Notifications System - Implementation Summary

✅ Implementation Complete

All acceptance criteria have been successfully implemented for the centralized notification service.

📦 What Was Delivered

1. Database Migration

File: database/migrations/014_create_notifications.sql

Created notification_type ENUM with all required types
Created notifications table with proper schema
Added indexes for performance optimization
Includes CASCADE delete on user deletion

2. Service Layer

File: src/services/notification.service.ts (Enhanced existing service)

Added:

create(userId, type, payload) method for simplified notification creation
WebSocket integration via SocketService
Real-time notification:new event emission

File: src/services/notification-cleanup.service.ts (New)

Daily cron job at 2:00 AM
Auto-deletes notifications older than 90 days
Manual cleanup trigger available
Graceful shutdown support

3. Controller Layer

File: src/controllers/notifications.controller.ts (New)

Implements all required endpoints:

getNotifications - Paginated list with unread first
getUnreadCount - Returns { count: number }
markAsRead - Mark single notification as read
markAllAsRead - Mark all as read
deleteNotification - Delete single notification

4. Routes Layer

File: src/routes/notifications.routes.ts (New)

All endpoints properly secured with authenticate middleware
Swagger documentation included
RESTful route structure

5. Integration

File: src/routes/index.ts (Updated)

Mounted notifications routes at /api/v1/notifications
Initialized notification cleanup service
Added notifications endpoint to API info

6. Documentation

Files:

docs/notifications-api.md - Complete API documentation
NOTIFICATIONS_QUICK_REFERENCE.md - Quick reference guide
NOTIFICATIONS_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md - This file

✅ Acceptance Criteria Checklist

Criteria	Status	Implementation
Create notifications table	✅	`014_create_notifications.sql`
`create(userId, type, payload)` method	✅	`NotificationService.create()`
All notification types supported	✅	ENUM with 12 types
GET `/api/v1/notifications` (paginated, unread first)	✅	`NotificationsController.getNotifications`
PUT `/api/v1/notifications/:id/read`	✅	`NotificationsController.markAsRead`
PUT `/api/v1/notifications/read-all`	✅	`NotificationsController.markAllAsRead`
DELETE `/api/v1/notifications/:id`	✅	`NotificationsController.deleteNotification`
GET `/api/v1/notifications/unread-count`	✅	`NotificationsController.getUnreadCount`
Emit `notification:new` via WebSocket	✅	`SocketService.emitToUser()`
Auto-delete notifications > 90 days	✅	`NotificationCleanupService` cron job

🎯 Notification Types Implemented

'session_booked'       // New session booking created
'session_confirmed'    // Session confirmed by mentor
'session_cancelled'    // Session cancelled
'session_reminder'     // Upcoming session reminder
'payment_received'     // Payment successfully received
'payment_failed'       // Payment failed
'review_received'      // New review received
'escrow_released'      // Escrow funds released
'dispute_opened'       // New dispute opened
'meeting_confirmed'    // Meeting URL generated
'message_received'     // New message received
'system_alert'         // System notification

🔌 WebSocket Integration

When a notification is created, it automatically emits a real-time event:

SocketService.emitToUser(userId, 'notification:new', {
  notificationId: notification.id,
  type: notification.type,
  title: notification.title,
  message: notification.message,
  data: notification.data,
  createdAt: notification.created_at
});

📊 API Endpoints Summary

GET    /api/v1/notifications              # Get paginated notifications
GET    /api/v1/notifications/unread-count # Get unread count
PUT    /api/v1/notifications/:id/read     # Mark as read
PUT    /api/v1/notifications/read-all     # Mark all as read
DELETE /api/v1/notifications/:id          # Delete notification

🔄 Auto-Cleanup Details

Schedule: Daily at 2:00 AM (cron: 0 2 * * *)
Action: Deletes notifications older than 90 days
Service: NotificationCleanupService
Initialization: Automatic on app startup
Manual Trigger: notificationCleanupService.triggerCleanup()

💡 Usage Example

import { NotificationService } from '../services/notification.service';

