Notifications Guide¶

Configure and manage desktop and mobile notifications.

Quick Setup

Enable notifications in 3 steps: Grant browser permission → Subscribe to topics → Configure preferences.

Notification Types¶

Notifer supports multiple notification channels:

Desktop Notifications - Browser push notifications (Chrome, Firefox, Safari)
Mobile Push - Native iOS and Android notifications
Email - Forward messages to email
Webhooks - HTTP callbacks to external services

Desktop Notifications¶

Enabling Desktop Notifications¶

First Time Setup: 1. Navigate to any topic 2. Click "Subscribe" button 3. Browser prompts: "Allow notifications?" 4. Click "Allow" 5. Test notification appears

Alternative - Via Settings: 1. Go to Settings → Notifications 2. Click "Enable Desktop Notifications" 3. Grant browser permission 4. Configure preferences

Browser Compatibility¶

Browser	Desktop	Mobile	Notes
Chrome	✅	✅	Full support
Firefox	✅	✅	Full support
Safari	✅	⚠️	Limited on iOS
Edge	✅	✅	Chromium-based
Brave	✅	✅	Privacy mode may block

Notification Behavior¶

When notifications appear: - App closed - System notification (always) - App in background - System notification (default) - App active - In-app notification (optional)

Configure in Settings: - ✅ Show when active - Notify even when app is open - ❌ Quiet when active - Only in-app banner

Notification Settings¶

Global Settings (all topics): 1. Go to Settings → Notifications 2. Configure: - Enable/Disable - Master switch - Sound - Play notification sound - Show preview - Display message content - Badge count - Show unread count on icon

Per-Topic Settings (override global): 1. Go to topic in "Subscribed" tab 2. Click bell icon or notification settings 3. Configure: - Priority threshold - Only priority N or higher - Tag filter - Only specific tags - Sound override - Different sound per topic - Quiet hours - Don't notify during specific times

Priority-Based Notifications¶

Control which messages trigger notifications:

Priority	Level	Default Behavior
1	Min	Silent (no notification)
2	Low	Silent (optional)
3	Default	Notify
4	High	Notify + sound
5	Max	Notify + sound + persistent

Set Priority Threshold:

# Subscribe to topic with priority 4+ only
- Go to topic subscription settings
- Set "Priority threshold" to 4
- Save settings

# Now only priority 4 and 5 messages will notify

Example Use Cases: - Personal reminders - Threshold: 3 (all messages) - CI/CD alerts - Threshold: 4 (failures only) - Server monitoring - Threshold: 5 (critical only)

Tag-Based Filtering¶

Subscribe to specific message types:

Example:

# Topic: "deployments"
# Messages have tags: production, staging, dev

# Your filter: "production" only
# Result: Only production deployment notifications

Configure Tag Filter: 1. Go to topic subscription settings 2. Enable "Tag filter" 3. Enter tags (comma-separated): production,critical 4. Select filter mode: - Any - Message has any of these tags - All - Message has all these tags 5. Save settings

Notification Sound¶

Global Sound: - Default system sound - Or select from Notifer sounds - Upload custom sound (Pro plan)

Per-Topic Sound: 1. Go to topic notification settings 2. Enable "Custom sound" 3. Select sound from dropdown 4. Test sound with preview button

Available Sounds: - 🔔 Default - 🎵 Chime - 📢 Alert - 🚨 Emergency - 🎺 Fanfare - 🔕 Silent

Quiet Hours¶

Don't receive notifications during specific times:

Configure: 1. Go to Settings → Notifications 2. Enable "Quiet hours" 3. Set time range: 22:00 - 08:00 4. Select days: Weekdays or All days 5. Exceptions - Always notify for priority 5

Per-Topic Override: - Allow specific topics to bypass quiet hours - Useful for critical alerts that need immediate attention

Mobile Push Notifications¶

Setting Up Mobile App¶

Install Notifer App
iOS: Download from App Store
Android: Download from Google Play
Grant Notification Permission
App prompts on first launch
Or enable in device Settings
Sign In
Use same account as web
Subscribe to Topics
All subscriptions sync across devices

See Mobile App Guide for detailed setup.

