Configuring push notifications for Android apps

Keep the users up-to-date with various events in your business process by enabling automatic push notifications in your mobile app for Android devices.

Before you begin: Prepare the framework for enabling push notifications in your mobile app:

Set up a Google account that you can use to access Firebase.
Create a certificate set for your app. For more information, see Creating an Android certificate set.

You configure push notification support by obtaining and adding the following Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) services parameters to your mobile certificate set:

FCM server key: The key that the Pega Platform server uses to authenticate with the FCM services.

Google Services JSON: A JSON configuration file for FCM-based projects.

Obtain the FCM parameters:

Go to https://firebase.google.com, sign in to your Firebase account, and then access the Firebase console.
For more information about managing projects in Firebase, go to the Firebase documentation website.
Create a Firebase project for your mobile app.
On the console dashboard, launch the setup workflow, and then add Firebase to your Android app:
1. Register your app in Firebase.
  
  Important: When you register your app in Firebase, ensure that the Android package name in Firebase matches the App ID package name of your certificate in Pega Platform.
2. Download the google-services.json file, and then finish the setup workflow.
  
  Note: You can also download the JSON file at any time from the project settings in your Firebase console.
In the Firebase console, go to the cloud messaging settings, and then copy the server key.

Add the FCM parameters to the certificate that you want to use in your mobile app:

In the navigation pane of App Studio, click Settings > Mobile certificates.
Click the certificate that you want to use in your mobile app.
In the FCM Server Key field, enter the server key from the Firebase console.
In the Google Services JSON section, click New, and then upload the google-services.json file from the Firebase console.
Click OK, and then save the certificate by clicking Save.

What to do next: Ensure that your mobile app receives automatic and manual push notifications by adding the certificate that you updated to the mobile channel for your app. For more information, see Generating installation packages.