Firebase push notifications ON RAILS

This is a port of quickstart-js but using Ruby on Rails and its assets pipelines.

What's in this solution:

• A complete working example of how to send push notifications to a rails application using Firebase

Getting Started

Clone the project

Prerequisites

Rails 5.2.2
Ruby 2.5.1

Installing

• ServiceWorker::Rails

This project uses ServiceWorker in order to provide the firebase-messaging-sw service worker. The reason being pretty simple, Rails' assets pipeline wasn't built with service workers in mind.

Luckily, it's pretty straightforward to get this gem up and running. As I have already done everything that's needed to install it, all you have to do is the following:

bundle

However, if you're curious as to how this gem works you can find more details on their page ServiceWorker::Rails

• Getting the project ready

Before running your server, there are two files you'll have to edit to make this work with your Firebase application.

app/assets/javascripts/firebase/init.js

Just fill out your config var. You can copy it from Firebase's website.

app/assets/javascripts/firebase/firebase-start.js

You'll need your Vapid Key (Also known as Web Push Certificate) that you can generate under the Cloud Messaging tab of your App Settings on Firebase. After generating it, paste it

messaging.usePublicVapidKey('here');

Now you can run the server

rails s

Visit localhost:3000 and you should see a token. Copy that token.

Open up Postman and prepare a post request using the following instructions:

Headers

key=KEY_INHERITED_FROM_THE_SERVER
application/json

PS: Remember to get your KEY_INHERITED_FROM_THE_SERVER in your App's settings.

URL https://fcm.googleapis.com/fcm/send

JSON for you to test the notifications

 {
    "to" : "KEY_GENERATED_WHEN_YOU_VISITED_LOCALHOST:3000",
    "collapse_key" : "type_a",
    "notification" : {
        "body" : "Body of Your Notification",
        "title": "Title of Your Notification"
    },
    "data" : {
        "body" : "Body of Your Notification in Data",
        "title": "Title of Your Notification in Title",
        "key_1" : "Value for key_1",
        "key_2" : "Value for key_2"
    }
  }

Go back to your internet browser and there should be a field called 'Received message' containing the JSON you just posted.

Built With

• Firebase - Firebase
• Rails
• ServiceWorker::Rails

Author

• Charles Washington de Aquino dos Santos - Caws

Acknowledgments

• StackOverflow
• Google (lots of)