Gentle Alerts

Gentle Alerts replaces the harsh, attention-stealing native alert(), confirm(), and prompt() dialogs that web pages can pop up with calmer, in-page modals that respect what you're doing.

The native browser alert is a blunt instrument. When a page calls it, the browser yanks focus to the tab, freezes the page, blocks every other tab in the same process, and demands an immediate click before you can do anything else. A stray alert from a background tab can interrupt typing, swallow keystrokes, and force a context switch you didn't ask for. Worse, because the alert appears exactly where your cursor lives, it's easy to dismiss one by accident — losing whatever message it was trying to deliver.

Gentle Alerts intercepts those calls and shows the message in a soft, in-page modal instead. The page keeps running, your other tabs stay responsive, and the modal waits patiently in the tab where it was created until you actually look at it.

What it does

- Intercepts native dialogs. window.alert, window.confirm, and window.prompt are replaced with a styled in-page modal that delivers the same message and return value the calling page expects.
- No forced tab switch. Background tabs no longer steal focus when they fire an alert. The notification waits in its own tab.
- Plays a soft chime. When a modal opens it plays a gentle notification sound so you know something needs your attention without being startled.
- Keyboard friendly. Dismiss the modal with Enter, Escape, or Space. No mouse aim required.
- Resists accidental dismissal. The modal won't close from a stray click or keystroke while you're typing — useful when an alert fires in the middle of an email or chat.
- Works everywhere. It runs on every page and is particularly nice for Google Calendar event reminders, internal dashboards, and any legacy app that still uses alert()-based notifications.

Why it exists

This project began as a fix for Google Calendar's event reminders. Calendar used to show a soft, non-blocking notification when an event was about to start. When the feature graduated from Google Labs, that gentle reminder was replaced with a hard browser alert that hijacks the foreground tab. Gentle Alerts brings the calmer behavior back — not just for Calendar, but for every site that still relies on native dialogs.

Privacy

Gentle Alerts does not collect, transmit, or sell your data. It does not read page content, does not track browsing history, and does not phone home. The only things it stores are your own preferences, kept locally in your browser.

Open source

Gentle Alerts is MIT licensed and developed in the open on GitHub. Bug reports, feature requests, and pull requests are welcome.