Proxmox Backup Failure Notifications with Gotify and PikaPods

Proxmox has a built-in notification system, but by default it only routes alerts to a local email address. I wanted backup failure alerts delivered to my phone as push notifications – without relying on email. This post covers how I set that up using Gotify hosted on PikaPods, wired into Proxmox’s notification targets and matchers.

The Setup

Gotify is a simple, self-hosted push notification server with Android and web clients. Rather than running it inside the homelab (where a network outage could take it down alongside Proxmox), I deployed it on PikaPods – the same external hosting platform I use for Uptime Kuma. This keeps the notification path independent of the home network.

The overall flow is:

Proxmox backup job fails
        |
        v
Proxmox Notification System
        |
        v
Gotify (PikaPods) -- push --> Gotify Android App

Deploying Gotify on PikaPods

Gotify is available as a one-click app on PikaPods. Once deployed, I created two applications inside Gotify – one for each Proxmox context sending notifications (the main cluster and the Proxmox Backup Server instance). Each application gets its own API token used to authenticate messages from Proxmox.

Gotify applications list showing Proxmox-MiniLab and Proxmox Backup Server entries — Two Gotify applications – one per Proxmox source, each with its own API token

Configuring Proxmox

Proxmox VE 8.x introduced a proper notification framework under Datacenter → Notifications, replacing the old per-job email configuration. It separates notification targets (where to send) from notification matchers (when to send and what to include).

Adding the Gotify Notification Target

Under Notification Targets, I added a new target of type Gotify named Pika-Gotify. The configuration requires the Gotify server URL and the API token from the application created above.

Proxmox Edit: Gotify dialog showing endpoint name, server URL, and API token fields — The Gotify notification target in Proxmox – endpoint name, server URL, and API token

Creating the Notification Matcher

With the target in place, I created a matcher named Backup-Failures to define when to fire. Matchers use a rule tree – this one requires both conditions to match:

Match field: type = vzdump (vzdump is Proxmox’s backup job type)
Match severity: error

Together these mean: only trigger when a backup job produces an error. Successful backups and other job types are ignored.

Edit: Notification Matcher showing Match Rules tab with type=vzdump and severity=error conditions — Match Rules – both conditions must be true: backup job type and error severity

On the Targets to notify tab, I selected Pika-Gotify as the destination.

Edit: Notification Matcher Targets to notify tab with Pika-Gotify selected — Pika-Gotify selected as the notification target for this matcher

The final notification overview shows both the target and matcher active alongside the built-in mail-to-root and default-matcher entries.

Proxmox Datacenter Notifications showing Pika-Gotify target and Backup-Failures matcher enabled — Notification targets and matchers – Pika-Gotify and Backup-Failures active alongside the built-in defaults

Mobile App

The Gotify Android app connects to the PikaPods instance and delivers notifications in real time. Once logged in, any message sent to either application shows up as a push notification on my phone – no polling, no email client needed.

Outcomes


Notification delivery	Push via Gotify Android app
Hosting	PikaPods (external, independent of home network)
Trigger condition	vzdump job with error severity
Proxmox integration	Built-in notification targets and matchers (PVE 8.x)
Applications	Proxmox-MiniLab, Proxmox Backup Server