Topic Settings

Complete guide to configuring and managing topic settings.

Prerequisites

You must be the topic owner to access topic settings.

Accessing Topic Settings

1. From Dashboard

   • Navigate to app.notifer.io
   • Find your topic in "My Topics" tab
   • Click the gear icon (⚙️) next to topic name

2. From Topic Page

   • Open topic: app.notifer.io/topic/your-topic
   • Click "Topic Settings" button (top right)

Settings Overview

Topic settings are organized into tabs:

• General - Basic information and privacy
• Access Tokens - Authentication for integrations (private topics only)
• Subscribers - View and manage subscribers
• Notifications - Notification preferences
• Advanced - Retention, limits, danger zone

General Settings

Basic Information

Display Name

• Friendly name shown in UI
• Can be changed anytime
• Doesn't affect topic URL

Description

• What this topic is used for
• Shown in topic list and discover page
• Supports markdown formatting

Icon/Emoji (optional)

• Visual identifier for topic
• Shows in topic list

Privacy Settings

Topic Privacy

• Public - Anyone can publish/subscribe
• Private - Authentication required

Changing Privacy

Changing from public to private will immediately require authentication for all publishers and subscribers.

Visibility

• Show in Discover - Topic appears in public discovery (public topics only)
• Hide from Discover - Topic is public but not discoverable

Access Tokens (Private Topics)

Access tokens provide scoped authentication for integrations. Create tokens from the Access Tokens tab in topic settings:

1. Click "Create Token"
2. Enter a name (e.g., "CI Pipeline") and select permissions (Publish, Subscribe, or Both)
3. Copy the token -- it is shown only once

curl -d "Message from CI" \
  -H "X-Topic-Token: tk_FjZTOcx14k4_Kg6RtUCikAPYc2KNjXIMkWQUvDSREFc" \
  https://app.notifer.io/your-topic

Learn more

For detailed token creation, permissions, management, security best practices, and real-world examples, see Topic Access Tokens.

Subscribers

View and manage who's subscribed to your topic.

Subscriber List

Shows all active subscribers with:

• Device - Platform (Web, iOS, Android)
• Subscribed - When they subscribed
• Notification Settings - Their priority/tag filters
• Last Active - Last time they received a message

Subscriber Actions

Remove Subscriber:

1. Find subscriber in list
2. Click "Remove"
3. Confirm action

Private Topics Only

Subscriber management is only available for private topics. Public topics don't track subscribers.

Advanced Settings

Message Retention

Control how long messages are stored:

Plan	Retention
FREE	7 days
ESSENTIALS	30 days
TEAM	45 days

Change retention:

1. Go to Advanced tab
2. Select retention period
3. Click "Save"

Reducing Retention

Reducing retention period will delete older messages immediately.

Topic Inactivity Retention

Topics without any published messages for an extended period are automatically deleted to maintain service quality.

Plan	Inactivity Period	Warning Before Deletion
FREE	7 days	3 days (warning sent at day 4)
ESSENTIALS	30 days	7 days (warning sent at day 23)
TEAM	45 days	7 days (warning sent at day 38)

How it works:

1. Inactivity Timer - Starts from your last published message
2. Warning Notification - You'll receive an in-app notification and email before deletion
3. Automatic Deletion - If no messages are published, the topic is permanently deleted

Keep Your Topics Active

Simply publish any message to a topic to reset the inactivity timer. Even a simple "ping" message will prevent deletion.

Deleted Topics Cannot Be Recovered

Once a topic is deleted due to inactivity, all messages, access tokens, and settings are permanently lost. The topic name becomes available for others to use.

Rate Limits

View and configure rate limits:

Plan	Per Minute	Per Hour
FREE	10	100
ESSENTIALS	30	300
TEAM	100	1,000

Override limits (TEAM plan only):

• Custom rate limits for specific topics
• Contact support for higher limits

Message Size Limits

Plan	Max Message Size
FREE	4 KB
ESSENTIALS	16 KB
TEAM	64 KB

Danger Zone

Destructive actions that cannot be undone.

Delete Topic

Permanent Action

This action cannot be undone. All messages, subscribers, and settings will be permanently deleted.

To delete a topic:

1. Scroll to Danger Zone at bottom of Advanced tab
2. Click "Delete Topic"
3. Type topic name to confirm
4. Click "Delete Forever"

What gets deleted:

• ❌ All messages
• ❌ All access tokens
• ❌ All subscribers
• ❌ All settings and configuration
• ❌ Topic name becomes available for others

Examples

CI/CD Integration Setup

# 1. Create private topic
Topic: "ci-deployments" (Private)

# 2. Create access token
Name: "GitHub Actions"
Permissions: Publish only

# 3. Add token to GitHub Secrets
NOTIFER_TOPIC_TOKEN=tk_...

# 4. Use in workflow
curl -d "Deploy completed" \
  -H "X-Topic-Token: ${{ secrets.NOTIFER_TOPIC_TOKEN }}" \
  https://app.notifer.io/ci-deployments

Server Monitoring Alerts

# 1. Create private topic
Topic: "server-alerts" (Private)

# 2. Create access token
Name: "Monitoring Script"
Permissions: Publish only

# 3. Send alerts
curl -d "CPU usage critical" \
  -H "X-Priority: 1" \
  -H "X-Topic-Token: tk_..." \
  https://app.notifer.io/server-alerts

Troubleshooting

Can't Access Topic Settings

Problem: Settings button not visible or grayed out

Solution:

• Only topic owners can access settings
• Verify you're logged in as the correct user
• Check you're viewing your own topic in "My Topics"

Access Token Not Working

Problem: 401 Unauthorized when using token

Solution:

• Verify token hasn't been revoked (check Access Tokens tab)
• Ensure using correct header: X-Topic-Token (not X-API-Key)
• Check token has required permission (publish or subscribe)
• Verify no typos in token (copy-paste recommended)

Next Steps

• Topic Access Tokens - Detailed authentication guide
• Publishing Messages - Send notifications to your topics
• Creating Topics - Topic creation and organization