Laravel FCM Notifications

A robust and secure Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) notification system for Laravel applications. This package provides a comprehensive solution for sending push notifications with automatic token management, cleanup, and support for all FCM message types.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Requirements
• Installation
• Quick Start
• Configuration
  • Firebase Setup
  • Environment Variables
  • Database Setup
  • Token Management
• Usage
  • Basic Usage
  • Direct Service Usage
  • Message Types
  • Batch Sending
  • Platform-Specific Configuration
• Testing
• Configuration Options
• Troubleshooting
• Support

Features

• 🚀 Easy Integration - Drop-in Laravel notification channel
• 🔐 Secure Authentication - JWT-based Google OAuth2 authentication
• 📱 Multiple Message Types - Support for notification-only, data-only, and combined messages
• 🔄 Automatic Token Cleanup - Removes invalid tokens automatically
• 📊 Batch Sending - Send to multiple devices efficiently
• 🛠️ Platform Specific - Android and iOS specific configurations
• 📝 Comprehensive Logging - Detailed logging for debugging
• ⚡ Performance Optimized - Token caching and efficient API calls
• 🧪 Testing Commands - Built-in commands for testing functionality

Requirements

• PHP 8.1 or higher
• Laravel 10.0 or higher
• Firebase project with FCM enabled

Installation

You can install the package via Composer:

composer require netosts/laravel-fcm-notifications

Publish the configuration file:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=fcm-notifications-config

Quick Start

Get up and running in minutes:

1. Set up your Firebase credentials

Add these environment variables to your .env file:

FCM_PROJECT_ID=your-firebase-project-id
FCM_CLIENT_EMAIL=your-service-account@your-project.iam.gserviceaccount.com
FCM_PRIVATE_KEY="-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\nYour-Private-Key-Here\n-----END PRIVATE KEY-----"

2. Add FCM token to your User model

// Add to your users table migration
Schema::table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->string('fcm_token')->nullable();
});

// Make it fillable in your User model
class User extends Model
{
    protected $fillable = ['fcm_token'];
}

3. Send your first notification

use LaravelFcmNotifications\Notifications\FcmNotification;

$notification = new FcmNotification(
    title: 'Welcome!',
    body: 'Thanks for joining our app'
);

$user->notify($notification);

That's it! Your notification will be sent to the user's device.

Configuration

💡 Tip: If you just want to get started quickly, check the Quick Start section above.

1. Firebase Setup

To use FCM, you need a Firebase project with proper credentials:

1. Go to the Firebase Console
2. Create a new project or select an existing one
3. Navigate to Project Settings → Service Accounts
4. Click Generate New Private Key to download the service account JSON file

2. Environment Variables

Add the following variables to your .env file:

# Required - Firebase Credentials
FCM_PROJECT_ID=your-firebase-project-id
FCM_CLIENT_EMAIL=your-service-account@your-project.iam.gserviceaccount.com
FCM_PRIVATE_KEY="-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\nYour-Private-Key-Here\n-----END PRIVATE KEY-----"

# Optional - API Settings
FCM_TIMEOUT=30
FCM_DEFAULT_MODE=data_only

# Optional - Token Management
FCM_TOKEN_COLUMN=token
FCM_AUTO_CLEANUP_TOKENS=true

⚠️ Important: The private key must include \n characters for line breaks.

3. Database Setup

Choose one of the following approaches for storing FCM tokens:

Option A: Multiple Tokens per User (Recommended)

For users with multiple devices, create a dedicated tokens table:

// Create migration: php artisan make:migration create_notification_tokens_table
Schema::create('notification_tokens', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->id();
    $table->foreignId('user_id')->constrained()->onDelete('cascade');
    $table->string('token')->unique();
    $table->string('device_type')->nullable(); // 'android', 'ios', 'web'
    $table->timestamps();
});

Option B: Single Token per User

Add a token column to your existing users table:

// Add to your users table migration
Schema::table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->string('fcm_token')->nullable();
});

4. Token Management

Configure how the package discovers FCM tokens from your models:

For Multiple Tokens (Option A)

class User extends Model
{
    public function notificationTokens()
    {
        return $this->hasMany(NotificationToken::class);
    }
}

// Optional: Create a NotificationToken model
class NotificationToken extends Model
{
    protected $fillable = ['user_id', 'token', 'device_type'];

    public function user()
    {
        return $this->belongsTo(User::class);
    }
}

For Single Token (Option B)

class User extends Model
{
    protected $fillable = ['fcm_token'];

    // Optional: Custom method name
    public function getFcmToken()
    {
        return $this->fcm_token;
    }
}

Usage

Basic Usage

There are two main ways to send FCM notifications:

Method 1: Using FcmNotification Directly (Simple)

use LaravelFcmNotifications\Notifications\FcmNotification;

