Goose Desktop App¶
Native desktop notifications for macOS, Linux, Windows, BSD. Honks when you're blocking someone's PR, jet sounds when your PR advances.
Installation¶
What this enables: Native desktop notifications when PRs need your attention. Works on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Security: Goose runs on your machine using your GitHub credentials. It communicates with GitHub's API and reviewGOOSE's Turn API for PR state analysis.
Installation Methods¶
Recommended method for macOS users:
# Install reviewGOOSE
brew install --cask codegroove-dev/tap/reviewgoose
# Authenticate with GitHub
gh auth status || gh auth login
Launch: Open /Applications/reviewGOOSE.app
Auto-start: Click menu bar icon → Start at Login
For Linux distributions with Homebrew (e.g., Bluefin):
# Install reviewGOOSE
brew install codegroove-dev/tap/reviewgoose
# Authenticate with GitHub
gh auth status || gh auth login
reviewGOOSE will be available in your applications menu.
For traditional Linux distributions:
# Install dependencies
# Debian/Ubuntu:
sudo apt install golang-go gh
# Fedora:
sudo dnf install golang gh
# Arch Linux:
sudo pacman -S go github-cli
# Authenticate with GitHub
gh auth login
# Install reviewGOOSE
go install github.com/codeGROOVE-dev/goose/cmd/reviewgoose@latest
Binary installed to ~/go/bin/reviewgoose. Add to auto-start for persistent notifications.
# Install dependencies (FreeBSD)
pkg install go gh git
# Authenticate with GitHub
gh auth login
# Install reviewGOOSE
go install github.com/codeGROOVE-dev/goose/cmd/reviewgoose@latest
Binary installed to ~/go/bin/reviewgoose.
Prerequisites: Install Go 1.23.4+ and GitHub CLI
# Authenticate with GitHub
gh auth login
# Install reviewGOOSE
go install github.com/codeGROOVE-dev/goose/cmd/reviewgoose@latest
Binary installed to %USERPROFILE%\go\bin\reviewgoose.exe. Add to startup for persistent notifications.
Goose Credential Options
Default: Goose reuses credentials from your local gh tool (GitHub CLI).
For evaluation: Generate a GitHub Personal Access Token (PAT) with access to only public repositories:
- Create a token: github.com/settings/personal-access-tokens/new
- Grant permissions: Pull requests (Read), Metadata (Read)
- Select Public Repositories (read-only) for maximum security during evaluation
- Run:
env GITHUB_TOKEN=your_token_here goose
This ensures Goose can only access public PRs during your evaluation period.
Verify It Works¶
Create a test PR in a repository where the GitHub App is installed. You should receive a desktop notification within seconds.
Configuration¶
Fine-Grained Token¶
For repo-specific access instead of full GitHub account access:
Create token: https://github.com/settings/personal-access-tokens/new
Permissions: Pull requests (read), Metadata (read)
Token not persisted to disk. Set environment variable each run.
Organization Filtering¶
Click Goose icon → Organization Filter → Check/uncheck orgs
Useful to separate work and personal projects.
Settings¶
Click Goose icon → Settings:
- Enable/disable audio notifications
- Auto-open PRs in browser (rate-limited: 1/min, 10/hr)
- Organization filter
Security¶
Uses GitHub CLI credentials (stored by gh in OS keychain) or GITHUB_TOKEN env var.
Accesses: PR metadata (title, author, reviewers, status)
Does not access: Source code, commits, comments
No telemetry. No data transmission except GitHub API. Details: Security
Troubleshooting¶
No icon: macOS: Check ps aux | grep goose, restart with killall goose && make run. Linux: Verify system tray support, install libgtk-3-dev libappindicator3-dev. Windows: Check hidden tray icons.
No notifications: Check OS notification permissions. Verify PRs exist (click icon). Create test PR.
Auth failed: Run gh auth status, re-auth with gh auth login. Check token permissions if using GITHUB_TOKEN.
Crashes: Run in foreground to see errors: ./goose. Update: git pull && make clean && make run.