FCM Push Integration with Novu

This guide explains the process of configuring and using FCM with Novu, from getting your credentials to sending your first notification.

Novu uses FCM version V1

Step 1: Generate your service account key from Firebase

Get your project’s service account credentials from the Firebase Console.

Log in to the Firebase console.
Create a new Firebase project or select an existing project.
Click the gear icon ⚙️ next to Project Overview.
Select Project settings.
Click the Service accounts tab.
Click the Generate new private key button. A confirmation menu appears.
Click Generate key to download a JSON file containing your credentials.

Open the downloaded JSON file and ensure it contains these fields:

{
  "type": "service_account",
  "project_id": "PROJECT_ID",
  "private_key_id": "PRIVATE_KEY_ID",
  "private_key": "PRIVATE_KEY",
  "client_email": "FIREBASE_ADMIN_SDK_EMAIL",
  "client_id": "CLIENT_ID",
  "auth_uri": "https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/auth",
  "token_uri": "https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token",
  "auth_provider_x509_cert_url": "https://www.googleapis.com/oauth2/v1/certs",
  "client_x509_cert_url": "CLIENT_X509_CERT_URL"
}

Step 2: Connect FCM to Novu

Add the credentials to your FCM integration in the Novu dashboard.

Log in to the Novu dashboard.
Navigate to the Integration Store.
Click Connect provider.
Click the Push tab, then select Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM).
Open the JSON file you downloaded from Firebase in Step 1.
Copy the entire content of the JSON file and paste it into the Service Account field in the FCM integration modal.
Click Create Integration to save the integration.

Step 3: Register a subscriber’s device token

Before Novu can send a push notification to your subscriber, you must associate their device’s unique push token with their Novu subscriber profile. You can do this by making an API call to update the subscriber’s credentials.

Node.js
cURL

const novu = new Novu({ secretKey: "YOUR_SECRET_KEY_HERE",});

async function run() {
  const result = await novu.subscribers.credentials.update({
    providerId: ChatOrPushProviderEnum.Fcm,
    credentials: {
      deviceTokens: [
        "token1",
        "token2",
      ],
    },
  }, "subscriberId");
}
run();

curl -L -X PUT 'https://api.novu.co/v1/subscribers/<SUBSCRIBER_ID>/credentials' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H 'Accept: application/json' \
-H 'Authorization: ApiKey <NOVU_SECRET_KEY>' \
-d '{
  "providerId": "fcm",
  "credentials": {
    "deviceTokens" : [
      "token1",
      "token2"
    ]
  },
  "integrationIdentifier": "string"
}'

Novu automatically removes invalid device tokens from a subscribers’ profile and then sends the failure details to the MESSAGE_FAILED webhook.

Step 4: Send a notification

Now you’re ready to send a push notification. You can trigger a notification to a subscriber who has a registered device token.

import { Novu } from '@novu/api';

const novu = new Novu({
  secretKey: "<NOVU_SECRET_KEY>",
});

await novu.trigger({
  workflowId: "workflowId",
  to: {
    subscriberId: 'SUBSCRIBER_ID',
  },
  payload: {
    // Your payload data
  },
});

Using multiple FCM integrations

If you have multiple active FCM integrations, then you can specify which integration to associate the tokens with by providing the integrationIdentifier. You can find this identifier in your Novu dashboard on the integration’s settings page.

import { Novu } from '@novu/api';

const novu = new Novu({
  secretKey: "<NOVU_SECRET_KEY>",
});

await novu.subscribers.credentials.update(
  {
    providerId: "fcm",
    // Use integrationIdentifier to store device tokens for a specific integration
    integrationIdentifier: "string",
    credentials: {
      deviceTokens: [
        "token1",
        "token2"
      ]
    },
  },
  "subscriberId"
);

Using overrides to customize notifications

Novu lets you customize the behavior of push notifications by using the overrides field when triggering workflows. Overrides give you full control over message content and delivery parameters that aren’t configurable from the Novu workflow editor. To learn more about how overrides work across all channels, see the Trigger Overrides documentation.

Override FCM field

Overrides let you send platform-specific data that is not available in the workflow editor. The overrides field supports:

apns overrides
android overrides
webpush overrides
fcmOptions overrides

Override field	Type / Interface	Link
android	AndroidConfig	https://firebase.google.com/docs/reference/admin/node/firebase-admin.messaging.androidconfig
apns	ApnsConfig	https://firebase.google.com/docs/reference/admin/node/firebase-admin.messaging.apnsconfig
webPush	WebpushConfig	https://firebase.google.com/docs/reference/admin/node/firebase-admin.messaging.webpushconfig
fcmOptions	FcmOptions	https://firebase.google.com/docs/reference/admin/node/firebase-admin.messaging.fcmoptions

You can use these fields to customize how notifications are sent to Android, iOS via APNS, or web clients.

