January 2024 Summaries

Knock has introduced commit diffs to enhance its version control experience, allowing users to view changes between commits and environments with greater clarity. This upgrade ensures that users can track modifications in their notification systems and understand the implications of promoting changes to production. With Knock’s approach, workflows and templates are treated as code, enabling seamless integration with local developer workflows and CI/CD processes. The introduction of commit diffs aligns Knock's version control with GitHub-level code diffing, offering improved visibility and control. This development paves the way for new features, such as reverting commits, branching, and using external source control systems, which will further integrate Knock into developers' workflows, embodying Knock's aim to be an integral part of the developer's infrastructure.

EdApp, a mobile learning software company, faced challenges with their homegrown notification system, prompting a decision between building a new solution in-house or purchasing an existing tool. After evaluating several options, the team chose Knock for its clear product offering and seamless developer experience, which allowed for rapid implementation in less than a week without requiring tedious user migrations. Knock's features, such as branching logic and batching, have enabled EdApp to send more relevant notifications and avoid overload, resulting in a doubling of course completion rates and a 41% increase in course open rates. The integration with monitoring tools like Datadog and analytics extensions such as Segment has provided enhanced observability and engagement tracking, making the notification infrastructure easier to manage and significantly increasing user engagement with reduced ownership costs.

Slack employs the OAuth flow to ensure secure access control for third-party applications, allowing them to interact with user data and functionalities while safeguarding privacy and data security. By implementing OAuth, applications can request specific access permissions, known as scopes, which follow the principle of least privilege, thus enhancing user trust and experience. This process involves obtaining an access token after user authentication, enabling the app to make authenticated requests to Slack's API without handling sensitive user passwords. Developers can integrate this flow into their applications using Node.js, with essential components including environment variables management, session persistence, and HTTP request handling through libraries like dotenv, express, axios, and express-session. The OAuth flow not only streamlines authorization but also provides users the ability to revoke access at their discretion, ensuring they maintain control over their data. Furthermore, tools like ngrok can facilitate development by simulating secure URLs for local testing, and services such as Knock can extend Slack's capabilities by managing notifications, leveraging OAuth's secure communication framework to enhance application features.

In 2023, Knock experienced significant growth, quadrupling its revenue, tripling its customer base, and expanding its team while shipping 34 product updates that enhanced its notification infrastructure platform. Notable developments included the release of the Knock CLI and management API, allowing developers to manage notification logic within their codebase, and the launch of Workflow Builder 2.0, which introduced advanced workflow capabilities. The company also expanded its API offerings with new features like subscriptions, schedules, and translations, catering to diverse use cases across various industries. Knock's focus on delivering efficient, customizable notification solutions resulted in a decrease in notifications sent per user, reflecting enhanced user experience. As Knock enters 2024, it plans to deepen integration with developer workflows and further enhance its notification engine, while maintaining its emphasis on creating impactful, customer-focused products.