Digest and Batched Notifications

Batch related notifications into a single digest message using Novu's digest step. Instead of sending one notification per event, Novu collects events over a time window and delivers a summarized message such as "10 people liked your post."

How does digest work in Novu?

Add a digest step to your workflow before the channel step. Novu collects events that match the digest key within the configured window, then renders a single notification with aggregated content.

Typical digest settings:

• Window: 5 minutes, 1 hour, or 24 hours depending on urgency
• Digest key: A field such as payload.postId to group events
• Template: Use digest variables to list aggregated items

When should I use digest notifications?

How do I trigger events for digest workflows?

Trigger the same workflow for each individual event. Novu handles batching automatically based on the digest step configuration and digest key.

const novu = new Novu({ secretKey: process.env.NOVU_SECRET_KEY });

await novu.trigger({ workflowId: 'post-liked', to: { subscriberId: 'user_123' }, payload: { postId: 'post_456', likerName: 'Alex' }, });

  </Tab>
  <Tab title="Python">
```python
import os
import novu_py
from novu_py import Novu

with Novu(secret_key=os.getenv("NOVU_SECRET_KEY", "")) as novu:
    novu.trigger(trigger_event_request_dto=novu_py.TriggerEventRequestDto(
        workflow_id="post-liked",
        to={"subscriber_id": "user_123"},
        payload={"postId": "post_456", "likerName": "Alex"},
    ))

novugo "github.com/novuhq/novu-go"
"github.com/novuhq/novu-go/models/components"

)

s := novugo.New(novugo.WithSecurity(os.Getenv("NOVU_SECRET_KEY")))

_, err := s.Trigger(context.Background(), components.TriggerEventRequestDto{ WorkflowID: "post-liked", To: components.CreateToSubscriberPayloadDto(components.SubscriberPayloadDto{ SubscriberID: "user_123", }), Payload: map[string]any{ "postId": "post_456", "likerName": "Alex", }, }, nil)

  </Tab>
  <Tab title="PHP">
```php
use novu;
use novu\Models\Components;

$sdk = novu\Novu::builder()
    ->setSecurity('<YOUR_SECRET_KEY_HERE>')
    ->build();

$sdk->trigger(
    triggerEventRequestDto: new Components\TriggerEventRequestDto(
        workflowId: 'post-liked',
        to: new Components\SubscriberPayloadDto(subscriberId: 'user_123'),
        payload: [
            'postId' => 'post_456',
            'likerName' => 'Alex',
        ],
    ),
);

var sdk = new NovuSDK(secretKey: "<YOUR_SECRET_KEY_HERE>");

await sdk.TriggerAsync(triggerEventRequestDto: new TriggerEventRequestDto() { WorkflowId = "post-liked", To = To.CreateSubscriberPayloadDto(new SubscriberPayloadDto() { SubscriberId = "user_123", }), Payload = new Dictionary<string, object>() { { "postId", "post_456" }, { "likerName", "Alex" }, }, });

  </Tab>
  <Tab title="Java">
```java
import co.novu.Novu;
import co.novu.models.components.*;
import java.util.Map;

Novu novu = Novu.builder()
    .secretKey("<YOUR_SECRET_KEY_HERE>")
    .build();

novu.trigger()
    .body(TriggerEventRequestDto.builder()
        .workflowId("post-liked")
        .to(To2.of(SubscriberPayloadDto.builder()
            .subscriberId("user_123")
            .build()))
        .payload(Map.ofEntries(
            Map.entry("postId", "post_456"),
            Map.entry("likerName", "Alex")))
        .build())
    .call();

Related guides

• Digest step configuration
• Framework digest channel
• Throttle step

Frequently asked questions