Get notifications

GET /api/notifications

Get notifications

curl -X GET "https://api.example.com/api/notifications" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN_HERE" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "userName": "johndoe"
  }'

200 Success

[
  {
    "initiatorId": 67890,
    "initiatorName": "janedoe",
    "notifType": "Like",
    "initiatorProfileImageUrl": "https://media.example.com/profiles/janedoe.jpg",
    "CreatedAt": "2026-03-04T15:30:00Z",
    "CommentText": null,
    "likedPostID": null
  },
  {
    "initiatorId": 11111,
    "initiatorName": "bobsmith",
    "notifType": "Follow",
    "initiatorProfileImageUrl": "https://defaults.com/default.png",
    "CreatedAt": "2026-03-04T14:20:00Z",
    "CommentText": null,
    "likedPostID": null
  },
  {
    "initiatorId": 22222,
    "initiatorName": "alice_wonder",
    "notifType": "Comment",
    "initiatorProfileImageUrl": "https://media.example.com/profiles/alice.jpg",
    "CreatedAt": "2026-03-04T12:10:00Z",
    "CommentText": null,
    "likedPostID": null
  }
]

Retrieve notifications for the authenticated user. Returns all notifications received by the user, including follows, likes, and comments from other users.

Authentication

This endpoint requires authentication via Bearer token in the Authorization header.

Request Body

userName · string · required

Username of the authenticated user to retrieve notifications for

Response

Returns an array of notification objects ordered by creation time (most recent first).

initiatorId · long

User ID of the user who triggered the notification (e.g., the user who followed, liked, or commented)

initiatorName · string

Username of the user who triggered the notification

notifType · string

Type of notification. One of:

• "Follow" - User followed you
• "Like" - User liked your post
• "Comment" - User commented on your post

initiatorProfileImageUrl · string

Profile image URL of the user who triggered the notification. Defaults to "https://defaults.com/default.png" if not set.

CreatedAt · DateTime

ISO 8601 timestamp when the notification was created

CommentText · string

Text content of the comment (for Comment notifications). Currently not implemented in the response.

likedPostID · long

ID of the post that was liked (for Like notifications). Currently not implemented in the response.

Notification Model

The underlying database model from Models/Interactions.cs:

public class Notification
{
    [Key]
    public long NotificationID { get; set; }
    public long ReceivingUserID { get; set; }
    public User ReceivingUser { get; set; } = null!;
    public long InitaiatorID { get; set; }  // Note: typo in source
    public User Initaiator { get; set; } = null!;
    
    public enum NotifType
    {
        Follow,
        Like,
        Comment
    }
    
    [Required(ErrorMessage = "Please specify a valid Notification Type")]
    public NotifType NotificationType { get; set; }
    public DateTime CreatedAt { get; set; }
}

The source code contains a typo: InitaiatorID instead of InitiatorID. This is preserved in the database schema but normalized to initiatorId in the API response.

Ordering

Notifications are ordered by CreatedAt in descending order (most recent first), as determined by the database query in notification.action.cs:22.

Implementation Notes

• The endpoint currently retrieves all notifications for the user without pagination
• Additional fields CommentText and likedPostID are defined in the response model but not yet populated (per notification.action.cs:10)
• Future enhancements will include TPH/TPT (Table Per Hierarchy/Table Per Type) to provide richer notification details with comment text and post IDs

Request Example

Get notifications

curl -X GET "https://api.example.com/api/notifications" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN_HERE" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "userName": "johndoe"
  }'

200 Success

[
  {
    "initiatorId": 67890,
    "initiatorName": "janedoe",
    "notifType": "Like",
    "initiatorProfileImageUrl": "https://media.example.com/profiles/janedoe.jpg",
    "CreatedAt": "2026-03-04T15:30:00Z",
    "CommentText": null,
    "likedPostID": null
  },
  {
    "initiatorId": 11111,
    "initiatorName": "bobsmith",
    "notifType": "Follow",
    "initiatorProfileImageUrl": "https://defaults.com/default.png",
    "CreatedAt": "2026-03-04T14:20:00Z",
    "CommentText": null,
    "likedPostID": null
  },
  {
    "initiatorId": 22222,
    "initiatorName": "alice_wonder",
    "notifType": "Comment",
    "initiatorProfileImageUrl": "https://media.example.com/profiles/alice.jpg",
    "CreatedAt": "2026-03-04T12:10:00Z",
    "CommentText": null,
    "likedPostID": null
  }
]