boop

A simple UDP notification tool for Tailscale/Headscale networks.

Features

• Send and receive audio notifications across your network
• IPv4 and IPv6 support
• mDNS service discovery
• Tailscale/Headscale integration with automatic hostname and username resolution
• Beautiful terminal output with Catppuccin Mocha color scheme
• Fallback Tailscale resolution when MagicDNS isn't available

Installation

From source

go install github.com/OperatorFoundation/boop@latest

Building locally

git clone https://github.com/OperatorFoundation/boop.git
cd boop
go build

Cross-compiling

For Raspberry Pi:

GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm64 go build -o boop-linux-arm64

Usage

Listen for boops

boop --listen

This will:

• Listen on UDP port 9999 (IPv4 and IPv6)
• Advertise via mDNS using your Tailscale machine name
• Play a sound and display a notification when boops are received

Send a boop

# Send to an IP address
boop 100.64.0.106

# Send to a hostname (via DNS or Tailscale resolution)
boop myserver

# Send to yourself
boop me

# Send with a message
boop username@myserver "Hello there!"

The tool will automatically:

• Try DNS resolution first
• Fall back to Tailscale status lookup if DNS fails
• Resolve short machine names to full Tailscale IPs
• Display usernames and machine names in a clean format

How it works

Tailscale Integration

boop queries tailscale status --json to:

• Get your Tailscale machine name for mDNS advertising
• Map IP addresses to machine names and usernames when receiving boops
• Resolve machine names to IPs when MagicDNS isn't available

It works with both official Tailscale and Headscale installations.

Colors

The Catppuccin Mocha color palette: https://catppuccin.com

Requirements

• Go 1.21 or later
• Tailscale or Headscale client (optional, for hostname resolution)

Port

Default port: 9999 UDP

Make sure this port is open on your firewall if needed.

License

MIT