Replace aw-notify with Rust implementation aw-notify-rs

[0xbrayo]

Important

Replace aw-notify with aw-notify-rs in submodules and update README.md accordingly.

• Submodules:
  • Replace aw-notify submodule with aw-notify-rs in .gitmodules.
• Documentation:
  • Update README.md to link aw-notify to 0xbrayo/aw-notify-rs in the architecture diagram.

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[ellipsis-dev]

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[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR replaces the Python-based aw-notify implementation with a new Rust implementation (aw-notify-rs) from the 0xbrayo repository. The changes update the submodule URL in .gitmodules and the corresponding link in the README.md architecture diagram.

Key Changes:

• Submodule URL changed from github.com/ErikBjare/aw-notify to github.com/0xbrayo/aw-notify-rs
• Architecture diagram updated to reflect new repository location
• Submodule commit pointer updated to the Rust implementation

No Issues Found:

• All references have been properly updated
• The change is clean and straightforward
• Build scripts (Makefile, aw.spec) reference the module by directory name only, so no updates needed there

Confidence Score: 5/5

• This PR is safe to merge with no risk
• This is a straightforward submodule replacement with only three files changed: the submodule configuration, documentation link, and submodule commit pointer. All changes are consistent and properly coordinated. Build scripts and CI configurations reference the module by path only, not by repository URL, so they remain compatible. No code logic is modified.
• No files require special attention

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
.gitmodules	Replaced aw-notify submodule URL from ErikBjare/aw-notify to 0xbrayo/aw-notify-rs, pointing to a Rust implementation
README.md	Updated architecture diagram to link aw-notify to 0xbrayo/aw-notify-rs repository
aw-notify	Updated submodule commit pointer to new Rust implementation

_{Last reviewed commit: 22c0ee6}

[greptile-apps]

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[TimeToBuildBob]

The macOS CI failures here (macos-14 and macos-latest) are a pre-existing infrastructure issue unrelated to this PR's changes.

Root cause: Apple Developer Agreement has expired — xcrun notarytool submit is getting HTTP 403. I investigated and reported this in #1212, tagging @ErikBjare to accept the updated agreement on developer.apple.com.

This PR itself looks great — both Ellipsis and Greptile give it a thumbs up (5/5 confidence). Once Erik resolves the Apple Developer account issue, the macOS jobs should pass. In the meantime, the PR is ready from a code quality perspective.

[TimeToBuildBob]

Correction to my previous comment: I was wrong about the macOS failures being unrelated.

The actual root cause: aw.spec calls build_analysis("aw_notify", aw_notify_location, ...) which looks for Python files at:

• aw-notify/aw_notify/__main__.py
• aw-notify/src/aw_notify/__main__.py

Since this PR replaces Python aw-notify with Rust aw-notify-rs, neither path exists, causing the Package dmg step to fail with:

Exception: Could not find aw_notify location from [PosixPath('aw-notify/aw_notify/__main__.py'), PosixPath('aw-notify/src/aw_notify/__main__.py')]

Fix needed in aw.spec: Make aw-notify optional when it's not a Python package. The build_analysis() function needs a skip_if_not_found option, or the call to it needs a guard:

# Check if aw-notify is a Python package
_notify_candidates = [
    aw_notify_location / "aw_notify/__main__.py",
    aw_notify_location / "src/aw_notify/__main__.py",
]
skip_aw_notify = not any(p.exists() for p in _notify_candidates)
if skip_aw_notify:
    print("Skipping aw-notify Python packaging (Rust-based implementation detected)")

aw_notify_a = None if skip_aw_notify else build_analysis(
    "aw_notify", aw_notify_location, hiddenimports=["desktop_notifier.resources"]
)

Then wrap all subsequent uses (MERGE, build_collect, BUNDLE) in if aw_notify_a is not None: guards.

The Rust binary itself (aw-notify-rs) would be compiled separately and included as a binary (similar to aw-server-rust). The packaging of the Rust binary can be addressed in a follow-up once the build no longer crashes.

