Feature Guide
How to build
In-App Notification System
In-app notifications, push notifications, email digests, and user notification preferences.
intermediate
2–4 weeks (manual)
3–7 days (with AI)
Best tools to use
[01]
Novu
Open-source notification infrastructure. Multi-channel with preference center.
[02]
Knock
Notification API with in-app feed, email, and push support.
[03]
Custom with WebSockets
Build a notification table + WebSocket delivery. Full control.
[04]
Supabase Realtime
Listen to notification table inserts via Supabase channels.
[05]
OneSignal
Push notification service. Good for mobile-first apps.
Key considerations
- ✓Support multiple channels: in-app, email, push, SMS
- ✓Let users control their notification preferences per channel
- ✓Implement digest/batching — don't spam users with individual notifications
- ✓Mark as read/unread with bulk actions
- ✓Design for real-time delivery (WebSockets) with fallback to polling
Common mistakes
- ✗No user preference controls (users will churn from notification spam)
- ✗Sending every notification individually instead of batching
- ✗No read/unread state management
- ✗Only supporting one channel (email only, no in-app)
- ✗Not handling notification delivery failures gracefully
Products that nailed this
Novu
Knock
Courier
Related features
Skip the research.
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