Feature: Push Notifications

Relevant source files

The following files were used as context for generating this wiki page:

• server/_core/notification.ts
• package.json
• lib/translations.ts
• design.md
• todo.md

The notification system in the aidoit4u mobile app serves two distinct purposes. The first is a user-facing feature, allowing users to manage their preferences for receiving push notifications about updates and alerts directly on their mobile devices. This functionality is managed via the app's settings screen and is powered by the expo-notifications library.

The second is a backend service designed to send notifications to the project owner. This internal system, implemented in server/_core/notification.ts, dispatches alerts through the Manus Notification Service and is not directly exposed to the end-user. This document covers the architecture and implementation details for both aspects of the notification system.

System Architecture

The notification architecture is split into two main flows: the client-side user notifications and the server-side owner notifications.

User-Facing Push Notification Flow (Client-Side)

This diagram illustrates the conceptual flow for user-facing push notifications, which are managed from the app's settings screen.

Owner Notification Flow (Server-Side)

This sequence diagram shows the process of the backend sending a notification to the project owner using the notifyOwner function.

Client-Side Implementation

The client-side implementation provides the user interface for managing notification preferences. The project plan and design documents specify a "Notification preferences" section within the Settings screen.

Sources: design.md:95, todo.md:49

Dependencies

The core technology for handling push notifications on the client is the expo-notifications package.

Sources: package.json:41

UI and Localization

The settings screen includes options for enabling or disabling push notifications. The text for these options is localized in English, Spanish, and German.

Key	English	Spanish	German
notifications	Notifications	Notificaciones	Benachrichtigungen
pushNotifications	Push Notifications	Notificaciones Push	Push-Benachrichtigungen
receiveUpdates	Receive updates and alerts	Recibe actualizaciones y alertas	Erhalte Updates und Benachrichtigungen

Sources: lib/translations.ts:130-132, 256-258, 383-385

Backend Service: Owner Notifications

The backend provides a dedicated function, notifyOwner, to send notifications to the project owner via the Manus Notification Service. This is an internal mechanism and is not intended for sending push notifications to app users.

Sources: server/_core/notification.ts

notifyOwner Function

The notifyOwner function is an async function that takes a NotificationPayload object and returns a Promise<boolean>. It returns true if the notification was successfully dispatched and false if the service could not be reached.

Sources: server/_core/notification.ts:60-99

API and Payload

The function sends a POST request to a specific endpoint derived from the forgeApiUrl environment variable.

• Endpoint Path: webdevtoken.v1.WebDevService/SendNotification

Sources: server/_core/notification.ts:11-14

The body of the request contains a NotificationPayload object with the following structure:

Field	Type	Description	Constraints
title	string	The title of the notification.	Required, non-empty, max 1200 characters.
content	string	The main body/content of the notification.	Required, non-empty, max 20000 characters.

Sources: server/_core/notification.ts:4-7, 16-43

Payload Validation

Before sending the request, the validatePayload function is called to ensure the payload meets the required criteria. It performs the following checks:

1. Ensures title and content are non-empty strings.
2. Trims leading/trailing whitespace from title and content.
3. Validates that title does not exceed 1200 characters.
4. Validates that content does not exceed 20000 characters.

If any validation fails, a TRPCError with a BAD_REQUEST code is thrown.

Sources: server/_core/notification.ts:16-43

Configuration

The notifyOwner function relies on two environment variables to connect to the Manus Notification Service. If these are not configured, a TRPCError with an INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR code will be thrown.

Variable	Description
ENV.forgeApiUrl	The base URL for the Manus Notification Service.
ENV.forgeApiKey	The bearer token for authenticating with the service.

Sources: server/_core/notification.ts:62-71