Rpush aims to be the de facto gem for sending push notifications in Ruby. Its core goals are ease of use, reliability and a rich feature set. Rpush provides numerous advanced features not found in others gems, giving you greater control & insight as your project grows. These are a few of the reasons why companies worldwide rely on Rpush to deliver their notifications.
- Apple Push Notification Service
- Including Safari Push Notifications.
- Firebase Cloud Messaging (used to be Google Cloud Messaging)
- Amazon Device Messaging
- Windows Phone Push Notification Service
- Pushy
- Webpush
- Use ActiveRecord or Redis for storage.
- Plugins for Bugsnag, Sentry, StatsD. Third party plugins: Prometheus Exporter. Or write your own.
- Seamless integration with your projects, including Rails.
- Run as a daemon, inside a job queue, on the command-line or embedded in another process.
- Scales vertically (threading) and horizontally (multiple processes).
- Designed for uptime - new apps are loaded automatically, signal
HUP
to update running apps. - Hooks for fine-grained instrumentation and error handling (Reflection API).
- Tested with MRI
Add it to your Gemfile:
gem 'rpush'
Initialize Rpush into your project. Rails will be detected automatically.
$ cd /path/to/project
$ bundle
$ bundle exec rpush init
There is a choice of two modes (and one legacy mode) using certificates or using tokens:
Rpush::Apns2
This requires an annually renewable certificate. see https://developer.apple.com/documentation/usernotifications/setting_up_a_remote_notification_server/establishing_a_certificate-based_connection_to_apnsRpush::Apnsp8
This uses encrypted tokens and requires an encryption key id and encryption key (provide as a p8 file). (see https://developer.apple.com/documentation/usernotifications/setting_up_a_remote_notification_server/establishing_a_token-based_connection_to_apns)Rpush::Apns
There is also the original APNS (the original version using certificates with a binary underlying protocol over TCP directly rather than over Http/2). Apple have announced that this is not supported after March 31, 2021.
If this is your first time using the APNs, you will need to generate either SSL certificates (for Apns2 or Apns) or an Encryption Key (p8) and an Encryption Key ID (for Apnsp8). See Generating Certificates for instructions.
To use the p8 APNs Api:
app = Rpush::Apnsp8::App.new
app.name = "ios_app"
app.apn_key = File.read("/path/to/sandbox.p8")
app.environment = "development" # APNs environment.
app.apn_key_id = "APN KEY ID" # This is the Encryption Key ID provided by apple
app.team_id = "TEAM ID" # the team id - e.g. ABCDE12345
app.bundle_id = "BUNDLE ID" # the unique bundle id of the app, like com.example.appname
app.connections = 1
app.save!
n = Rpush::Apnsp8::Notification.new
n.app = Rpush::Apnsp8::App.find_by_name("ios_app")
n.device_token = "..." # hex string
n.alert = "hi mom!"
n.data = { foo: :bar }
n.save!
(NB this uses the same protocol as Apnsp8, but authenticates with a certificate rather than tokens)
app = Rpush::Apns2::App.new
app.name = "ios_app"
app.certificate = File.read("/path/to/sandbox.pem")
app.environment = "development"
app.password = "certificate password"
app.bundle_id = "BUNDLE ID" # the unique bundle id of the app, like com.example.appname
app.connections = 1
app.save!
n = Rpush::Apns2::Notification.new
n.app = Rpush::Apns2::App.find_by_name("ios_app")
n.device_token = "..." # hex string
n.alert = "hi mom!"
n.data = {
headers: { 'apns-topic': "BUNDLE ID" }, # the bundle id of the app, like com.example.appname. Not necessary if set on the app (see above)
foo: :bar
}
n.save!
You should also implement the ssl_certificate_will_expire reflection to monitor when your certificate is due to expire.
app = Rpush::Apns::App.new
app.name = "ios_app"
app.certificate = File.read("/path/to/sandbox.pem")
app.environment = "development" # APNs environment.
app.password = "certificate password"
app.connections = 1
app.save!
n = Rpush::Apns::Notification.new
n.app = Rpush::Apns::App.find_by_name("ios_app")
n.device_token = "..." # hex string
n.alert = "hi mom!"
n.data = { foo: :bar }
n.save!
Using one of the notifications methods above, the url_args
attribute is available for Safari Push Notifications.
