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Channels (detailed)

This page extends the channels concept with per-channel setup, dispatch internals, and the email-as-if-shipped surface. For the high-level mental model, start there; this page is the practical setup reference.

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TL;DR

  • A campaign step picks a notificationConfig whose channelType decides the dispatcher (notificationcenter or email).
  • The orchestrator builds the recipient list once; per channel, the system iterates and dispatches.
  • Notification Center is the in-app widget channel — real-time delivery.
  • Email lands next: dashboard sender-domain verification, Postmark inbound webhooks for open/click, same campaign editor.

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The dispatch model

Every campaign step references a notificationConfig document. Each config has a channelType:
channelTypeDispatcherStatus
notificationcenterthe dispatcher writes the message to the inbox + bumps unreadNotificationsAvailable today
emailEmail channel processor renders the template, sends via Postmark, records open/click via inbound webhooksWired in code; queue dispatch flips on next
The orchestrator returns one recipient list per workflow instance. The dispatcher iterates that list per channel — same recipient receives the message on every channel the campaign configures.

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Notification Center

In-app widget channel. Real-time delivery via real-time stream. Three frontend SDKs (React / Angular / Vanilla) wrap the same widget — see Notification Center overview for the SDK surface.

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Setup

  1. Create an NC config in the dashboard — the template (subject + body + variables) for this notification.
  2. Reference it from a campaign step — the dashboard editor lets you pick the config from the org’s library.
  3. No additional infrastructure — the widget script + your Front API Key + the right authType is all the frontend needs.

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Real-time mechanism

The widget subscribes to a notification document per user (users/{userId}/notifications/{messageId}). The backend delivers new messages to the inbox; the widget’s real-time subscription fires. The widget renders the new entry in the dropdown and updates the unread badge. Reconnection, offline queueing, and per-document subscriptions are handled by the platform — your code never deals with reconnection logic or polling. The dashboard’s activity log uses a separate streaming channel for collaborative team feeds; don’t conflate the two.

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Read / opened / clicked tracking

The widget reports back to the backend:
EventTriggerEndpoint
readThe message renders in the dropdown listPOST /v1/notification/event/register
openedThe user clicks into the message detailPOST /v1/notification/event/register
clickedA link inside the message is followedPOST /v1/notification/event/register
Each event is keyed by (messageId, eventType) — duplicates dedupe. See delivery history & stats for the funnel visualisation.

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Email

The email channel ships next; the docs describe the surface as it will be.

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Customer-facing setup

1

Verify a sending domain

Add your domain in dashboard → Channels → Email. Configure DKIM, SPF, and (recommended) DMARC. Verification is one-click after the DNS records propagate.
2

Set the From address

Pick a verified address — typically notifications@yourdomain.com. The dashboard exposes a friendly-name field separately.
3

Configure inbound webhooks

Postmark inbound webhooks deliver opened / clicked / bounce / complaint events back to Notifizz. The dashboard guides the Postmark side; Notifizz manages the webhook secret.
4

Create an email config

Same dashboard editor as the NC config — subject, body, variables. The editor exposes email-specific fields (preheader text, plain-text fallback).
5

Reference from a campaign step

Add an email step alongside (or instead of) the NC step. The orchestrator builds the recipient list; the email dispatcher renders + sends per recipient.

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Multi-channel campaigns

A single campaign can pick more than one channel step. Common patterns:
  • NC + email — in-app for active users + email as a fallback for offline users.
  • NC only for transactional — invoice paid (in-app receipt) + reserve email for marketing.
  • Email only — pure marketing campaigns where the user isn’t expected to be in-app.
The orchestrator runs once per matching event; channel dispatchers iterate the same recipient list. There’s no double counting — each (messageId, eventType) pair is unique per channel.

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Why no client.send()

The pre-event-driven design exposed a client.send() method that wrote a Notification Center message directly. It was removed — channel decisions belong to the campaign, not the call site. The migration is straightforward — emit an event, let a campaign decide channel and recipients. See the ADR for examples.

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FAQ

Yes — add both as separate steps in the campaign editor. The orchestrator runs once; both channels dispatch to the same recipient list. Each channel has its own template; you can copy-paste between them and adjust per-channel formatting.
Two layers to check:
  1. Sender domain verified? Email delivery requires DKIM + SPF on the sending domain. Unverified domains fail at the provider level (visible in the dashboard delivery history with the bounce reason).
  2. Email queue dispatch flipped on? Until the queue is wired (Wave 0.2 in the doc plan), email-channel campaigns are configured but don’t fire. Check the dashboard banner.
Not at launch — Notifizz uses its built-in provider so deliverability is handled for you. BYO-provider is on the longer-term roadmap.
On each delivery’s stats funnel and on the campaign’s aggregated metrics. The widget reports NC events directly via POST /v1/notification/event/register; email reports the same shape via inbound webhooks. The funnel renders both side-by-side per channel.
The dispatch model accommodates it — a new channelType value plus a new dispatcher. Push and SMS are on the roadmap; they’ll feel exactly like NC and email from the campaign-author side.
The dashboard editor exposes channel-specific fields (preheader for email, action buttons for NC). Variables and brands work the same across channels — see brands and variables.

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See also

Channels overview

Higher-level mental model.

Notification Center overview

Widget SDK surface across React / Angular / Vanilla.

Brands and variables

Templating across channels.

Delivery history & stats

Per-channel funnel.