Flutter Notifications

Priority: P1 (OPERATIONAL)

Push and local notification handling using firebase_messaging and flutter_local_notifications.

Implementation Workflow

1. Set up packages — Add firebase_messaging (Push) and flutter_local_notifications (Local/Foreground).
2. Request permission — Prime users with a custom dialog explaining benefits before the system prompt.
3. Handle all lifecycle states — Implement handlers for Foreground, Background, and Terminated states.
4. Validate payloads — Strictly validate notification data before navigating to screens.
5. Clear badges — Manually clear iOS app badges when visiting relevant screens.

Lifecycle Handlers Example

See implementation examples for foreground, background, and terminated state notification handling.

Implementation Details

Anti-Patterns

• ❌ Requesting permission on startup without context — show a primer dialog first
• ❌ Missing getInitialMessage() handler — breaks "open from terminated" state
• ❌ Leaving badges un-cleared — frustrates users; clear on relevant screen visits
• ❌ Navigating from raw JSON payloads without validation — causes crashes on malformed data

Related Topics

flutter-navigation | mobile-ux-core | firebase/fcm