Expo Push
Push notifications come in two halves: an app that can receive them, and a server that sends them. The receiving half already works in every app Appsanic builds, with no connector at all. This connector is the other half: it stores your Expo access token so a server can send pushes through Expo's push service to your users' devices.
You connect Expo Push when your app needs to send notifications that aren't triggered by the user. A new message arrived, an order was dispatched, a reminder is due. Anything where your backend decides it is time to notify someone.
What you get by connecting it
With the connector in place, the agent can:
- Store your Expo access token securely so server-side code can authenticate to Expo's push API.
- Build the sending side: a server endpoint or scheduled job that collects the right device push tokens and sends notifications through Expo using your access token.
- Wire the receiving side in your app to register for a push token and hand it to your backend, so there is somewhere to send to.
The receiving half does not depend on this connector. Even without it, a generated app can ask for notification permission, register a push token, and display notifications it receives. The connector is specifically about sending.
Connecting it
You need one credential: an Expo access token.
- Go to expo.dev and sign in to your account.
- Open your account settings and find Access Tokens.
- Create a new access token and copy the value. Expo only shows it once, so copy it before you close the dialog.
- Paste it into Dashboard then Connectors then Expo Push. Connect once and every project in your account can use it.
Connecting requires a paid plan. Saved secrets are shown as dots, never the value, so you can see that a token exists without it ever returning to the browser. The connector page has a Test connection control to re-check the saved token against Expo, and a Disconnect control to remove it.
There is no one-click OAuth for Expo Push. You paste the access token into the connector page.
Keys and security
An Expo access token is a secret. Anyone holding it can send pushes on your behalf, so it must never be bundled into an app people download.
That puts Expo Push in the secret key plus relay tier. The generated app never carries the token. Instead, sending happens server-side: a small relay holds the token in its own environment and talks to Expo's push API, and your app simply tells that relay who to notify. With Supabase connected, Appsanic can deploy that relay for you as a Supabase Edge Function, with the token stored in your Supabase secrets.
Managed connector secrets are encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM. The AI never sees the decrypted token, and it will never ask you for the token in chat. See the Connectors Overview for the full credential model.
Useful links
- Expo's own documentation: https://docs.expo.dev/push-notifications/overview/
- The Appsanic guide to the full notifications flow: Push Notifications
Next
Read Push Notifications for the end-to-end picture: registering devices, asking for permission the right way, and what the agent builds on both the sending and receiving sides.