// Create a notification
await NotificationService.create(userId, 'session_booked', {
  title: 'New Session Booked',
  message: 'You have a new session with John Doe on March 30',
  data: {
    booking_id: bookingId,
    mentor_name: 'John Doe',
    scheduled_at: '2026-03-30T14:00:00Z'
  }
});

// This will:
// 1. Store notification in database
// 2. Emit 'notification:new' via WebSocket to the user
// 3. Return the created notification record

🗄️ Database Schema

CREATE TABLE notifications (
    id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
    user_id UUID NOT NULL REFERENCES users(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
    type notification_type NOT NULL,
    title VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    message TEXT NOT NULL,
    data JSONB DEFAULT '{}'::jsonb,
    is_read BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE,
    created_at TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE DEFAULT NOW(),
    updated_at TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Indexes for performance
CREATE INDEX idx_notifications_user_id ON notifications(user_id);
CREATE INDEX idx_notifications_type ON notifications(type);
CREATE INDEX idx_notifications_is_read ON notifications(is_read);
CREATE INDEX idx_notifications_created_at ON notifications(created_at);
CREATE INDEX idx_notifications_user_unread ON notifications(user_id, is_read) WHERE is_read = FALSE;
CREATE INDEX idx_notifications_user_created ON notifications(user_id, created_at DESC);

🚀 Deployment Steps

Run Migration

./database/migrate.sh    # Unix/Linux/Mac
database\migrate.bat     # Windows

Restart Application
- The notification cleanup service will initialize automatically
- Routes will be mounted at /api/v1/notifications

Verify

# Check API info
curl http://localhost:3000/api/v1

# Test notifications endpoint
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer TOKEN" \
     http://localhost:3000/api/v1/notifications

🧪 Testing Recommendations

Create Test Notification

await NotificationService.create('test-user-id', 'system_alert', {
  title: 'Test Notification',
  message: 'This is a test notification',
  data: { test: true }
});

Test WebSocket

socket.on('notification:new', (data) => {
  console.log('Received notification:', data);
});

Test Pagination

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer TOKEN" \
     "http://localhost:3000/api/v1/notifications?page=1&limit=10"

Test Unread Count

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer TOKEN" \
     http://localhost:3000/api/v1/notifications/unread-count

📈 Performance Considerations

Indexes: Optimized for common queries (user_id, is_read, created_at)
Pagination: Prevents loading too many notifications at once
WebSocket: Asynchronous emission doesn't block notification creation
Cleanup: Runs during low-traffic hours (2:00 AM)
Cascade Delete: Notifications automatically deleted when user is deleted

🔒 Security

All endpoints require authentication via authenticate middleware
Users can only access their own notifications
Notification ownership verified before read/delete operations
SQL injection prevented via parameterized queries

🎨 Integration Points

The notification system can be integrated at various points:

Booking Events
- Session booked → Notify mentor
- Session confirmed → Notify both parties
- Session cancelled → Notify both parties
Payment Events
- Payment received → Notify recipient
- Payment failed → Notify sender
- Escrow released → Notify both parties
Review Events
- Review received → Notify reviewed user
Dispute Events
- Dispute opened → Notify both parties
- Dispute resolved → Notify both parties
System Events
- Maintenance scheduled → Notify all users
- Feature announcements → Notify all users

📚 Additional Resources

Full API Documentation: docs/notifications-api.md
Quick Reference: NOTIFICATIONS_QUICK_REFERENCE.md
Migration File: database/migrations/014_create_notifications.sql

✨ Future Enhancements (Not in Scope)

Push notifications (mobile)
Email notifications
SMS notifications
User notification preferences
Notification templates
Notification grouping
Read receipts
Notification scheduling

🎉 Summary

The notification system is fully implemented and ready for use. All acceptance criteria have been met:

✅ Database table with proper schema
✅ Service method for creating notifications
✅ All required API endpoints
✅ WebSocket real-time delivery
✅ Auto-cleanup cron job
✅ Complete documentation

The system is production-ready and can be deployed immediately after running the migration.

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