Push Notifications

Enable push capability, request user permission, and register with APNs to receive device tokens.

Request Permission

Request permission to send push notifications to the user.

Syntax:

UNUserNotificationCenter.current().requestAuthorization(options: [.alert,.badge,.sound])

Example

Demo.swift

ContentView.swift

App.swift

import SwiftUI
import UserNotifications

struct PushPermissionDemo: View {
  @State private var status: UNAuthorizationStatus? = nil
  var body: some View {
VStack(spacing: 12) {
  Text("Status: \(statusLabel)")
  Button("Request Permission") {
    UNUserNotificationCenter.current().requestAuthorization(options: &#91;.alert,.badge,.sound]) { _, _ in
      UNUserNotificationCenter.current().getNotificationSettings { s in
        DispatchQueue.main.async { status = s.authorizationStatus }
      }
    }
  }
}
.padding()
.onAppear {
  UNUserNotificationCenter.current().getNotificationSettings { s in
    DispatchQueue.main.async { status = s.authorizationStatus }
  }
}  }
  private var statusLabel: String {
switch status { case .authorized?: return "authorized"
case .denied?: return "denied"
case .notDetermined?: return "notDetermined"
case .provisional?: return "provisional"
case .ephemeral?: return "ephemeral"
default: return "unknown" }  }
}

The example above shows a simple push permission request with a button to request access and a label to display the current status.

Foreground Presentation

Present notifications when the app is in the foreground.

Syntax:

UNUserNotificationCenter.current().getNotificationSettings { s in ... }

Example

Demo.swift

ContentView.swift

App.swift

import SwiftUI

struct ForegroundPresentationDemo: View {
  @State private var last = "(none)"
  var body: some View {
VStack(spacing: 12) {
  Text("Last received: \(last)")
  Button("Simulate Delivery") { last = Date().formatted() }
  Text("Tip: Use UNUserNotificationCenterDelegate in your app to choose banner/sound when active.")
    .font(.footnote)
    .foregroundStyle(.secondary)
}
.padding()  }
}

The example above shows a simple foreground presentation with a button to simulate delivery and a label to display the last received notification.

Request Authorization

Ask the user for permission and register for remote notifications.

Syntax:

UNUserNotificationCenter.current().requestAuthorization(options: [.alert,.badge,.sound])

Example

App.swift

AppDelegate.swift

import SwiftUI
import UserNotifications
import UIKit
@main
struct MyApp: App {
  init() {
UNUserNotificationCenter.current().requestAuthorization(options: &#91;.alert,.badge,.sound]) { granted, _ in
  if granted {
    DispatchQueue.main.async { UIApplication.shared.registerForRemoteNotifications() }
  }
}  }
  var body: some Scene { WindowGroup { ContentView() } }
}

This example requests notification permission, registers with APNs, and handles success/failure callbacks for the device token.

SwiftUI App + AppDelegate bridge

In SwiftUI, bridge your AppDelegate so token callbacks are delivered:

Example

App.swift (bridge)

import SwiftUI
import UserNotifications
import UIKit

@main
struct MyApp: App {
  @UIApplicationDelegateAdaptor(AppDelegate.self) var appDelegate

  init() {
UNUserNotificationCenter.current().requestAuthorization(options: &#91;.alert,.badge,.sound]) { granted, _ in
  if granted {
    DispatchQueue.main.async { UIApplication.shared.registerForRemoteNotifications() }
  }
}
UNUserNotificationCenter.current().delegate = appDelegate  }

  var body: some Scene { WindowGroup { ContentView() } }
}

Handle Delivery (Foreground/Background)

Use UNUserNotificationCenterDelegate to control presentation in foreground and handle taps:

Example

AppDelegate+Notifications.swift

import UserNotifications
import UIKit

class AppDelegate: NSObject, UIApplicationDelegate, UNUserNotificationCenterDelegate {
  // Foreground delivery: choose how to present when app is active
  func userNotificationCenter(_ center: UNUserNotificationCenter,
                          willPresent notification: UNNotification,
                          withCompletionHandler completionHandler: @escaping (UNNotificationPresentationOptions) -&gt; Void) {
completionHandler(&#91;.banner, .sound, .badge])  }

  // User taps a notification
  func userNotificationCenter(_ center: UNUserNotificationCenter,
                          didReceive response: UNNotificationResponse,
                          withCompletionHandler completionHandler: @escaping () -&gt; Void) {
// Navigate to a screen based on response.notification.request.content.userInfo
completionHandler()  }
}

The example above shows a simple foreground presentation with a button to simulate delivery and a label to display the last received notification.

Categories & Actions

Define actions (buttons) and attach categories to notifications:

Example

Categories.swift

import UserNotifications

let reply = UNTextInputNotificationAction(identifier: "REPLY",
                                      title: "Reply",
                                      options: &#91;])let mark = UNNotificationAction(identifier: "MARK",
                            title: "Mark Read",
                            options: &#91;.authenticationRequired])let category = UNNotificationCategory(identifier: "MESSAGE",
                                  actions: &#91;reply, mark],
                                  intentIdentifiers: &#91;],
                                  options: &#91;])UNUserNotificationCenter.current().setNotificationCategories([category])
// Include "category": "MESSAGE" in your APNs payload to use these actions.

The example above shows a simple foreground presentation with a button to simulate delivery and a label to display the last received notification.

Testing & Troubleshooting

Simulator: Cannot receive remote pushes; use a real device. You can test local notifications on Simulator.
Environments: Device tokens differ between sandbox and production; send to the matching APNs environment.
Keys/Certificates: Ensure APNs Auth Key (or certs) is valid and linked to your team; use the key ID and Team ID on your server.
Capabilities: Push Notifications capability enabled; for content updates, also enable Background Modes → Remote notifications.
Payload size: Keep payloads under APNs limits; include content-available: 1 for silent pushes.
Logging: Watch device logs in Xcode when registering to confirm token/registration errors.

Push Notifications