go-sendxmpp is a command line replacement for mail command on linux. It allows reading in from stdin and sending xmpp messages to anyone on the xmpp network including multi user chatrooms. The original program was written in perl but I could not package it for alpine linux. I prefer the go implementation because it compiles into a single binary that I can copy to all my machines. Go’s binaries are statically linked by default so if most of my system is falling apart, it’s more likely I will get a message that my system is falling apart.

The program’s documentation is great for installing and setting up go-sendxmpp. However, there is one mistake in the documentation as it says the config file must contain:

username: <your_jid>
jserver: <jabber_server>
port: <jabber_port>
password: <your_jabber_password>

My xmpp server uses default settings so I was able to get go-sendxmpp working with:

username: <your_jid>
password: <your_jabber_password>

Since this file will stored unencrypted 1 on multiple possibly insecure computers, it is wise to make a new jabber account to send yourself notifications.

Message on ssh login

 doas apk add openssh-server-pam linux-pam

 UsePAM yes

 server:~$ doas cat /etc/ssh/login-notify.sh
 #!/bin/sh

 # Change these two lines:
 SENDXMPP_CONFIG="/home/anjan/.sendxmpprc"
 RECIPIENT="anjan -at- momi.ca"

 if [ "$PAM_TYPE" != "close_session" ]; then
         host="`hostname`"

         # do not send message if Im sshing from a known ip address
         [ "$PAM_RHOST" = "192.168.1.1" ] && exit 0 
         subject="SSH Login: $PAM_USER from $PAM_RHOST on $host"
         # Message to send, e.g. the current environment variables.
         message="`env`"
         echo "$message" | /home/anjan/go/bin/go-sendxmpp -f "$SENDXMPP_CONFIG"  "$RECIPIENT"
 fi

 session optional pam_exec.so seteuid /etc/ssh/login-notify.sh

I am using sxmo on my pinephone which allows the user to define commands to run when the phone receives a call or text. Most people use this feature to setup a script to switch to the speaker sink, set volume to 100%, and tell mpv to play a ringing sound. My android phone required constant babysitting where I would have to consider when I cannot have my phone ring (sleeping, before meetings, etc.) and I needed to remember to put my phone on silent. Keeping my phone on silent all the time caused me miss calls and texts because I wouldn’t pay attention to it.

Introducing go-sendxmpp - no babysitting required, I will never miss a call/text, and my phone will never ring at an inopportune times.

xmpp message on new text or call

INCOMING_NUMBER="$1"
echo "Pinephone text from: $INCOMING_NUMBER" | go-sendxmpp anjan -at- momi.ca

INCOMING_NUMBER="$1"
echo "Pinephone Call from: $INCOMING_NUMBER" | go-sendxmpp anjan -at- momi.ca

notification on low battery

*/10    *       *       *       *       [ `cat /sys/class/power_supply/axp20x-battery/capacity` -le 30 ] && [ `cat /sys/class/power_supply/axp20x-battery/status` = "Discharging" ] && echo "pinephone low battery" | ~/.config/go/bin/go-sendxmpp anjan -at- momi.ca

go-sendxmpp allows for a universal, easy to setup notification system for all your *nix devices. Furthermore, it shows the advantages of using a unix-like operating system for things that are commonly not tradition unix boxes (ie. your phone).

Try out go-sendxmpp. Can you think of other uses for a service like this? If so, feel free to send an email to my public-inbox.