Mobile Notification Settings¶

Global Settings (mobile app): - Settings → Notifications - Enable/Disable push - Sound, vibration, badge - Notification preview

Per-Topic Settings: 1. Open topic in app 2. Tap notification settings icon 3. Configure: - Priority threshold - Tag filter - Sound (override) - Vibration pattern - LED color (Android)

Mobile Notification Behavior¶

App States: - Closed - Push notification → tap opens app - Background - Push notification + optional background sync - Foreground - In-app notification + WebSocket real-time

Deep Linking: - Tap notification → Opens specific topic - Shows message that triggered notification - Mark as read automatically

iOS-Specific¶

Critical Alerts (Priority 5): - Bypass Do Not Disturb - Bypass silent mode - Requires iOS permission

Notification Grouping: - Messages grouped by topic - Thread ID: topic name

Badge Count: - Shows unread message count - Cleared when topic opened

Android-Specific¶

Notification Channels: - Separate channel per topic - Per-channel settings in Android Settings - Sound, vibration, importance level

Notification Priority: | Notifer Priority | Android Importance | |-----------------|-------------------| | 1-2 | Low (silent) | | 3 | Default | | 4 | High (sound) | | 5 | Urgent (heads-up) |

Battery Optimization: - Disable battery optimization for Notifer app - Ensures reliable notifications - Settings → Apps → Notifer → Battery

Email Notifications¶

Forward messages to email for offline access.

Enabling Email Forwarding¶

Global Email Notifications: 1. Go to Settings → Notifications 2. Enable "Email notifications" 3. Enter email address(es) 4. Configure filters: - All messages - Priority threshold - Specific topics only 5. Save settings

Per-Topic Email: 1. Go to topic settings 2. Navigate to Notifications tab 3. Enable "Email forwarding" 4. Enter email addresses (comma-separated) 5. Configure filters

Email Format¶

Subject:

[Notifer] {title or first line of message}

Body:

Topic: {topic-name}
Priority: {priority} (1-5)
Tags: {tags}
Time: {timestamp}

---

{message content}

---
View in Notifer: https://app.notifer.io/topic/{topic-name}

Email Limits¶

Plan	Emails/Day	Emails/Month
Free	10	300
Pro	100	3,000
Business	1,000	30,000

Exceeding Limits: - Emails queued until next day - Upgrade plan for higher limits - Or use webhooks instead

Webhook Notifications¶

Send HTTP callbacks to external services.

Configuring Webhooks¶

Go to topic settings
Navigate to Notifications tab
Enable "Webhook"
Enter webhook URL: https://your-service.com/webhook
Select events:
New message
Priority filter
Tag filter
Save settings

Webhook Payload¶

POST request to your URL:

{
  "event": "message.published",
  "topic": "alerts",
  "message": {
    "id": "msg_abc123",
    "title": "Server Alert",
    "message": "CPU usage high",
    "priority": 4,
    "tags": ["server", "cpu"],
    "timestamp": "2025-11-10T12:00:00Z"
  },
  "topic_info": {
    "name": "alerts",
    "privacy": "private",
    "owner": "user_xyz"
  }
}

Webhook Security¶

Verify Requests: - Check X-Notifer-Signature header - HMAC-SHA256 of payload - Secret: Topic access token

Example Verification (Python):

import hmac
import hashlib

def verify_webhook(payload, signature, secret):
    expected = hmac.new(
        secret.encode(),
        payload.encode(),
        hashlib.sha256
    ).hexdigest()
    return hmac.compare_digest(expected, signature)

See Webhooks Guide for details.

Troubleshooting¶

Desktop Notifications Not Working¶

Problem: No notifications appear

Solution: 1. Check browser permission - Chrome: Settings → Privacy → Notifications - Ensure app.notifer.io is allowed 2. Check system settings - Windows: Settings → System → Notifications - macOS: System Preferences → Notifications - Enable for Chrome/Firefox 3. Test notification - Settings → Notifications → "Send Test" - Should see notification immediately 4. Check topic subscription - Verify you're subscribed - Check priority threshold settings

Mobile Push Not Received¶

Problem: Mobile app doesn't show notifications

Solution: 1. Check app permission - iOS: Settings → Notifer → Notifications → Allow - Android: Settings → Apps → Notifer → Notifications → Enabled 2. Check battery optimization - Android: Disable for Notifer app 3. Verify subscription - Open app → Check subscribed topics - Push token should be registered 4. Test notification - Publish test message with priority 4+ - Should arrive within seconds

Email Not Arriving¶

Problem: Email forwarding doesn't work

Solution: - Check spam/junk folder - Verify email address is correct - Check email filters (priority, tags) - Verify daily limit not exceeded - Check email logs in topic settings

Webhook Failing¶

Problem: Webhook URL not receiving requests

Solution: - Verify URL is publicly accessible - Check webhook logs in topic settings - Test URL independently (curl, Postman) - Ensure endpoint returns 2xx status - Check firewall/security group rules

Next Steps¶

Topic Settings - Configure per-topic notifications
Mobile App - Install and setup mobile app
User Settings - Global notification preferences
Dashboard - Manage subscriptions