Add real-time in-app notifications to React in under 10 minutes using the Novu Inbox component.

<Prompt description="Add Novu Inbox to my React app" icon="sparkles" actions={["copy", "cursor"]}>

Add Novu Inbox to React App

Install @novu/react. Add the <Inbox /> component to your header, navbar, or sidebar.

Latest docs: https://docs.novu.co/platform/quickstart/react

Install

npm install @novu/react

Component

import { Inbox } from '@novu/react';
import { useNavigate } from 'react-router-dom';

export default function NotificationInbox() {
  const navigate = useNavigate();

  return (
    <Inbox
      applicationIdentifier="YOUR_APPLICATION_IDENTIFIER"
      subscriberId="YOUR_SUBSCRIBER_ID"
      routerPush={(path) => navigate(path)}
    />
  );
}

Subscriber ID

Use the app's existing auth system to get a unique user identifier for subscriberId. Check for Clerk, NextAuth, Firebase, Supabase, or custom auth. If no auth system exists, use YOUR_SUBSCRIBER_ID.

Appearance

Extract design tokens from the host app (Tailwind config, CSS variables, theme objects) and apply them via the appearance prop. Only include values you extracted from the host design system — omit empty or placeholder appearance values.

Rules

ALWAYS:

• Detect the project's package manager and use it for installation
• Extract design tokens and apply via the appearance prop
• Place <Inbox /> inline in existing UI — no new pages or wrappers
• Use TypeScript, no comments, no empty props
• Follow React conventions
• Use the existing auth system to source subscriberId when available

NEVER:

• Add empty appearance values or placeholder props
• Create wrapper components or new pages just for the inbox
• Add code comments
• Introduce styles not in the host app
• Add unused props or imports

Verify Before Responding

1. Is @novu/react installed with the project's package manager?
2. Is <Inbox /> placed inline in existing UI?
3. Are design tokens extracted and applied?
4. Are all props non-empty and properly typed?
5. Is subscriberId sourced from the auth system when available?

If any fails, revise. </Prompt>

```package-install
npm create vite@latest novu-inbox-react -- --template react-ts
cd novu-inbox-react
npm install
npm run dev
```

Run the following command to install the SDK:

```package-install
npm install @novu/react
```

If you’re signed in to your Novu account, then the <Tooltip tip="The application identifier is a unique identifier for your application. You can find it in the Novu Dashboard under the API keys page.">applicationIdentifier</Tooltip> and <Tooltip tip="The subscriber ID is the unique identifier for the user in your application, typically the user's id in your database.">subscriberId</Tooltip> are automatically entered in the code sample above. Otherwise, you can manually retrieve them: * applicationIdentifier – In the Novu dashboard, click API Keys, and then locate your unique Application Identifier. * subscriberId – This represents a user in your system (typically the user's ID in your database). For quick start purposes, an auto-generated subscriberId is provided for your Dashboard user.

<Note>
  If you pass a `subscriberId` that does not exist yet, Novu will automatically create a new subscriber with that ID.
</Note>

```tsx title="src/App.tsx"

function Layout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <div>
      <nav>
        <NovuInbox />
      </nav>
      {children}
    </div>
  );
}

function Home() {
  return <div>Welcome to the Home page!</div>;
}

function App() {
  return (
    <Router>
      <Layout>
        <Routes>
          <Route path="/" element={<Home />} />
        </Routes>
      </Layout>
    </Router>
  );
}

export default App;
```

```package-install
npm run dev
```
Once the application is running, a bell icon will appear in the navbar. Clicking it opens the notification inbox UI.

Currently, there are no notifications. Let’s trigger one!

In this step, you'll create a simple workflow to send your first notification via the Inbox component. Follow these steps to set up and trigger a workflow from your Novu dashboard.

1. Go to your Novu dashboard.

2. In the sidebar, click Workflows.

3. Click Create Workflow. Enter a name for your workflow (e.g., "Welcome Notification").

4. Click Create Workflow to save it.

5. Click the Add Step icon in the workflow editor and then select In-App as the step type.

6. In the In-App template editor, enter the following:

   • Subject: "Welcome to Novu"
   • Body: "Hello, world! "

7. Once you’ve added the subject and body, close the editor.

8. Click Trigger.

9. Click Test Workflow.

You should see the notification you just sent from Novu! 🎉

Next steps