await novu.trigger({
  workflowId: "workflowId",
  to: {
    subscriberId: "subscriberId",
  },
  payload: {
    key: "value",
  },
  overrides: {
    fcm: {
      // For a data-only notification (silent push)
      type: 'data',
      data: {
        custom_key: 'custom_value',
      },
      // Platform-specific overrides
      android: {
        // See FCM AndroidConfig options
      },
      apns: {
        // See FCM ApnsConfig options
      },
      webPush: {
        // See FCM WebpushConfig options
      },
      fcmOptions: {
        // See FCM FcmOptions
      }
    },
  },
});

Override FCM notification content

By default, Novu sends the FCM notification content written in the step editor workflow. However, you can override the notification content by using the overrides field.

import { Novu } from '@novu/api';

const novu = new Novu({
  secretKey: "<NOVU_SECRET_KEY>",
  // Required if using EU region
  // serverURL: "https://eu.api.novu.co",
});

await novu.trigger({
  workflowId: "workflowId",
  to: {
    subscriberId: "subscriberId",
  },
  payload: {
    key: "value",
  },
  overrides: {
    providers: {
      fcm: {
        type: "data",

// URL of an image to be displayed in the notification.
        imageUrl: "https://domain.com/image.png",

// If type is not set, you can use the "data" override to send notification messages with optional data payload
        data: {
          key: "value",
        },

// Check FCM Overrides section above for these types
        android: {},
        apns: {},
        webPush: {},
        fcmOptions: {},
      },
    },
  },
});

Overrides can be applied at runtime to customize or enrich notifications based on user context, device type, or workflow logic.

Sending notifications to FCM topics

FCM topics are used to send notifications to multiple devices at once. In the overrides, you need to specify the topic you want to send the notification to.

import { Novu } from '@novu/api';

const novu = new Novu({
  secretKey: "<NOVU_SECRET_KEY>",
  // Required if using EU region
  // serverURL: "https://eu.api.novu.co",
});

await novu.trigger({
  workflowId: "workflowId",
  to: {
    subscriberId: "subscriberId",
  },
  payload: {
    key: "value",
  },
  overrides: {
    providers: {
      fcm: {
        topic: "topic-123",
      },
    },
  },
});

Web push with relative links

Suppose you’re using the Firebase (FCM) provider to send push notifications to web browsers via Novu and want users to be returned to the website after clicking the notification. In that case, you must use the link property with a relative URL.

Node.js
Curl

import { Novu } from '@novu/api';

const novu = new Novu({
  secretKey: "<NOVU_SECRET_KEY>",
  // Required if using EU region
  // serverURL: "https://eu.api.novu.co",
});

await novu.trigger({
  workflowId: "workflowId",
  to: {
    subscriberId: "subscriberId",
  },
  payload: {
    key: "value",
  },
  overrides: {
    providers: {
      fcm: {
        webPush: {
          fcmOptions: {
            link: "/foo",
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
});

curl --location --request POST 'https://url.to.our.selfhosted.novu' \
    --header 'Authorization: ApiKey KEY' \
    --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    --data-raw '{
        "name": "workflow-name",
        "to": {
            "subscriberId": "subscriberId"
        },
        "overrides": {
          "fcm": {
            "webPush": {
              "fcm_options": {
                "link": "/foo"
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }'

Frequently asked questions

FCM cost

As per Firebase pricing, Cloud Messaging product is free to use. If other Firebase products are used, then the cost are charged per the product.

The registration token is not a valid FCM registration token

You might come across an error such as: Sending message failed due to "The registration token is not a valid FCM registration token". This error happens because of an invalid or stale token. The fix for this is:

Remove the old tokens.
Generate a new token.
Save the new token into user subscribers.

FCM notifications sent successfully with no error but push notification is not received in device

Try to generate a new token after clearing device cache and retry with this fresh token.

Sending message failed due to 'Requested entity was not found'

This error occurs when your token is no longer valid. To fix this, generate a new token and use it.

Subscriber does not have a configured channel error

This error occurs if the FCM integration is active, but the subscriber is missing from the FCM credentials (deviceTokens). The credentials (deviceTokens) for the subscriber needs to be set.

How to send desktop notifications using FCM

Desktop notifications for websites can be sent using FCM webpush.

​Step 1: Generate your service account key from Firebase

​Step 2: Connect FCM to Novu

​Step 3: Register a subscriber’s device token

​Step 4: Send a notification

​Using multiple FCM integrations

​Using overrides to customize notifications

​Override FCM field

​Override FCM notification content

​Sending notifications to FCM topics

​Web push with relative links

​Frequently asked questions

Step 1: Generate your service account key from Firebase

Step 2: Connect FCM to Novu

Step 3: Register a subscriber’s device token

Step 4: Send a notification

Using multiple FCM integrations

Using overrides to customize notifications

Override FCM field

Override FCM notification content

Sending notifications to FCM topics

Web push with relative links

Frequently asked questions