Enable the example app to send push notifications

For iOS apps, see the xmtp-ios example app and notification service to explore how you might enable push notifications for your own app built with the xmtp-ios SDK.

To adapt the push notification setup for the XMTP iOS example app, follow this comprehensive guide:

This guide will help you set up push notifications for the XMTP iOS example app using Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) and a custom notification server.

Prerequisites

• An iOS device for testing, as push notifications do not work on simulators.
• A Firebase account and a project set up in the Firebase console.

Firebase Cloud Messaging Setup

1. Create an FCM Project: Go to the Firebase Console, create a new project, and follow the setup instructions.

2. Add Your App to the FCM Project: Add your iOS app to the project by following the Firebase setup workflow. You'll need your app's bundle ID.

3. Download GoogleService-Info.plist: At the end of the setup, download the GoogleService-Info.plist file and add it to your Xcode project.

4. Generate FCM Credentials: In the Firebase console, navigate to your project settings, select the Cloud Messaging tab, and note your server key and sender ID. You'll need these for your notification server.

Configure the iOS App for Push Notifications

1. Enable Push Notifications: In Xcode, go to your project's target capabilities and enable Push Notifications.

2. Register for Notifications: Modify the AppDelegate to register for remote notifications and handle the device token.

3. Handle Incoming Notifications: Implement the necessary delegate methods to handle incoming notifications and foreground notification display.

Run the Notification Server

1. Clone and Configure the Notification Server: If you're using the example notification server, clone the repository and follow the setup instructions. Make sure to configure it with your FCM server key.

2. Run the Server: Start the server locally or deploy it to a hosting service.

• Subscribe to Push Notifications in the App: When initializing the XMTP client in your app, subscribe to push notifications using the device token obtained during registration.

• Decode a Notification Envelope: When you receive a push notification, you may want to decode the notification envelope to display a message preview or other information.

Apple entitlement

You can utilize the com.apple.developer.usernotifications.filtering entitlement. To do so, you need to obtain permission from Apple. Submit the application using the app owner's Apple developer account via https://developer.apple.com/contact/request/notification-service.

Submit your application early

The approval process can take 2-3 weeks or longer.

Here are some sample answers to help you complete the application:

• App name: [Your app name]
• App Store URL: [Your app store URL]
• Apple ID of App: [Your app ID]
• App Type: Messaging
• Does your app provide end-to-end encryption?: Yes
• Explain why existing APIs are not adequate for your app: The existing APIs always show some sort of notification when a push comes in. We don't want to show a notification for a user's own messages.
• Explain why your app doesn’t show a visible notification each time a push notification is received: The server delivering notifications only knows of the existence of a conversation. It does not know who the sender or recipient are. That data is decoded on the device in the extension. As a result, it sends a push notification for every message that occurs in the conversation. We want to filter out notifications for notifications that the user sent.
• When your extension runs, what system and network resources does it need?: We might need to make a GRPC request in order to load additional information about a conversation. This is only necessary when we haven't stored the conversation details locally, which is expected to be less common than being able to just decode the conversation locally.
• How often does your extension run? What can trigger it to run?: The extension will run whenever a message is sent or received in a conversation. The frequency will depend on how active a user is.