Push Notifications Console: Apple’s Recreation-Altering New Device

At WWDC ’23, Apple introduced the Push Notifications Console, a much-needed new device to simplify creating and testing your push notifications.

For years, builders have struggled with push notifications. Every developer needed to write customized scripts to not solely generate the suitable payload, but in addition deal with the authentication to APNs. In later years, Apple simplified the method by permitting the simulator to set off a notification by dropping in a JSON payload.

Due to the Push Notifications Console, now you can say goodbye to these clunky, outdated strategies. However first, you’ll check out how push notifications have labored thus far.

Sending Push Notifications — the Outdated Approach

Till now, while you wanted push notifications, you’ve in all probability written a script with code like this:

perform generateAuthenticationHeader()
{
  $header = base64_encode(json_encode(['alg' => 'ES256', 'kid' => AUTH_KEY_ID]));
  $claims = base64_encode(json_encode(['iss' => TEAM_ID, 'iat' => time()]));

  $pkey = openssl_pkey_get_private('file://' . AUTH_KEY_PATH);
  openssl_sign("$header.$claims", $signature, $pkey, 'sha256');

  $signed = base64_encode($signature);

  return "$header.$claims.$signed";
}

perform sendNotifications($token, $debug) {
  $ch = curl_init();
  curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION, CURL_HTTP_VERSION_2_0);
  curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, json_encode($GLOBALS['payload']));
  curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
  curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, [
      'apns-topic: ' . BUNDLE_ID,
      'authorization: bearer ' . generateAuthenticationHeader(),
      'apns-push-type: alert'
  ]);

  $server = $debug ? 'api.improvement' : 'api';
  $url = "https://$server.push.apple.com/3/machine/$token";
  curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, "{$url}");

  $response = curl_exec($ch);
  if ($response === false) {
    echo("curl_exec failed: " . curl_error($ch));
    proceed;
  }

  $code = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
  if ($code === 400 || $code === 410) {
    $json = @json_decode($response);
    if ($json->purpose === 'BadDeviceToken') {
        // Do one thing right here.
    }
  }

  curl_close($ch);
}

Whereas that works, it isn’t fairly.

Varied apps from the Mac App Retailer additionally promise to make push notifications simpler, however they ceaselessly don’t sustain with adjustments to the APN’s packet format and headers you could want to use.

Now, you’ll check out the Push Notifications Console and the way it improves push notification testing.

The New Push Notifications Console

To strive Apple’s new device, level Safari to the CloudKit Console and click on the brand new Push Notifications merchandise:

In case your app isn’t configured to obtain push notifications, you’ll have the choice to allow them:

In case you have multiple app configured within the developer portal, choose the suitable one from the drop-down on the top-left of the web page.

Clicking Create New Notification will current you with a display permitting you to simply configure the notification you want to ship:

The brand new console makes it easy to offer all of the required configuration settings. It additionally clearly exhibits the 4 gadgets that should be despatched as HTTP headers, versus a part of the payload.

Configuring the Payload

Apple offers a pleasant set of defaults for the payload configuration, enabling you to enter easy messages quickly. In case you have already ready a customized JSON payload, you’ll be able to simply toggle the JSON View swap, then paste in your payload immediately:

Not solely does the console validate that you just’ve offered correct JSON, however it additionally notifies you if the payload doesn’t appear to adapt to the apns-push-type you chose.

You may toggle the JSON View on and off to change between codecs. A superb technique is to make use of the default view to enter many of the information, then swap to the JSON view when coming into an array of things to scale back the quantity of mouse-clicking you might want to do.

Debugging With the Supply Log

One other nice characteristic now obtainable to builders is the supply log. After sending your notification, this characteristic will instantly current you with a web page exhibiting the main points of the despatched notification in addition to the log:

The logs will show you how to establish not solely whether or not or not the push notification was profitable, but in addition why it wasn’t delivered on failure.

By no means earlier than have builders had such a easy methodology of debugging push notification points!

The place to Go From Right here?

This was only a transient overview of latest push notification options. To study extra:

We hope you loved this fast take a look at what’s new in push notifications. In case you have any questions or feedback, please click on the Feedback hyperlink to affix the discussion board dialogue under!