---
title: "Set up notifications"
section: "build-a-backend/add-aws-services/notifications"
platforms: ["javascript", "react-native", "swift", "android", "flutter", "angular", "nextjs", "react", "vue"]
gen: 2
last-updated: "2026-07-30T16:47:07.000Z"
url: "https://docs.amplify.aws/react/build-a-backend/add-aws-services/notifications/set-up-notifications/"
---

The `defineNotifications` construct adds an Amazon Connect Customer Profiles-backed push notification resource to your Amplify backend.

## Prerequisites

Before you begin, complete the following steps:

1. Add authentication to your backend. The notification APIs are called with [Signature Version 4](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/reference_sigv.html) signed requests using Amazon Cognito identity pool credentials, so an `auth` resource is required. Both signed-in and guest users can call the APIs; see [Guest access](/[platform]/build-a-backend/auth/concepts/guest-access/).
2. Install the notifications package:

```bash title="Terminal" showLineNumbers={false}
npm add @aws-amplify/backend-notifications
```

3. Gather the credentials for each push channel you want to enable:

   - **Apple Push Notification service (APNs)**: a token-based signing key (`.p8`), its key ID, your Apple team ID, and your application's bundle ID.
   - **Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)**: the service account JSON for your Firebase project.

4. Store the sensitive credentials as secrets. The signing key and the service account JSON are referenced with `secret()` rather than written into your backend code:

```bash title="Terminal" showLineNumbers={false}
npx ampx sandbox secret set APNS_SIGNING_KEY
npx ampx sandbox secret set FCM_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON
```

To learn more about secrets, see [Environment variables and secrets](/[platform]/build-a-backend/functions/environment-variables-and-secrets/).

## Choose how the Customer Profiles domain is provisioned

`defineNotifications` supports two modes. The mode is determined by whether you pass `domainName`.

#### [Create a new Amazon Connect instance]

Omit `domainName` to create everything from scratch. Amplify provisions a new Amazon Connect instance and a new Customer Profiles domain, then registers the `AmplifyProfile` object type into that domain. No pre-existing Amazon Connect setup is required.

```ts title="amplify/backend.ts"
import { defineBackend } from '@aws-amplify/backend';
import { defineNotifications } from '@aws-amplify/backend-notifications';
import { auth } from './auth/resource';

defineBackend({
  auth,
  notifications: defineNotifications()
});
```

Two optional properties are available in this mode:

- `instanceAlias`: the alias for the new Amazon Connect instance. Aliases are globally unique within an AWS Region. When you omit this property, Amplify generates a stable name for your Amplify project.
- `expirationDays`: how long Customer Profiles retains profile data in the new domain.

```ts title="amplify/backend.ts"
notifications: defineNotifications({
  instanceAlias: 'my-app-notifications',
  expirationDays: 90
});
```

> **Info:** The first deployment in this mode takes longer than a typical Amplify deployment because it provisions an Amazon Connect instance and a Customer Profiles domain.

#### [Use an existing Customer Profiles domain]

Pass `domainName` to attach to a Customer Profiles domain that already exists. Amplify registers the `AmplifyProfile` object type into that domain additively, and does not create an Amazon Connect instance or a domain.

```ts title="amplify/backend.ts"
import { defineBackend } from '@aws-amplify/backend';
import { defineNotifications } from '@aws-amplify/backend-notifications';
import { auth } from './auth/resource';

defineBackend({
  auth,
  notifications: defineNotifications({
    domainName: 'amazon-connect-my-instance'
  })
});
```

`instanceAlias` and `expirationDays` apply only when Amplify creates the domain, so they cannot be combined with `domainName`.

For the requirements your existing domain must meet, see [Use existing resources](/[platform]/build-a-backend/add-aws-services/notifications/existing-resources/).

## Configure push channels

Add `apns`, `fcm`, or both to enable the corresponding channel on the AWS End User Messaging application that Amplify creates. Channels are optional and independent; omit one to leave it unconfigured.

```ts title="amplify/backend.ts"
import { defineBackend, secret } from '@aws-amplify/backend';
import { defineNotifications } from '@aws-amplify/backend-notifications';
import { auth } from './auth/resource';

defineBackend({
  auth,
  notifications: defineNotifications({
    apns: {
      tokenKey: secret('APNS_SIGNING_KEY'),
      tokenKeyId: 'A1B2C3D4E5',
      teamId: 'T9S8R7Q6P5',
      bundleId: 'com.example.myapp'
    },
    fcm: {
      serviceJson: secret('FCM_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON')
    }
  })
});
```

The `apns` properties are:

| Property | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `tokenKey` | Yes | The contents of your APNs token signing key (`.p8`), supplied with `secret()`. |
| `tokenKeyId` | Yes | The ID of the signing key. |
| `teamId` | Yes | Your Apple developer team ID. |
| `bundleId` | Yes | The bundle ID of your application. |
| `sandbox` | No | Set to `true` to send through the APNs sandbox environment, which is used for development builds. Defaults to `false`. |

The `fcm` property is:

| Property | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `serviceJson` | Yes | The contents of your Firebase service account JSON, supplied with `secret()`. |

> **Warning:** Pass `tokenKey` and `serviceJson` with `secret()`. Do not paste the key material into `amplify/backend.ts`; it would be committed to your repository.

## Deploy and review the outputs

Deploy the resource to your personal cloud sandbox:

```bash title="Terminal" showLineNumbers={false}
npx ampx sandbox
```

When the deployment finishes, the invoke endpoint and region are written to `amplify_outputs.json`:

```json title="amplify_outputs.json"
{
  "notifications": {
    "amazon_connect": {
      "endpoint": "https://abcdefghij.execute-api.us-east-1.amazonaws.com",
      "aws_region": "us-east-1"
    }
  }
}
```

## Next steps

- [Author message templates](/[platform]/build-a-backend/add-aws-services/notifications/author-message-templates/): create the push message content in Amazon Q in Connect.