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Rahul Gupta
Rahul Gupta

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Sending Desktop Notifications Using Laravel and NativePHP

#nativephp #php #laravel #desktop

Sending Desktop Notifications Using Laravel and NativePHP

One of the most exciting features of building desktop applications is the ability to send native desktop notifications — a seamless way to keep users informed even when the application isn’t in focus. In this article, we’ll explore how to leverage NativePHP to create and manage notifications directly from your Laravel-powered desktop app.

🔔 Why Use Notifications?

Desktop notifications allow your app to:

  • Alert users of real-time updates

  • Notify about background tasks (e.g., downloads, syncing)

  • Improve user engagement with timely messages

  • Provide non-intrusive prompts

Thanks to NativePHP, you can implement this functionality using the same Laravel syntax you already know and love.

🛠️ Prerequisites

Before diving in, make sure:

  • You have a working NativePHP + Laravel setup

  • You're running the application on a supported OS (macOS, Windows, Linux)

  • You have followed the initial setup guide if needed

🚀 Step 1: Install NativePHP Notifications Package (If Required)

NativePHP may include notification support by default, but if not, you may need to pull in dependencies or ensure nativephp/electron is up to date.

composer require nativephp/electron
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🧱 Step 2: Basic Notification Example

NativePHP exposes a simple API to trigger a desktop notification. You can add this to a controller, service class, or even route closure.

use Native\Laravel\Facades\Notification;

Route::get('/notify', function () {
    Notification::title('Hello from Laravel!')
        ->message('Your task has been completed.')
        ->show();
});
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🔍 Explanation:

  • title(): Sets the notification title

  • message(): The body content of the notification

  • show(): Triggers the native system notification

🎯 Step 3: Adding Custom Icons (Optional)

You can customize your notifications by adding an icon:

Notification::title('Upload Complete')
    ->message('Your files have been uploaded successfully.')
    ->icon(resource_path('icons/success.png'))
    ->show();
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Make sure your icon file path is valid, and the format is supported (usually PNG works best).

🧠 Advanced Use Case: Conditional Notifications

Let’s send a notification when a queued job is complete:

// Inside a job or event listener
Notification::title('Job Complete')
    ->message("The job {$this->jobName} has finished.")
    ->show();
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🧪 Testing Notifications

To verify everything works:

  1. Run php artisan serve:desktop

  2. Visit the route triggering the notification (/notify)

  3. Watch your OS pop up a notification 🎉

🚧 Known Limitations

  • On some OSes, notifications may not display if the app is unfocused

  • Custom actions/buttons may not be supported in all environments yet

Keep an eye on the NativePHP documentation for updates as the ecosystem evolves.

Desktop notifications are a powerful way to keep users informed and engaged. NativePHP makes it incredibly easy to build this functionality into your Laravel desktop apps without needing to learn Electron or native system APIs.

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