---
status: "published"
title: "Configuring Notifications"
label: "Configuration"
description: "Enable or disable notifications, configure real-time updates, and understand the cost implications of Supabase Realtime subscriptions."
order: 0
---

Notifications are controlled by two environment variables in your `.env` file. Both are optional with sensible defaults.

## Environment variables

```bash
# Enable the notifications feature (default: true)
NEXT_PUBLIC_ENABLE_NOTIFICATIONS=true

# Enable real-time updates via Supabase Realtime (default: false)
NEXT_PUBLIC_REALTIME_NOTIFICATIONS=false
```

These values are read in `apps/web/config/feature-flags.config.ts` using a helper that parses the string value:

```typescript
const featuresFlagConfig = FeatureFlagsSchema.parse({
  enableNotifications: getBoolean(
    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_ENABLE_NOTIFICATIONS,
    true, // default
  ),
  realtimeNotifications: getBoolean(
    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_REALTIME_NOTIFICATIONS,
    false, // default
  ),
});

function getBoolean(value: unknown, defaultValue: boolean) {
  if (typeof value === 'string') {
    return value === 'true';
  }
  return defaultValue;
}
```

## NEXT_PUBLIC_ENABLE_NOTIFICATIONS

Controls whether the notification bell icon appears in the header.

| Value | Behavior |
|-------|----------|
| `true` (default) | Bell icon visible, notifications functional |
| `false` | Bell icon hidden, no notification queries |

When disabled, no database queries are made and the `NotificationsPopover` component doesn't render.

**When to disable**: If your app doesn't need in-app notifications (e.g., you only use email notifications), set this to `false` to simplify your UI.

## NEXT_PUBLIC_REALTIME_NOTIFICATIONS

Controls whether the client subscribes to Supabase Realtime for instant notification delivery.

| Value | Behavior |
|-------|----------|
| `false` (default) | Notifications load on page navigation only |
| `true` | New notifications appear instantly without refresh |

### How real-time works

When enabled, each connected client opens a WebSocket connection to Supabase and subscribes to `INSERT` events on the `notifications` table, filtered by the user's account IDs:

```typescript
client.channel('notifications-channel')
  .on('postgres_changes', {
    event: 'INSERT',
    schema: 'public',
    table: 'notifications',
    filter: `account_id=in.(${accountIds.join(', ')})`,
  }, (payload) => {
    // New notification received
  })
  .subscribe();
```

### Cost considerations

Supabase Realtime connections count toward your plan limits:

- **Free tier**: 200 concurrent connections
- **Pro tier**: 500 concurrent connections (more available as add-on)

Each browser tab from each user maintains one connection. For an app with 100 concurrent users averaging 2 tabs each, that's 200 connections.

**Recommendation**: Start with real-time disabled. Enable it only if instant notification delivery is a core requirement. Most users check notifications on page load anyway.

### Without real-time

Notifications are fetched via React Query on component mount:

- Initial page load fetches the 10 most recent non-dismissed, non-expired notifications
- No refetch on window focus (to reduce server load)
- Users see new notifications when they navigate to a new page

This approach works well for most SaaS applications and has zero cost impact.

## Using feature flags in your code

Check these flags before rendering notification-related UI:

```typescript
import featuresFlagConfig from '~/config/feature-flags.config';

function AppHeader() {
  return (
    <header>
      {/* Other header content */}

      {featuresFlagConfig.enableNotifications && (
        <NotificationsPopover
          accountIds={[accountId]}
          realtime={featuresFlagConfig.realtimeNotifications}
        />
      )}
    </header>
  );
}
```

The built-in layouts already handle this check. You only need to worry about feature flags if you're building custom notification UI.

## Testing notifications locally

1. Ensure your local Supabase is running: `pnpm supabase:web:start`
2. Notifications are enabled by default in development
3. Use the [sending notifications API](/docs/next-supabase-turbo/notifications/sending-notifications) to create test notifications
4. If testing real-time, set `NEXT_PUBLIC_REALTIME_NOTIFICATIONS=true` in `.env.local`

To verify real-time is working, open two browser tabs, send a notification, and confirm it appears in both tabs without refreshing.

## Related documentation

- [Notifications overview](/docs/next-supabase-turbo/notifications): Feature overview and architecture
- [Sending notifications](/docs/next-supabase-turbo/notifications/sending-notifications): Server-side API for creating notifications
- [Database schema](/docs/next-supabase-turbo/notifications/notifications-schema): Table structure and RLS policies