Notification System

The Hostelbazaar platform includes a real-time notification system that keeps users informed about trades, messages, and system alerts.

Setting Up the Notification System

1. The notification system requires a database table to store notifications. To set it up:

   • If you're a developer, go to the Settings page and use the "Setup Notification System" button in the Developer Tools section.
   • Or run the migration file manually:

     cat migrations/create_notifications_table.sql | psql your_database_url

2. Notifications are real-time and will appear in the navigation header when a user receives:

   • New trade offers
   • Messages from other users
   • System alerts and announcements

Testing Notifications

You can test the notification system by:

1. Going to the Settings page (when logged in)
2. Clicking the "Create Sample Notification" button in the Developer Tools section

Integration Points

Notifications are automatically generated when:

• A user sends a message to another user
• A user creates a trade offer for another user's item
• System events occur (like price drops, back-in-stock alerts, etc.)

Technical Notes

The notification system leverages Supabase's real-time capabilities and includes:

• A centralized useNotifications hook to retrieve and manage notifications
• Database triggers that automatically create notifications based on certain actions
• A notification service for programmatically creating notifications