The app environment
for any Apns* option is "development" for XCode installs, and "production" for app store and TestFlight. Note that for Apns2 you can now use one (production + sandbox) certificate (you don't need a separate "sandbox" or development certificate), but if you do generate a development/sandbox certificate it can only be used for "development". With Apnsp8 tokens, you can target either "development" or "production" environments.
FCM and GCM are – as of writing – compatible with each other. See also this comment for further references.
Please refer to the Firebase Console on where to find your auth_key
(probably called Server Key there). To verify you have the right key, use tools like Postman, HTTPie, curl
or similar before reporting a new issue. See also this comment.
app = Rpush::Gcm::App.new
app.name = "android_app"
app.auth_key = "..."
app.connections = 1
app.save!
n = Rpush::Gcm::Notification.new
n.app = Rpush::Gcm::App.find_by_name("android_app")
n.registration_ids = ["..."]
n.data = { message: "hi mom!" }
n.priority = 'high' # Optional, can be either 'normal' or 'high'
n.content_available = true # Optional
# Optional notification payload. See the reference below for more keys you can use!
n.notification = { body: 'great match!',
title: 'Portugal vs. Denmark',
icon: 'myicon'
}
n.save!
FCM also requires you to respond to Canonical IDs.
Check the FCM reference for what keys you can use and are available to you. Note: Not all are yet implemented in Rpush.
app = Rpush::Adm::App.new
app.name = "kindle_app"
app.client_id = "..."
app.client_secret = "..."
app.connections = 1
app.save!
n = Rpush::Adm::Notification.new
n.app = Rpush::Adm::App.find_by_name("kindle_app")
n.registration_ids = ["..."]
n.data = { message: "hi mom!"}
n.collapse_key = "Optional consolidationKey"
n.save!
For more documentation on ADM.
Uses the older Windows Phone 8 Toast template
app = Rpush::Wpns::App.new
app.name = "windows_phone_app"
app.client_id = # Get this from your apps dashboard https://dev.windows.com
app.client_secret = # Get this from your apps dashboard https://dev.windows.com
app.connections = 1
app.save!
n = Rpush::Wpns::Notification.new
n.app = Rpush::Wpns::App.find_by_name("windows_phone_app")
n.uri = "http://..."
n.data = {title:"MyApp", body:"Hello world", param:"user_param1"}
n.save!
Uses the more recent Toast template
The client_id
here is the SID URL as seen here. Do not confuse it with the client_id
on dashboard.
You can (optionally) include a launch argument by adding a launch
key to the notification data.
You can (optionally) include an audio element by setting the sound on the notification.
app = Rpush::Wns::App.new
app.name = "windows_phone_app"
app.client_id = YOUR_SID_URL
app.client_secret = YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET
app.connections = 1
app.save!
n = Rpush::Wns::Notification.new
n.app = Rpush::Wns::App.find_by_name("windows_phone_app")
n.uri = "http://..."
n.data = {title:"MyApp", body:"Hello world", launch:"launch-argument"}
n.sound = "ms-appx:///mynotificationsound.wav"
n.save!
Note: The data is passed as .to_json
so only this format is supported, although raw notifications are meant to support any kind of data.
Current data structure enforces hashes and .to_json
representation is natural presentation of it.
n = Rpush::Wns::RawNotification.new
n.app = Rpush::Wns::App.find_by_name("windows_phone_app")
n.uri = 'http://...'
n.data = { foo: 'foo', bar: 'bar' }
n.save!
Uses the badge template and the type wns/badge
.
n = Rpush::Wns::BadgeNotification.new
n.app = Rpush::Wns::App.find_by_name("windows_phone_app")
n.uri = 'http://...'
n.badge = 4
n.save!
Pushy is a highly-reliable push notification gateway, based on MQTT protocol for cross platform push notification delivery that includes web, Android, and iOS. One of its advantages is it allows for reliable notification delivery to Android devices in China where Google Cloud Messaging and Firebase Cloud Messaging are blocked and to custom hardware devices that use Android OS but are not using Google Play Services.
Note: current implementation of Pushy only supports Android devices and does not include subscriptions.
app = Rpush::Pushy::App.new
app.name = "android_app"
app.api_key = YOUR_API_KEY
app.connections = 1
app.save!
n = Rpush::Pushy::Notification.new
n.app = Rpush::Pushy::App.find_by_name("android_app")
n.registration_ids = ["..."]
n.data = { message: "hi mom!"}
n.time_to_live = 60 # seconds
n.save!
