How to set up notifications in Bubble

The simplest way to set up notifications in Bubble is to decide which type you want (in‑app alerts, emails, push notifications) and then trigger them from a Workflow (usually a Backend Workflow) whenever the event happens. Bubble doesn’t send notifications automatically — you always create a Workflow that says “When X happens → send Y notification.”

Types of Notifications You Can Create in Bubble

Bubble supports three real notification types:

• In‑app notifications (alerts, popups, or custom notification data types)
• Email notifications (Bubble’s built‑in “Send email” action)
• Push notifications (via a real plugin like OneSignal)

How to Set Up In‑App Notifications

The most reliable method is creating a Notification data type that stores messages for each User.

• Create a new Data Type called Notification with fields: text (text), is read (yes/no), user (User).
• When something happens (ex: another user sends a message), run a Workflow to Create a new Notification with the target user.
• On the page, place a Repeating Group showing the current user’s notifications with a constraint user = Current User.

How to Set Up Email Notifications

This uses Bubble’s built‑in email action.

• Create a Workflow (often a Backend Workflow).
• Add the action Send email.
• Use dynamic data for “To” and message body, like Current User's email.

// Backend Workflow action example for email
Action: Send email
To: This Notification's user’s email
Subject: New Notification
Body: This Notification's text

How to Set Up Push Notifications (via OneSignal)

Bubble does not natively send mobile push notifications, so you use a plugin like OneSignal.

• Install a OneSignal plugin from the Plugin Store.
• Connect your OneSignal App ID and REST API Key (from your OneSignal dashboard).
• Trigger the plugin’s Send push notification action inside a Workflow when the event occurs.

Where Workflows Should Live

• Immediate UI messages (like “Item added!”) live on the Page Workflow.
• Real notifications for users live in Backend Workflows so they run even when no one is online.

That’s the full, correct way to set up notifications in Bubble: decide the channel, create the data or plugin setup, and trigger it from a Workflow whenever the event happens.