django-webpush-demo

This is a django server using jazzband's django-push-notifications (https://github.com/jazzband/django-push-notifications), Django REST framework and Web-push-libs modules implementation of the Open Standard for Push API with VAPID (https://github.com/web-push-libs).

One nice features is the ability to store the user response when interactif with the call-to-actions of the Push notification; yep, did you know that a Push notification can display various CTAs ?

It's compatible with any browser supporting native push notifications with the Push API and Service workers (https://developer.mozilla.org/fr/docs/Web/API/Push_API)

More important source-code is :

• webpush.js and service-worker.js: the client-side code. Notifications are displayed with an default icon, two action buttons (OK, forget), and a click handler opening/focusing the browser on the URL carried by the notification data.
• webpush/urls.py: the server's API
• webpush/management/commands/send_webpush.py: server's cron-job to send the pending notifications

How-to configure VAPID

• After cloning this repository, please install the python environment

    cd django-webpush-demo
    virtualenv .venv --python=python3
    source .venv/bin/activate
    pip install -r requirements.txt

• Create a temporary file (claim.json) to create your signing keys:

   {
     "sub": "mailto: [email protected]",
     "aud": "https://fcm.googleapis.com"
   }

• Generate client public key (applicationServerKey) and public and private keys

     vapid --applicationServerKey

[output]

       Application Server Key = BEFuGfKKEFp-kEB...JlkA34llWF0xHya70

Install and run the Django server

Configure Django settings:

• Create your own local_settings.py next to settings.py, and add Application Server Key to PUSH_NOTIFICATIONS_SETTINGS['APP_SERVER_KEY']
• Modify the key WP_CLAIMS in settings.py : "sub" with the same email used in the file claim.json. Do not add the "aud" key, because the push servers could be Mozilla's or Google's, and django-push-notifications takes care of that.

Launch it !

    python manage.py migrate
    python manage.py createsuperuser
    python manage.py runserver

Push !

• login with your admin account at http://localhost:8000/admin
• check the subscribe box at http://localhost:8000, then check the user's subscription status at http://localhost:8000/admin/push_notifications/webpushdevice/
• 
• 
• create the push notifications content at http://localhost:8000/admin/webpush/notification
• 
• then execute the command :

    python manage.py send_webpush
  
  Found a device id =  8 to push the notification id = 1

• wait for the notification to show on your device !

• check the status of the notification at http://localhost:8000/admin/webpush/notification/ (is read) and http://localhost:8000/admin/webpush/webpushrecord/ (is sent)

• native notifications also can be tested on your mobile device, and it's really the point of the Web Push API.

• server-side, to understand what's going on, you can go and read the code that sends the notification to the browser : https://github.com/jazzband/django-push-notifications/blob/master/push_notifications/webpush.py

More...

• The web Push API specification : https://developer.mozilla.org/fr/docs/Web/API/Push_API
• A nice demonstration of the VAPID in the browser (brrr... this is unsafe) https://gauntface.github.io/simple-push-demo/
• From google.com :https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/push-notifications/sending-messages-with-web-push-libraries

Deployment.

You need HTTPs to use service workers on your server. We provide everything in the etc directory to deploy on Debian 10, with python 3.7, uWSGI, systemd, Nginx and Certbot LetsEncrypt. Please read the instructions at :

• https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-serve-django-applications-with-uwsgi-and-nginx-on-debian-8
• https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-secure-nginx-with-let-s-encrypt-on-debian-10

TODO

• UI obviously
• Better documentation
• Tests !
• Replace the booleans is read and is sent (read previous section) Store a timestamp when sending the notification, store a timestamp when receiving the callback when the user clicks on an action button on the push notification (OK or Forget).