Firebase - Create iOS message

Audience: Low-code Engineers

Skill Prerequisites: Actions, Tokens, Firebase project

Builds the iOS (APNs) settings of a Firebase push notification and saves them as JSON in a token. It doesn't send anything. Pass the token into the iOS Specific Notification Json parameter of Firebase - Send push notification.

Use it to set iOS options such as the badge, sound, subtitle, category and thread, or to give iOS a different title or body than the other platforms.

note

This action is part of the Push Notifications add-on (DnnSharp.PushNotifications). The add-on is installed separately and needs the PUSHN feature in your license. If it isn't licensed, the action fails with a "not licensed" error. If you don't see the Push Notifications actions, the add-on isn't installed.

Typical Use Cases

• Set the badge number on the app icon, for example the count of unread messages
• Add a subtitle or play a custom sound
• Group notifications in a thread, or set a category so the app shows its own buttons
• Use localized strings from the app instead of text sent from the server

Don't use it to

• Send the notification. Use Firebase - Send push notification after this action.
• Set Android or browser options. Use Firebase - Create Android message or Firebase - Create WebPush message.

Related Actions

Action Name	Description
Firebase - Send push notification	Sends the notification with the settings built by this action.
Firebase - Create Android message	Builds the Android settings of the notification.
Firebase - Create WebPush message	Builds the browser settings of the notification.

Input Parameter Reference

Parameter	Description	Supports Tokens	Default	Required
Thread Id	An app-specific ID that groups related notifications together, for example chat-[ChatId].	Yes	empty string	No
Category	The notification type. It must match a category registered by the app, which decides the buttons shown.	Yes	empty string	No
Mutable Content	When checked, the app's notification service extension can change the notification before it's shown, for example to add an image.	No	Unchecked	No
Badge	The number to show on the app icon, for example [UnreadCount]. 0 removes the badge. See Considerations.	Yes	empty string	No
Title localization key	The key of a string in the app's resources to use as the title. When it has a value, Message Title is ignored.	Yes	empty string	No
Title localization args	Values that replace the format specifiers in the title string. One value per row. Shown when Title localization key has a value.	Yes	empty	No
Message Title	The iOS title. It replaces the Message Title of the Send action on iOS. Hidden when Title localization key has a value.	Yes	empty string	No
Subtitle localization key	The key of a string in the app's resources to use as the subtitle. In 1.28, it's only used when Title localization key also has a value.	Yes	empty string	No
Subtitle localization args	Values that replace the format specifiers in the subtitle string. One value per row. Shown when Subtitle localization key has a value.	Yes	empty	No
Message Subtitle	The subtitle shown under the title. In 1.28, it's ignored when Title localization key has a value.	Yes	empty string	No
Body localization key	The key of a string in the app's resources to use as the body. When it has a value, Message Body is ignored.	Yes	empty string	No
Body localization args	Values that replace the format specifiers in the body string. One value per row. Shown when Body localization key has a value.	Yes	empty	No
Message Body	The iOS body. It replaces the Message Body of the Send action on iOS. Hidden when Body localization key has a value.	Yes	empty string	No
Message Launch Image	The name of an image file in the app bundle to show while the app opens from the notification.	Yes	empty string	No
Message Action Localization Key	The key of a string in the app's resources to use as the text of the action button.	Yes	empty string	No
Message Sound	The name of a sound file in the app's main bundle or in its Library/Sounds folder, or default.	Yes	empty string	No
Data Input Type	Where the custom data comes from: Name Value Pairs or List Name.	No	Name Value Pairs	No
Data	Custom key/value pairs added to the APNs payload, next to aps. Shown when Data Input Type is Name Value Pairs.	Yes, keys and values	empty	No
Data List Name	The name of a list whose items have key and value fields. Shown when Data Input Type is List Name.	No	empty string	No
Output Token	The name of the token that receives the JSON, for example IosJson. Brackets are optional.	No	empty string	Yes

Output Parameters Reference

Parameter	Description
[<Output Token>]	The APNs settings as JSON. Pass it into iOS Specific Notification Json of the Send action.

Considerations

• Output Token is required. If Output Token is empty, the action does nothing and shows no error.
• The subtitle follows the title localization key. In 1.28, the action checks Title localization key instead of Subtitle localization key when it sets the subtitle. With no title localization key, Message Subtitle is used and Subtitle localization key is ignored. With a title localization key, Subtitle localization key is used and Message Subtitle is ignored.
• Badge is always sent. In 1.28, an empty Badge is sent as -1 instead of being left out. Always set the number you want, or 0 to clear the badge.
• Missing list fails the action. In 1.28, when Data Input Type is List Name and the list doesn't exist, or Data List Name is empty, the action fails. The other Create message actions ignore a missing list.
• Data list format. Every list item must have a key field and a value field, and keys must be unique. Otherwise, the action fails.
• Data goes into the APNs payload. The iOS data is added to the APNs payload next to aps. Don't use aps as a key.

Examples

tip

To understand how to use the below examples, please see Running Examples.

1. Build iOS settings with a badge and subtitle

This action builds iOS settings with the unread count as the badge, a subtitle, the default sound and a thread ID for the chat. It saves the JSON in IosJson. Pass [IosJson] into the Send action.

{
    "Title": "Firebase - Create iOS message",
    "ActionType": "Firebase.CreateIosFirebaseMessage",
    "Description": "Build the iOS chat notification",
    "Parameters": {
        "ThreadId": "chat-[ChatId]",
        "Category": "CHAT_MESSAGE",
        "MutableContent": false,
        "Badge": "[UnreadCount]",
        "Title": "New message",
        "Subtitle": "From [SenderName]",
        "Body": "[MessagePreview]",
        "Sound": "default",
        "DataInputType": "NameValue",
        "Data": {
            "chatId": "[ChatId]"
        },
        "OutputToken": "IosJson"
    }
}

Revised 10/03/2026