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Step-by-step guide to build a scalable notification system with Lovable including real-time push, email, webhooks for reliability and scale
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Use a client-side, Supabase-backed notifications system: create a notifications table in Supabase (outside Lovable), store notifications there, and use the supabase-js client in the Lovable app to insert/read and subscribe to realtime changes. Configure Supabase credentials with Lovable Cloud Secrets, add the supabase-js dependency via Chat Mode edits to package.json, and add a NotificationsBell component + a Notifications page. No CLI is required inside Lovable — use Chat Mode edits, Preview, Secrets UI, and Publish. For any DB/table creation or advanced server functions you’ll open the Supabase dashboard (outside Lovable).
A lightweight in-app notification system that:
Goal: Add supabase-js dependency and a reusable client file.
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// Update package.json: add " @supabase/supabase-js": "^2.0.0" to dependencies
// Create file src/lib/supabaseClient.ts
import { createClient } from "@supabase/supabase-js";
const supabaseUrl = process.env.SUPABASE_URL!;
const supabaseAnonKey = process.env.SUPABASE_ANON_KEY!;
export const supabase = createClient(supabaseUrl, supabaseAnonKey);
Goal: Add NotificationsBell component that subscribes to unread count and shows realtime updates.
// Create src/components/NotificationsBell.tsx
import React, { useEffect, useState } from "react";
import { supabase } from "../lib/supabaseClient";
export default function NotificationsBell() {
const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
useEffect(() => {
let mounted = true;
async function load() {
const { data, error } = await supabase
.from("notifications")
.select("id")
.eq("read", false);
if (!error && mounted) setCount(data?.length || 0);
}
load();
const subscription = supabase
.channel("public:notifications")
.on("postgres_changes", { event: "INSERT", schema: "public", table: "notifications" }, payload => {
setCount(c => c + 1);
})
.subscribe();
return () => {
mounted = false;
subscription.unsubscribe();
};
}, []);
return (
<button onClick={() => (window.location.href = "/notifications")}>
🔔 {count > 0 ? <span>{count}</span> : null}
</button>
);
}
Goal: Create a page to list notifications and mark them read; include a test “Create notification” button for preview.
// Create src/pages/NotificationsPage.tsx
import React, { useEffect, useState } from "react";
import { supabase } from "../lib/supabaseClient";
export default function NotificationsPage() {
const [list, setList] = useState([]);
async function load() {
const { data } = await supabase.from("notifications").select("*").order("created_at", { ascending: false });
setList(data || []);
}
async function markRead(id: string) {
await supabase.from("notifications").update({ read: true }).eq("id", id);
load();
}
async function createTest() {
await supabase.from("notifications").insert({ title: "Test", body: "Created from Preview", read: false });
}
useEffect(() => { load(); }, []);
return (
<div>
<h2>Notifications</h2>
<button onClick={createTest}>Create test notification</button>
<ul>
{list.map(n => (
<li key={n.id}>
<strong>{n.title}</strong> — {n.body}
{!n.read && <button onClick={() => markRead(n.id)}>Mark read</button>}
</li>
))}
</ul>
</div>
);
}
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This prompt helps an AI assistant understand your setup and guide to build the feature
This prompt helps an AI assistant understand your setup and guide to build the feature
This prompt helps an AI assistant understand your setup and guide to build the feature
Connect with our team to unlock the full potential of no-code solutions with a no-commitment consultation!
Book a call with an Expert
Starting a new venture? Need to upgrade your web app? RapidDev builds application with your growth in mind.
The short answer: build notifications as a small, observable data model (a notifications table + delivery state), let AI code generators create message drafts and templates but always run content generation inside controlled server-side code (with rate limits, caching, and content filters), use Lovable’s Secrets UI for API keys, use Supabase (or another hosted DB+realtime) for storage & real-time delivery, test and preview inside Lovable using Chat Mode edits + Preview, and export to GitHub / run DB migrations externally (or via Supabase UI) because Lovable has no terminal.
// Postgres table for notifications
CREATE TABLE notifications (
id uuid PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
user_id uuid NOT NULL,
channel text NOT NULL, // 'in_app'|'email'|'push'
body jsonb NOT NULL, // {title, text, rendered_html}
ai_version text,
status text DEFAULT 'queued', // queued|sending|sent|failed
attempts int DEFAULT 0,
dedupe_key text,
metadata jsonb,
created_at timestamptz DEFAULT now()
);
// Server-side: generate draft with OpenAI, store via Supabase
// // uses @supabase/supabase-js and OpenAI SDK
const supabase = createClient(SUPABASE_URL, process.env.SUPABASE_SERVICE_KEY)
// // generate with OpenAI
const draft = await openai.chat.completions.create({
model: "gpt-4o-mini",
messages:[{role:"system",content:"Generate short notification title+body"} , {role:"user",content:"User X completed task Y"}]
})
// // insert row
await supabase.from('notifications').insert([
{ user_id, channel:'in_app', body:{title:draft.title, text:draft.text}, ai_version:'gpt-4o-mini', dedupe_key }
])
// Client realtime: subscribe to new notifications (supabase-js)
const supabase = createClient(SUPABASE_URL, PUBLIC_ANON_KEY)
supabase.from(`notifications:user_id=eq.${currentUserId}`)
.on('INSERT', payload => {
// // show in-app toast
showToast(payload.new.body.title, payload.new.body.text)
}).subscribe()
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