React Native push notifications: A complete how-to guide

Push notifications are a cost-effective and popular feature in mobile app development, allowing businesses to send messages and alerts to users without charge, enhancing user experience and engagement. In the context of React Native, developers have multiple options to implement push notifications, including native services like Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) for Android and Apple Push Notification service (APNs) for iOS, as well as third-party libraries such as Notifee and cloud services like Expo. Developers can send both foreground and background notifications, with the ability to customize and make notifications interactive. The article includes a detailed guide on setting up push notifications in a React Native app using Expo and Notifee, covering aspects like obtaining push notification tokens, storing them on a server, and sending notifications programmatically. It also highlights troubleshooting common issues and choosing the appropriate notifications library based on the app's needs, with Notifee offering more customization capabilities compared to Expo.