// Simple notification
$notification = new FcmNotification(
    title: 'New Message',
    body: 'You have a new message from John'
);

$user->notify($notification);

Method 2: Custom Notification Class (Recommended)

Create a custom notification class for better organization:

php artisan make:notification PushNotification

Extend the FcmNotification class:

<?php

namespace App\Notifications;

use Illuminate\Bus\Queueable;
use Illuminate\Contracts\Queue\ShouldQueue;
use LaravelFcmNotifications\Notifications\FcmNotification;

class PushNotification extends FcmNotification implements ShouldQueue
{
    use Queueable;

    // Add custom logic here if needed
}

Use your custom notification:

use App\Notifications\PushNotification;

$notification = new PushNotification(
    title: 'New Message',
    body: 'You have a new message from John',
    image: 'https://example.com/avatar.jpg',
    data: ['message_id' => '123', 'sender_id' => '456']
);

$user->notify($notification);

Direct Service Usage

For more control, use the FCM service directly:

use LaravelFcmNotifications\Facades\Fcm;
use LaravelFcmNotifications\Services\FcmMessage;

// Create a detailed message
$message = FcmMessage::create(
    title: 'Direct Message',
    body: 'This message was sent directly via the service'
)
->addData('custom_key', 'custom_value')
->addData('user_action', 'view_profile')
->setAndroidPriority('high')
->setIosBadge(1);

// Send to a specific device
$result = Fcm::sendToDevice($deviceToken, $message);

// Handle the result
if ($result['success']) {
    echo "Message sent successfully!";
} else {
    echo "Failed to send: " . $result['error'];
}

Message Types

FCM supports different message types for different use cases:

1. Notification + Data (Default)

Shows a system notification and passes custom data to your app:

$notification = new FcmNotification(
    title: 'New Order',
    body: 'You received a new order #1234',
    data: ['order_id' => '1234', 'action' => 'view_order']
);

2. Data Only

Sends data silently to your app without showing a notification:

$notification = (new FcmNotification(
    title: 'Background Sync', // Not shown to user
    body: 'Data updated',     // Not shown to user
    data: ['sync' => 'true', 'timestamp' => time()]
))->dataOnly();

3. Notification Only

Shows only a system notification without custom data:

$notification = (new FcmNotification(
    title: 'System Maintenance',
    body: 'Our systems will be down for maintenance tonight'
))->notificationOnly();

Batch Sending

Send the same message to multiple devices efficiently:

$deviceTokens = ['token1', 'token2', 'token3'];

$message = FcmMessage::create(
    title: 'System Announcement',
    body: 'Important update for all users'
);

$result = Fcm::sendToMultipleDevices($deviceTokens, $message);

// Check results
echo "Successfully sent to: {$result['summary']['success']} devices\n";
echo "Failed to send to: {$result['summary']['failure']} devices\n";

// Handle individual failures
foreach ($result['details'] as $detail) {
    if (!$detail['success']) {
        echo "Failed for token: {$detail['token']}, Error: {$detail['error']}\n";
    }
}

Platform-Specific Configuration

Customize notifications for different platforms:

Android Specific Settings

$message = FcmMessage::create('Android Notification', 'Optimized for Android devices')
    ->setAndroidChannel('important_notifications')
    ->setAndroidPriority('high')
    ->setAndroidSound('custom_sound.mp3')
    ->addData('android_specific', 'value');

$user->notify($notification);

iOS Specific Settings

$message = FcmMessage::create('iOS Notification', 'Optimized for iOS devices')
    ->setIosBadge(5)                    // Badge count
    ->setIosSound('custom_sound.caf')   // Custom sound
    ->addData('ios_specific', 'value');

$user->notify($notification);

Cross-Platform Message

$message = FcmMessage::create('Universal Message', 'Works on all platforms')
    // Android settings
    ->setAndroidPriority('high')
    ->setAndroidChannel('notifications')

    // iOS settings
    ->setIosBadge(1)
    ->setIosSound('default')

    // Common data
    ->addData('universal_data', 'value');

Event Listeners

The package automatically handles token cleanup through events:

// In your EventServiceProvider
protected $listen = [
    \LaravelFcmNotifications\Events\UnregisteredFcmTokenDetected::class => [
        \LaravelFcmNotifications\Listeners\CleanupUnregisteredFcmToken::class,
    ],
];

When an invalid token is detected, it's automatically removed from your database (if FCM_AUTO_CLEANUP_TOKENS=true).

