Full Setup Guide
Step-by-step walkthrough with screenshots — from building your app to receiving your first push notification.
How It Works
When you ask the AI to add push notifications to your app, Vibecode handles the code automatically. But push notifications also require some one-time setup in the Apple Developer portal and Expo dashboard that you’ll do yourself. Here’s the high-level flow:- Build your app in Vibecode with push notification functionality
- Submit to the App Store via Expo Launch (creates a native build)
- Create an APNs key in the Apple Developer portal
- Upload the key to Expo so it can send notifications through Apple
- Configure your project with the Expo Project ID
- Test by sending a notification to your device via TestFlight
Features
- Cross-platform support (iOS and Android)
- Foreground, background, and lock-screen delivery
- Custom notification titles, messages, and sounds
- Data payloads for deep linking and navigation
- Delivery receipts to verify notifications were received
- Backend integration for server-triggered notifications
Use Cases
- Reminders — task due dates, habit tracking, calendar events
- Real-time alerts — new messages, order updates, price changes
- User engagement — daily streaks, weekly summaries, new content
- Social — friend requests, likes, comments, follows
- Transactional — payment confirmations, shipping updates
Requirements
- Apple Developer Program ($99/year) — required for iOS push notifications
- Physical device — push tokens can’t be generated on simulators
- TestFlight build — push notifications don’t work in Vibecode preview or Expo Go
For the complete walkthrough with screenshots, see the Push Notifications Setup Guide.