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Overview

Android push notifications use Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM). The app registers a native FCM token, stores it in device_tokens, and the API sends messages via the FCM HTTP v1 API. Key pieces in this repo:
  • apps/mobile/lib/notifications.ts
  • apps/mobile/app/onboarding/push-notifications.tsx
  • apps/api/src/lib/push/fcm.ts
  • apps/api/src/routes/api/push.ts
  • apps/api/src/routers/push.ts

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Client Setup (Android)

  1. Download google-services.json from the Firebase console for the Android app.
  2. Place it at:
apps/mobile/lib/google-services.json
  1. Confirm app.config.ts points to it:
android: {
  googleServicesFile: "./lib/google-services.json"
}
  1. Replace placeholder values in app.config.ts (package name / bundle ID, URL schemes, EAS project ID, Stripe merchant identifier) to match your app.
  2. Rebuild the native project (required after adding google-services.json): 
pnpm -C apps/mobile prebuild
pnpm -C apps/mobile android
Notes:
  • FCM does not work in Expo Go. Use a dev client or a full build.
  • The app creates a notification channel on Android before requesting the token.

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Why this file is required

google-services.json is consumed by the Android build tooling to configure Firebase/FCM. Without it, Android cannot register for a push token and FCM pushes will fail. This repo ships a placeholder file so you can commit safely, but you must replace it with the Firebase config for your own app.

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Backend Setup (FCM)

FCM requires a Firebase service account (Admin SDK) JSON. Do not use google-services.json. Required env vars:
  • FCM_PROJECT_ID
  • FCM_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_BASE64
Base64 encode your service account JSON (macOS): 
base64 -i /absolute/path/to/service-account.json | pbcopy
Then set: 
FCM_PROJECT_ID=your-firebase-project-id
FCM_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_BASE64=<paste>

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Sending a Test Push

Use the API guide to create a push token and send a test notification. The API sends via APNs for iOS tokens and FCM for Android tokens. See: API Setup

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Troubleshooting

If you see: 
Default FirebaseApp is not initialized in this process
Make sure:
  • You rebuilt the Android native project after adding google-services.json.
  • You are not running in Expo Go.