PyObjC NotificationCenter Framework

12.1 · active · verified Tue Apr 14

PyObjC-framework-NotificationCenter provides Python bindings for Apple's NotificationCenter.framework on macOS, allowing Python applications to interact with the system's user notification services. It primarily wraps the older NSUserNotification API. As part of the larger PyObjC project, it maintains an active development pace, with releases often coinciding with new macOS SDK updates, currently at version 12.1.

Warnings

breaking PyObjC frequently drops support for older Python versions. Version 12.0 dropped Python 3.9, and version 11.0 dropped Python 3.8. Always verify Python compatibility for your specific PyObjC version.
Fix: Upgrade to a supported Python version (currently >=3.10 for PyObjC 12.1) or pin an older PyObjC version compatible with your Python environment.
breaking Major changes to PyObjC's Automatic Reference Counting (ARC) behavior, particularly for initializer (`init`) methods. PyObjC now correctly models that methods in the 'init' family steal a reference to self and return a new reference, aligning with Clang's ARC documentation.
Fix: Review custom Python subclasses of Objective-C objects, especially those implementing `init` methods, to ensure correct reference handling and avoid memory leaks or crashes.
gotcha Interactions between Python's `__init__` and `__new__` methods and Objective-C object creation can be tricky. PyObjC 10.3 initially removed `__init__` support when PyObjC's `__new__` was used, which was partially re-introduced in 10.3.1.
Fix: When subclassing Objective-C classes in Python, be cautious with overriding `__new__` and `__init__`. If `__new__` is not explicitly provided by your class or its Python superclasses, use `__init__` as usual. If you override `__new__`, ensure it correctly calls the superclass's `__new__` or `alloc().init()` pattern.
gotcha Experimental support for Python 3.13's free-threading (PEP 703) was introduced in PyObjC 11.0, but PyObjC 10.3 explicitly did not support it. Using PyObjC in a free-threaded environment may introduce instability or unexpected behavior.
Fix: If using Python 3.13, exercise caution with free-threading when using PyObjC. For critical applications, consider using a non-free-threaded Python build or waiting for more stable PyObjC free-threading support.
deprecated The `NSUserNotificationCenter` API, wrapped by this framework, is deprecated on macOS 10.14 and later in favor of `UserNotifications.framework` (`UNUserNotificationCenter`). While still functional, Apple recommends migrating to the newer API for future compatibility and features.
Fix: For new development or modern macOS applications, consider using `pyobjc-framework-UserNotifications` and its `UNUserNotificationCenter` API instead of `pyobjc-framework-notificationcenter`.

Install

pip install pyobjc-framework-notificationcenter Install specific framework
pip install pyobjc Install all PyObjC frameworks (including this one)

Imports

NSUserNotificationCenter, NSUserNotification
```
from Foundation import NSDate
from NotificationCenter import NSUserNotification, NSUserNotificationCenter
```
For using the NSUserNotificationCenter and NSUserNotification APIs. For newer UserNotifications.framework (macOS 10.14+), use `pyobjc-framework-UserNotifications` and import from `UserNotifications`.

Quickstart

This quickstart demonstrates how to send a simple user notification using the `NSUserNotification` and `NSUserNotificationCenter` APIs provided by `NotificationCenter.framework` on macOS. Note that for modern macOS (10.14+), Apple recommends `UserNotifications.framework` (UNUserNotificationCenter), which is available via `pyobjc-framework-UserNotifications`.

import objc
from Foundation import NSDate
from NotificationCenter import NSUserNotification, NSUserNotificationCenter
import time

# Create a notification
notification = NSUserNotification.alloc().init()
notification.setTitle_("PyObjC Notification")
notification.setInformativeText_("This is a test notification from NotificationCenter.framework.")
notification.setDeliveryDate_(NSDate.dateWithTimeIntervalSinceNow_(0)) # Deliver immediately

# Set an identifier to avoid duplicate notifications in Notification Center (optional, but good practice)
notification.setIdentifier_(f"com.example.pyobjc.notification.{time.time()}")

# Get the default notification center and deliver the notification
notificationCenter = NSUserNotificationCenter.defaultUserNotificationCenter()
notificationCenter.deliverNotification_(notification)

print("Notification delivered. Check your macOS Notification Center.")
# In a real application, you might need to run an event loop
# For simple scripts, exiting is usually sufficient as the notification
# delivery is handled by the system.

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