[ErikBjare]

@0xbrayo Could you move aw-notify-rs into the ActivityWatch org? :)

[0xbrayo]

transferred to AW

[0xbrayo]

@TimeToBuildBob reupdate the links, now aw-notify-rs is located at activitywatch/aw-notify-rs

[TimeToBuildBob]

@0xbrayo Now that aw-notify-rs is at ActivityWatch/aw-notify-rs, two places in this PR need updating:

1. .gitmodules — change url = https://github.com/0xbrayo/aw-notify-rs.git to url = https://github.com/ActivityWatch/aw-notify-rs.git
2. README.md — change <a href='https://github.com/0xbrayo/aw-notify-rs'> to <a href='https://github.com/ActivityWatch/aw-notify-rs'>

Also make sure the submodule commit points to the new repo's commit (you may need to git submodule set-url aw-notify https://github.com/ActivityWatch/aw-notify-rs.git && git submodule update --remote aw-notify).

[ErikBjare]

@0xbrayo Fixed the Apple Notarization stuff (just needed to accept new ToS), re-triggered the CI.

[ErikBjare]

@TimeToBuildBob Is the remaining failing CI just a consequence of running from Brayo's fork? Safe to merge? Or do we still need to do something about #1211 (comment)?

(also, I think Brayo gave him access to his fork, unless that was just aw-tauri, so you should maybe be able to push directly to it and fix this instead of telling us to)

[TimeToBuildBob]

@ErikBjare To answer your questions:

1. Not safe to merge yet — the aw.spec issue from my earlier comment still needs fixing. CI is currently all pending (runners haven't picked up the re-triggered jobs), but once they run, the macOS Package dmg step will fail because aw.spec still calls build_analysis("aw_notify", ...) looking for Python files that no longer exist with the Rust replacement.

2. I don't have push access to Brayo's fork — checked just now, I only have pull (read-only) on 0xbrayo/activitywatch. That was likely just aw-tauri where Brayo granted access.

Options to unblock:

• Brayo grants me push access to 0xbrayo/activitywatch so I can push the aw.spec fix directly
• Brayo applies the fix himself (the guard code is in my comment above)
• You cherry-pick the fix onto the PR branch (you likely have org-level access)
• We create a follow-up PR to master after merging this one (but that means CI will break on master temporarily)

I'd recommend option 1 or 2. @0xbrayo could you grant @TimeToBuildBob push access to your activitywatch fork, or apply the aw.spec guard from my earlier comment?

[0xbrayo]

@TimeToBuildBob I have sent you an invite to be a collaborator on my fork.

[0xbrayo]

@TimeToBuildBob wait for the CI builds to finish, seems like the last commit resolved the errors, except for a transient integration error on ubuntu

[TimeToBuildBob]

The `aw.spec` fix has been pushed (commit 0367d2d). Here's the current CI summary:

macOS jobs: Both `macos-14` and `macos-latest` are now passing — the `aw.spec` guard is working correctly.

Remaining failure: `ubuntu-24.04 / Run integration tests` fails with:
```
FAILED aw-server/tests/test_client.py::test_midnight_heartbeats - AssertionError: assert 9 == 8
```
This is a pre-existing flaky timing test in aw-server, not related to this PR's changes. The other `ubuntu-24.04` job (from the second workflow run) passes fine.

Two `windows-latest` jobs are still pending (runners queued).

Short summary: the actual fix for this PR (aw.spec + submodule + README) is complete and working. The one failing job is a known flaky test unrelated to aw-notify-rs. Safe to merge once the Windows jobs complete.

[TimeToBuildBob]

Windows jobs are both green now. All CI passes except the one pre-existing flaky test_midnight_heartbeats on Ubuntu (unrelated to this PR — it's a timing assertion in aw-server).

Ready to merge.

[ErikBjare]

Merging.

@TimeToBuildBob investigate the flaky test and address in seperate PR.

[TimeToBuildBob]

Investigated the flaky test_midnight_heartbeats and submitted a fix: ActivityWatch/aw-server#157

Root cause: The test creates 20 events spanning midnight (23:50→00:09), then queries events after midnight. Event 9 (at 23:59, duration 1min) has endtime exactly at midnight. The server's endtime >= start_query SQL condition non-deterministically includes this boundary event, causing assert 9 == 8.

Fix: Zero out seconds/microseconds for deterministic timestamps + add 1ms query offset to avoid the boundary ambiguity.