For more documentation on Pushy.
Webpush is a protocol for delivering push messages to desktop browsers. It's supported by all major browsers (except Safari, you have to use one of the Apns transports for that).
Using VAPID, there is no need for the sender of push notifications to register upfront with push services (as was the case with the now legacy Mozilla or Google desktop push providers).
Instead, you generate a pair of keys and use the public key when subscribing
users in your web app. The keys are stored along with an email address (which,
according to the spec, can be used by push service providers to contact you in
case of problems) in the certificates
field of the Rpush Application record:
vapid_keypair = Webpush.generate_key.to_hash
app = Rpush::Webpush::App.new
app.name = 'webpush'
app.certificate = vapid_keypair.merge(subject: 'user@example.org').to_json
app.connections = 1
app.save!
The subscription
object you obtain from a subscribed browser holds an
endpoint URL and cryptographic keys. When sending a notification, simply pass
the whole subscription as sole member of the registration_ids
collection:
n = Rpush::Webpush::Notification.new
n.app = Rpush::App.find_by_name("webpush")
n.registration_ids = [subscription]
n.data = { message: "hi mom!" }
n.save!
In order to send the same message to multiple devices, create one
Notification
per device, as passing multiple subscriptions at once as
registration_ids
is not supported.
It is recommended to run Rpush as a separate process in most cases, though embedding and manual modes are provided for low-workload environments.
See rpush help
for all available commands and options.
$ cd /path/to/project
$ rpush start
$ cd /path/to/project
$ rpush start -f
$ rpush push
Rpush will deliver all pending notifications and then exit.
Rpush.push
Rpush.apns_feedback
See Push API for more details.
if defined?(Rails)
ActiveSupport.on_load(:after_initialize) do
Rpush.embed
end
else
Rpush.embed
end
Call this during startup of your application, for example, by adding it to the end of config/rpush.rb
. See Embedding API for more details.
If you're using mina, there is a gem called mina-rpush which helps you control rpush.
Rpush leaves delivered notifications in the database. If you do not clear them out, they will take up more and more space. This isn't great for any database, but is especially problematic if using Redis as the Rpush store. Here is an example solution for cleaning up delivered notifications in Redis.
See Configuration for a list of options.
You should run rpush init
after upgrading Rpush to check for configuration and migration changes.
- Using Redis
- Using ActiveRecord
- Configuration
- Moving from Rapns
- Deploying to Heroku
- Hot App Updates
- Signals
- Reflection API
- Push API
- Embedding API
- Writing a Plugin
- Implementing your own storage backend
- Upgrading from 2.x to 3.0
- Generating Certificates
- Advanced APNs Features
- APNs Delivery Failure Handling
- Why open multiple connections to the APNs?
- Silent failures might be dropped connections
Rpush uses Appraisal to run tests against multiple versions of Ruby on Rails. This helps making sure that Rpush performs correctly with multiple Rails versions.
Rpush also uses RSpec for its tests.
First, we need to setup a test database, rpush_test
.
E.g. (postgres): psql -c 'create database rpush_test;' -U postgres >/dev/null
bundle install
bundle exec appraisal install
This will install all the required gems that requires to test against each version of Rails, which defined in gemfiles/*.gemfile
.
bundle exec appraisal rake
This will run RSpec against all versions of Rails.
You need to specify a BUNDLE_GEMFILE
pointing to the gemfile before running the normal test command:
BUNDLE_GEMFILE=gemfiles/rails_5.2.gemfile rspec spec/unit/apns_feedback_spec.rb
When running specs, please note that the ActiveRecord adapter can be changed by setting the ADAPTER
environment variable. For example: ADAPTER=postgresql rake
.
Available adapters for testing are postgresql
, jdbcpostgresql
, mysql2
, jdbcmysql
, jdbch2
, and sqlite3
.
Note that the database username is changed at runtime to be the currently logged in user's name. So if you're testing with mysql and you're using a user named 'bob', you will need to grant a mysql user 'bob' access to the 'rpush_test' mysql database.
To switch between ActiveRecord and Redis, set the CLIENT
environment variable to either active_record
or redis
.