Push Notifications Setup

This guide walks you through setting up push notifications for your application. You’ll learn how to configure push notification services, activate devices, and send your first push notification.

Prerequisites

1. An Ably account
2. An Ably app with an API key
3. For mobile: Access to Firebase Console (Android) or Apple Developer Account (iOS)
4. For web: A web application with HTTPS support

Choose your platform

Quick setup overview

Regardless of platform, the setup process follows these steps:

Platform-specific guides

For detailed setup instructions for each platform:

iOS (APNs)

1. Create APNs certificates
2. Configure your Xcode project
3. Request push permissions
4. Handle push notifications

See the complete APNs setup guide.

Android (FCM)

1. Create a Firebase project
2. Add FCM to your app
3. Configure Ably with FCM credentials
4. Handle push notifications

See the complete FCM setup guide.

Web Push

1. Generate VAPID keys
2. Configure service worker
3. Request notification permission
4. Handle push notifications

See the complete Web Push setup guide.

Testing push notifications

Use the Ably dashboard to test push notifications:

1. Go to your app in the dashboard
2. Navigate to the Dev Console tab
3. Select a channel
4. Click Publish message
5. Add push notification extras
6. Click Publish

Publish methods

Via channels (recommended)

Publish to all devices subscribed to a channel:

Direct publishing

Publish to specific devices or clients:

Common notification formats

Basic notification

With action buttons (iOS)

With custom data

Troubleshooting

Device not receiving notifications

1. Verify device is activated: realtime.push.activate()
2. Check subscription: realtime.push.admin.channelSubscriptions.list()
3. Verify credentials in dashboard
4. Check device permissions

Notifications not appearing

1. Verify push extras format
2. Check notification payload size (< 4KB for APNs, < 4KB for FCM)
3. Monitor [meta]log:push channel for errors
4. Verify app is not in focus (some platforms)

Testing in development

1. Use APNs development certificates for iOS
2. Use Firebase test messages for Android
3. Test on physical devices, not simulators
4. Check device system settings

Next steps

• Learn about publishing push notifications
• Understand device activation
• Explore push admin API
• Monitor push errors