many thanks!

How it Works

Basic Usage

The user triggers a pop-up using :@ then in the pop-up the user can select the date and time that he/she wants to be notified and confirms. After confirming a deeplink is generated and the Notelert app catches it and parses the link. If the link contains a valid future date and time, the app sets a notification in the system.

Location Notifications

If the user chooses to set a location based notification the process is the same but instead of using date and time the deeplink contains at latitude and longitude. When pressing the location button in the pop-up, appears the list of pre-selected locations that previously the user has selected in the app and stored in the database, the plugin fetches the user preselected locations from the database. The app uses Google Maps API and geofencing to detect the position of the device and triggers the notification when arriving.

Email Notifications

In adition to the push notifications the user can choose if he/she wants to receive email notifications at the same moment than the push notifications. There is a section in the options page when the user can activate or deactive email notifications. Also there is a section in the options page to specify the email that the user wants to use to receive the notification. Email system is using a small backend in Firebase and Resend email system.

Mobile vs Desktop Modes

The plugin detects when the device is desktop or mobile and changes the behaviour of the plugin. Initially I was only thinking to use the plugin for mobile, but after setting the email system I decided to use that feature in desktop mode. So in desktop due to the limitations of this project at this stage the email notifications is the only way to be notified. In desktop mode the user selects in the pop-up the date and time of the notification and he/she will receive an email at that moment. Also the email notification that the user sets in desktop mode are listed in the options section of the plugin and can be deleted

Data usage

All the data that the app collects is to provide the notifications and nothing else. The plugin nor the app does NOT scan the vaults. Only gets the title of the note and the line of the reminder.

Network Usage & Remote Services

This plugin uses remote services to provide its functionality. The following services are used and why:

Services Used:

• Firebase Functions: Backend service for scheduling and sending email notifications, and for geocoding location searches
• Google Maps API: Used for geocoding addresses to coordinates (via Firebase proxy)
• Resend: Email delivery service for sending scheduled email notifications

Why These Services Are Necessary:

• Firebase Functions: Required to schedule emails that will be sent at a future time, even when the plugin is not active. Also provides secure proxy for Google Maps API.
• Google Maps API: Required to convert addresses and place names into coordinates for location-based notifications.
• Resend: Reliable email delivery service for sending notification emails.

What Data Is Sent:

• For email notifications: Title, message, scheduled date/time, and your email address
• For geocoding: Location search queries (addresses or place names)
• For authentication: Plugin token (to verify premium status)
• What is NOT sent: No vault content, no file contents, no personal notes data

Privacy:

• All data is used solely for notification purposes
• No analytics or telemetry is collected
• No data is shared with third parties except for the services listed above
• The plugin does not scan your vault - it only reads the note title and the specific line where you create a reminder

Account Requirements

A Notelert mobile app account is required for full functionality:

• The plugin requires the Notelert mobile app to be installed on your Android device
• You need to register an account in the mobile app (via Google Sign-In)
• For premium features (location notifications, email notifications), you need a Premium subscription in the mobile app
• The plugin itself is completely free - no payment required for the plugin

Premium Features

While the plugin is totally free, the app has a free mode and premium mode:

• Free mode: Unlimited push notifications (date/time only). Location and email notifications require Premium.
• Premium mode: Unlimited push notifications + location-based notifications + email notifications.

Note: Location and email notifications have maintenance costs attached, which is why they require a Premium subscription.

Development

Building the Plugin

To build the plugin for development:

npm run build

This will compile TypeScript files and generate dist/main.js and dist/manifest.json.

Installing to Obsidian (Development)

The build:install script automatically builds the plugin and copies the files to your Obsidian plugins folder.

Before using build:install, you need to configure the plugin path:

1. Open scripts/copy-to-obsidian.js
2. Update the OBSIDIAN_PLUGIN_PATH constant with your Obsidian vault's plugin folder path:

   const OBSIDIAN_PLUGIN_PATH = '/path/to/your/vault/.obsidian/plugins/notelert';
   

3. Make sure the notelert folder exists in your Obsidian plugins directory (create it if it doesn't exist)

To find your Obsidian plugins folder:

• In Obsidian: Settings → Community Plugins → Click "Open plugins folder"
• Or manually navigate to: YourVault/.obsidian/plugins/

Then run:

npm run build:install

This will:

1. Build the plugin (npm run build)
2. Copy main.js and manifest.json to your Obsidian plugins folder
3. Show a notification when complete

Note: After installing, reload the plugin in Obsidian: Settings → Community Plugins → Disable/Enable Notelert