​

Push Notifications Implementation Analysis

​

Executive Summary

• Project values (docs/philosophy/values.yaml)
• Operating principles (docs/philosophy/principles.yaml)
• Expo/React Native best practices
• Intercom SDK documentation

​

Alignment with Project Values

​

✅ Mission First

• Value: “Every decision serves the pilot launch goal”
• Alignment: Push notifications for support improve user experience and reduce friction for pilot churches
• Status: ✅ Supports pilot success

​

✅ Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast

• Value: “100% Excellence - deliver it completely the first time”
• Alignment:
  • Comprehensive error handling
  • Graceful degradation (app works without Intercom)
  • Timeout protection for known iOS SDK 53 issue
  • Proper error tracking with Sentry
• Status: ✅ Complete implementation, no shortcuts

​

✅ Simplicity

• Value: “Everything should be made as simple as possible but not simpler”
• Alignment:
  • Reuses existing push notification infrastructure
  • Non-blocking design (fire-and-forget)
  • Clear separation of concerns (helper function)
• Status: ✅ Simple but complete

​

✅ Reuse by Default

• Value: “REUSE > BUILD is a priority constraint”
• Alignment:
  • Extends existing registerForPushNotificationsAsync() function
  • Uses existing isIntercomReady() check
  • Leverages existing error tracking (Sentry)
• Status: ✅ 100% reuse, no new infrastructure

​

✅ Keep It Clean

• Value: “Never push dirty code. Write clean every time.”
• Alignment:
  • TypeScript type checking passes ✅
  • ESLint passes ✅
  • Proper error handling
  • Clear comments explaining rationale
• Status: ✅ Clean code ready for production

​

✅ Graceful Degradation

• Pattern: App continues to function normally if Intercom fails
• Implementation:
  • Checks isIntercomReady() before attempting registration
  • Fire-and-forget pattern (doesn’t block main flow)
  • Comprehensive error handling with Sentry tracking
  • Timeout protection prevents hanging
• Status: ✅ Follows project patterns (see src/lib/intercom.ts, src/lib/sentry.ts)

​

Best Practices Compliance

​

✅ Expo Best Practices

1. Permission Handling
   • ✅ Requests permissions before getting tokens
   • ✅ Checks device type (physical device required)
   • ✅ Handles permission denial gracefully
2. Token Management
   • ✅ Gets Expo token for app notifications
   • ✅ Gets device token for Intercom (separate)
   • ✅ Stores tokens in Supabase for app notifications
   • ✅ Registers with Intercom SDK
3. Error Handling
   • ✅ Try-catch blocks around all async operations
   • ✅ Non-blocking failures (app continues)
   • ✅ Error tracking with Sentry
   • ✅ Breadcrumb logging for debugging
4. iOS SDK 53 Compatibility
   • ✅ Timeout protection (5 seconds) for getDevicePushTokenAsync()
   • ✅ Handles known issue where API may hang
   • ✅ Graceful fallback if timeout occurs

​

✅ Intercom Best Practices

1. SDK Integration
   • ✅ Checks initialization before use (isIntercomReady())
   • ✅ Uses correct API (sendTokenToIntercom())
   • ✅ Handles return value (boolean success indicator)
2. Push Notification Handling
   • ✅ Detects Intercom notifications by payload
   • ✅ Routes to Intercom.handlePushMessage()
   • ✅ Preserves existing app notification handling
3. Error Recovery
   • ✅ Non-critical feature (app works without it)
   • ✅ Comprehensive error logging
   • ✅ User experience not impacted by failures

​

Implementation Details

​

Code Structure

// Main flow (non-blocking)
registerForPushNotificationsAsync() {
  // 1. Get Expo token (for app notifications)
  const tokenData = await Notifications.getExpoPushTokenAsync();
  
  // 2. Register with Intercom (fire-and-forget)
  if (isIntercomReady()) {
    registerIntercomDeviceToken().catch(...);
  }
  
  // 3. Return Expo token immediately
  return tokenData.data;
}

// Helper function (with timeout protection)
async function registerIntercomDeviceToken() {
  // Timeout protection for iOS SDK 53 issue
  const deviceTokenData = await Promise.race([
    Notifications.getDevicePushTokenAsync(),
    timeoutPromise(5000),
  ]);
  
  // Register with Intercom
  await Intercom.sendTokenToIntercom(deviceTokenData.data);
}

​

Key Design Decisions

1. Fire-and-Forget Pattern
   • Why: Intercom registration is optional, shouldn’t block main flow
   • Benefit: App notifications work even if Intercom fails
   • Trade-off: None - errors are logged and tracked
2. Timeout Protection
   • Why: iOS SDK 53 has known issue with getDevicePushTokenAsync() hanging
   • Benefit: Prevents app from hanging indefinitely
   • Trade-off: May miss some registrations, but app continues normally
3. Separate Helper Function
   • Why: Clear separation of concerns, easier to test
   • Benefit: Maintainable, follows single responsibility principle
   • Trade-off: None
4. Error Tracking
   • Why: Need visibility into failures for debugging
   • Benefit: Can monitor Intercom registration success rate
   • Trade-off: None - Sentry already integrated

​

Testing Recommendations

​

Manual Testing

1. ✅ Test on physical iOS device (simulator doesn’t support push)
2. ✅ Test with Intercom initialized and not initialized
3. ✅ Test permission denial flow
4. ✅ Test timeout scenario (if possible to simulate)

​

Monitoring

1. ✅ Monitor Sentry for registerIntercomDeviceToken errors
2. ✅ Check Intercom dashboard for device token registrations
3. ✅ Monitor breadcrumb logs for registration success/failure

​

Potential Improvements (Future)

1. Retry Logic
   • Could add exponential backoff retry for failed registrations
   • Priority: Low (non-critical feature)
   • When: If monitoring shows high failure rate
2. Token Refresh
   • Could re-register token when Intercom becomes available
   • Priority: Low (user re-login handles this)
   • When: If users report missing notifications
3. Analytics
   • Could track registration success rate
   • Priority: Low (Sentry already tracks errors)
   • When: If needed for monitoring

​

Conclusion

• Follows graceful degradation patterns
• Handles errors comprehensively
• Protects against known iOS SDK 53 issue
• Maintains clean, simple code
• Reuses existing infrastructure
• Tracks errors for monitoring