Push Notifications Console: Apple’s Sport-Altering New Software

At WWDC ’23, Apple introduced the Push Notifications Console, a much-needed new instrument 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Due to the Push Notifications Console, now you can say goodbye to these clunky, outdated strategies.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 to date.

Sending Push Notifications — the Outdated Approach

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

operate 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";
}

operate 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/system/$token";
  curl_setopt($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 incessantly don’t sustain with modifications to the APN’s packet format and headers chances are you’ll 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 instrument, 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:

If in case you have a couple of 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 screen 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 have to be despatched as HTTP headers, versus a part of the payload.

Configuring the Payload

Apple gives a pleasant set of defaults for the payload configuration, enabling you to enter easy messages quickly. If in case you have already ready a customized JSON payload, you may simply toggle the JSON View swap, then paste in your payload straight:

Not solely does the console validate that you simply’ve supplied correct JSON, but it surely additionally notifies you if the payload doesn’t appear to evolve to the apns-push-type you chose.

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

Debugging With the Supply Log

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

The logs will allow you 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 temporary 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. If in case you have any questions or feedback, please click on the Feedback hyperlink to hitch the discussion board dialogue beneath!