How to Save Notifications in the Database in Laravel

 How to Save Notifications in the Database in Laravel

Laravel provides a built-in way to store notifications in the database using the database channel. Here’s how you can set it up.

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1. Create the Notifications Table

Laravel comes with a built-in migration for notifications. If you haven’t migrated it yet, run:

php artisan notifications:table
php artisan migrate

This will create a notifications table in your database with fields like:

• id (unique identifier)
• type (notification class)
• notifiable_id & notifiable_type (user or model that received the notification)
• data (JSON field storing notification details)
• read_at (timestamp for when the notification is read)

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2. Update Your Notification Class

Modify your CommentAddedNotification to use the database channel and store data.

Example: app/Notifications/CommentAddedNotification.php

namespace App\Notifications;

use Illuminate\Bus\Queueable;
use Illuminate\Contracts\Queue\ShouldQueue;
use Illuminate\Notifications\Notification;

class CommentAddedNotification extends Notification implements ShouldQueue
{
    use Queueable;

    protected $task;
    protected $comment;

    public function __construct($task, $comment)
    {
        $this->task = $task;
        $this->comment = $comment;
    }

    // Define which channels the notification should be sent through
    public function via($notifiable): array
    {
        return ['database']; // Store the notification in the database
    }

    // Define the data that should be stored in the database
    public function toArray($notifiable): array
    {
        return [
            'task_id' => $this->task->id,
            'task_title' => $this->task->title,
            'comment' => $this->comment,
            'commented_by' => auth()->user()->name,
            'created_at' => now(),
        ];
    }
}

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3. Send the Notification

You can send the notification to a user like this:

$user->notify(new CommentAddedNotification($task, $comment));

Alternatively, you can use the Notification facade:

use App\Notifications\CommentAddedNotification;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Notification;

Notification::send($user, new CommentAddedNotification($task, $comment));

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4. Retrieve Stored Notifications

In your controller or view, fetch the user’s notifications:

php
$notifications = auth()->user()->notifications; // Get all notifications

If you only want unread notifications:

$unreadNotifications = auth()->user()->unreadNotifications;

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5. Mark Notifications as Read

Once a user views the notification, mark it as read:

auth()->user()->unreadNotifications->markAsRead();

To mark a specific notification as read:

$notification = auth()->user()->notifications()->find($notificationId);
if ($notification) {
    $notification->markAsRead();
}

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6. Display Notifications in Blade

Example: Showing Notifications in a Dashboard

In resources/views/notifications.blade.php:

<ul>
    @foreach(auth()->user()->notifications as $notification)
        <li>
            <strong>{{ $notification->data['task_title'] }}</strong> - 
            {{ $notification->data['comment'] }} (by {{ $notification->data['commented_by'] }})
            <small>{{ $notification->created_at->diffForHumans() }}</small>
            @if(!$notification->read_at)
                <form method="POST" action="{{ route('notifications.read', $notification->id) }}">
                    @csrf
                    <button type="submit">Mark as Read</button>
                </form>
            @endif
        </li>
    @endforeach
</ul>

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7. Create a Route and Controller Method

In routes/web.php:

use App\Http\Controllers\NotificationController;

Route::post('/notifications/read/{id}', [NotificationController::class, 'markAsRead'])->name('notifications.read');

In app/Http/Controllers/NotificationController.php:

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class NotificationController extends Controller
{
    public function markAsRead($id)
    {
        $notification = auth()->user()->notifications()->find($id);
        if ($notification) {
            $notification->markAsRead();
        }
        return back();
    }
}

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Summary

1. Migrate the notifications table (php artisan notifications:table && php artisan migrate).
2. Update the notification class to use the database channel and store data.
3. Send notifications to users ($user->notify(new CommentAddedNotification($task, $comment))).
4. Retrieve notifications in a controller (auth()->user()->notifications).
5. Mark notifications as read using markAsRead().

Now, notifications will be stored in the database and can be displayed in the UI! 🚀 Let me know if you need further customization.