Universal URL Syntax

The Blueprint

Apprise uses a standardized URL schema to identify where notifications should be sent. No matter which service you are using, the format remains consistent:

service://credentials/direction/?parameter=value

Breakdown

1. The Schema (service://)

The schema determines which plugin Apprise loads.

• mailto:// → Email
• tgram:// → Telegram
• slack:// → Slack

View the full list of supported services.

2. Credentials & Host

Most services require authentication. Apprise maps these standard URL parts to the service’s API requirements.

• User/Pass: service://user:password@...
• API Tokens: service://token@...
• Hostnames: service://hostname

3. The Target (/direction)

The direction (or path) tells Apprise where to send the message once authenticated. This varies by service but always represents the final destination.

• Channels: slack://.../#general
• Phone Numbers: twilio://.../15555555555
• Chat IDs: tgram://.../123456789

4. Parameters (?key=value)

Parameters allow you to tune the behavior of a specific notification. They are appended to the end of the URL starting with a ?.

Parameters are unique to each service. For example, you can enable Text-to-Speech in Discord (?tts=yes) or add a CC recipient to an email (?cc=user@example.ca).

Example: Sending an email to two people, in HTML format:

mailto://user:pass@gmail.com/?to=jane@example.com&format=html

Contextual Usage

You will use these URLs everywhere in Apprise:

1. CLI arguments: apprise "service://..."
2. Configuration files: Listed in your YAML or TEXT files.
3. API calls: Sent in the JSON payload.