Testing

Built-in Test Commands

The package includes helpful commands for testing your FCM integration:

# Test basic FCM functionality with a real device token
php artisan fcm:test --token=your-actual-device-token

# Test the direct service (bypasses Laravel notifications)
php artisan fcm:test --token=your-device-token --direct

# Test token cleanup functionality
php artisan fcm:test-cleanup your-device-token

Token Validation

Validate FCM tokens before sending notifications:

use LaravelFcmNotifications\Facades\Fcm;

// Validate a single token
$validation = Fcm::validateToken($deviceToken);

if ($validation['valid']) {
    echo "Token is valid and ready to receive notifications";
} else {
    echo "Token is invalid: " . $validation['message'];
    // Error type: $validation['error_type']
}

// Validate multiple tokens at once
$tokens = ['token1', 'token2', 'token3'];
$results = Fcm::validateTokens($tokens);

$validCount = 0;
$invalidCount = 0;

foreach ($results as $result) {
    if ($result['valid']) {
        $validCount++;
    } else {
        $invalidCount++;
        // Remove invalid token from database
        NotificationToken::where('token', $result['token'])->delete();
    }
}

echo "Valid tokens: {$validCount}\n";
echo "Invalid tokens: {$invalidCount}\n";

Testing in Development

// Only send notifications in production
if (app()->environment('production')) {
    $user->notify(new PushNotification('Production Alert', 'This is live!'));
} else {
    // Log instead of sending during development
    Log::info('Would send notification: Production Alert');
}

Configuration Options

The config/fcm-notifications.php file provides comprehensive configuration options:

return [
    // Firebase Credentials (Required)
    'project_id' => env('FCM_PROJECT_ID'),
    'client_email' => env('FCM_CLIENT_EMAIL'),
    'private_key' => env('FCM_PRIVATE_KEY'),

    // API Settings
    'timeout' => env('FCM_TIMEOUT', 30), // Request timeout in seconds

    // Message Behavior
    'default_mode' => env('FCM_DEFAULT_MODE', 'data_only'), // 'notification_only', 'data_only', 'both'

    // Token Management
    'token_column' => env('FCM_TOKEN_COLUMN', 'token'),              // Column name for single token storage
    'auto_cleanup_tokens' => env('FCM_AUTO_CLEANUP_TOKENS', true),   // Auto-remove invalid tokens

    // Performance Settings
    'cache_token' => true,                              // Cache JWT tokens
    'cache_prefix' => 'fcm_notifications_token',        // Cache key prefix
];

Configuration Details

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

🔐 Authentication Failed

Symptoms: Authentication errors, 401 responses from FCM

Solutions:

• Verify your Firebase service account credentials in .env
• Ensure the private key includes proper line breaks (\n)
• Check that your service account has FCM permissions
• Validate your project_id matches your Firebase project

# Test your credentials
php artisan fcm:test --token=test-token

🔍 Tokens Not Found

Symptoms: No notifications sent, "no tokens found" errors

Solutions:

• Check your token storage implementation
• Verify the token_column configuration matches your database
• Ensure users have FCM tokens stored
• Check relationship methods in your User model

// Debug token discovery
$user = User::find(1);
dd($user->notificationTokens); // For multiple tokens
dd($user->fcm_token);          // For single token

📱 Messages Not Received

Symptoms: API calls succeed but notifications don't appear

Solutions:

• Test with the built-in test command
• Check FCM token validity
• Verify your mobile app is properly configured for FCM
• Check device notification settings
• Ensure app is not in battery optimization mode (Android)

# Validate your tokens
php artisan tinker
>>> $result = Fcm::validateToken('your-device-token');
>>> dd($result); // Shows detailed validation results

⚡ Performance Issues

Symptoms: Slow notification sending, timeouts

Solutions:

• Enable token caching in config
• Use batch sending for multiple recipients
• Implement queue processing for large volumes
• Increase timeout setting if needed

// Use queued notifications for better performance
class PushNotification extends FcmNotification implements ShouldQueue
{
    use Queueable;
}

Debug Mode

Enable detailed logging for troubleshooting:

# In your .env file
LOG_LEVEL=debug
APP_DEBUG=true

This will log detailed FCM request/response information to help diagnose issues.

Getting Help

If you're still having issues:

1. Check the logs - Look in storage/logs/laravel.log for detailed error messages
2. Test with the built-in commands - Use php artisan fcm:test to isolate issues
3. Validate your setup - Double-check Firebase credentials and configuration
4. Review the FCM documentation - Some issues may be Firebase-specific

Changelog

Please see CHANGELOG for more information on what has changed recently.

Security

If you discover any security-related issues, please email netostt91@gmail.com instead of using the issue tracker.

Credits

• Neto Santos - Creator and maintainer
• All Contributors - Community contributors

License

The MIT License (MIT). Please see License File for more information.

Support

Need help? Here's how to get support:

• 📧 Email: netostt91@gmail.com
• 🐛 Bug Reports: GitHub Issues
• 💬 Questions & Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• 📖 Documentation: This README and inline code documentation

⭐ If this package helped you, please consider giving it a star on GitHub! ⭐