The Push API enables sending of a push message to a webapp via a push service. An application server can send a push message at any time, even when a webapp or user agent is inactive. The push service ensures reliable and efficient delivery to the user agent. Push messages are delivered to a Service Worker that runs in the origin of the webapp, which can use the information in the message to update local state or display a notification to the user.
This specification is designed for use with the web push protocol, which describes how an application server or user agent interacts with a push service.
The Push API allows a webapp to communicate with a user agent asynchronously. This allows an application server to provide the user agent with time-sensitive information whenever that information becomes known, rather than waiting for a user to open the webapp.
As defined here, push services support delivery of push messages at any time.
In particular, a push message will be delivered to the webapp even if that webapp is not currently active in a browser window: this relates to use cases in which the user may close the webapp, but still benefits from the webapp being able to be restarted when a push message is received. For example, a push message might be used to inform the user of an incoming WebRTC call.
A push message can also be sent when the user agent is temporarily offline. In support of this, the push service stores messages for the user agent until the user agent becomes available. This supports use cases where a webapp learns of changes that occur while a user is offline and ensures that the user agent can be provided with relevant information in a timely fashion. Push messages are stored by the push service until the user agent becomes reachable and the message can be delivered.
The Push API will also ensure reliable delivery of push messages while a user agent is actively using a webapp, for instance if a user is actively using the webapp or the webapp is in active communication with an application server through an active worker, frame, or background window. This is not the primary use case for the Push API. A webapp might choose to use the Push API for infrequent messages to avoid having to maintain constant communications with the application server.
Push messaging is best suited to occasions where there is not already an active communications channel established between user agent and webapp. Sending push messages requires considerably more resources when compared with more direct methods of communication such as fetch() or websockets. Push messages usually have higher latency than direct communications and they can also be subject to restrictions on use. Most push services limit the size and quantity of push messages that can be sent.
This specification defines conformance criteria that apply to a single product: the user agent that implements the interfaces that it contains.
Implementations that use ECMAScript to implement the APIs defined in this specification MUST implement them in a manner consistent with the ECMAScript Bindings defined in the Web IDL specification [[!WEBIDL]].
The terms current settings object, event handler, event handler event type, fire a simple event, queue a task and trusted event are defined in [[!HTML51]].
Promise
, and
JSON.parse
are
defined in [[!ECMASCRIPT]].
EventInit
,
DOMException
,
AbortError
,
InvalidStateError
,
InvalidAccessError
,
SecurityError
,
NetworkError
,
event listener,
and steps for
constructing events are defined in [[!DOM]].
The terms service
worker, service worker
registration, installing
worker, waiting worker,
and active
worker, and the types ServiceWorkerRegistration
,
ServiceWorkerGlobalScope
,
ExtendableEvent
,
ExtendableEventInit
,
extend
lifetime promises, the Clear
Registration algorithm, and the Handle
Functional Event algorithm are defined in [[!SERVICE-WORKERS]].
The term secure context is defined in [[!POWERFUL-FEATURES]].
The algorithms utf-8 encode, and utf-8 decode are defined in [[!ENCODING]].
Blob
is defined in
[[!FILEAPI]].
Any
,
ArrayBuffer
,
BufferSource
,
NotAllowedError
,
and USVString
are defined
in [[!WEBIDL]].
The web push protocol [[!WEBPUSH-PROTOCOL]] describes a protocol that enables communication between a user agent or application server and a push service. Alternative protocols could be used in place of this protocol, but this specification assumes the use of this protocol; alternative protocols are expected to provide compatible semantics.
The term webapp refers to a Web application, i.e. an application implemented using Web technologies, and executing within the context of a Web user agent, e.g. a Web browser or other Web runtime environment.
The term application server refers to server-side components of a webapp.
A push message is data sent to a webapp from an application server.
A push message is delivered to the active worker associated with the push subscription to which the message was submitted. If the service worker is not currently running, the worker is started to enable delivery.
A push subscription is a message delivery context established between the user agent and the push service on behalf of a webapp. Each push subscription is associated with a service worker registration and a service worker registration has at most one push subscription.
A push subscription has internal slots for a P-256 ECDH key pair and an authentication secret in accordance with [[!WEBPUSH-ENCRYPTION]]. These slots MUST be populated when creating the push subscription, and MUST remain constant for its lifetime.
When a push subscription is deactivated, both the user agent and the push service MUST delete any stored copies of its details. Subsequent push messages for this push subscription MUST NOT be delivered.
A push subscription is deactivated when its associated service worker registration is unregistered, though a push subscription MAY be deactivated earlier. A push subscription is removed when the clear registration algorithm is run for the service worker registration.
A push subscription has an associated push endpoint. It MUST be the absolute URL exposed by the push service where the application server can send push messages to. A push endpoint MUST uniquely identify the push subscription.
The term push service refers to a system that allows application servers to send push messages to a webapp. A push service serves the push endpoint or endpoints for the push subscriptions it serves.
The term express permission refers to an act by the user, e.g. via user interface or host device platform features, via which the user approves the use of the Push API by the webapp.
User agents MUST NOT provide Push API access to webapps without the
express permission of the user. User agents MUST acquire consent for
permission through a user interface for each call to the subscribe()
method,
unless a previous permission grant has been persisted, or a prearranged trust relationship
applies. Permissions that are preserved beyond the current browsing session MUST be
revocable.
The user agent MAY consider the PushSubscriptionOptions
when
acquiring permission or determining the permission status.
When a permission is revoked, all push subscriptions created with that permission MUST be deactivated.
When a service worker registration is unregistered, any associated push subscription MUST be deactivated.
The push endpoint of a deactivated push subscription MUST NOT be reused for a new push subscription. This prevents the creation of a persistent identifier that the user cannot remove. This also prevents reuse of the details of one push subscription to send push messages to another push subscription.
User agents MUST implement the Push API to only be available in secure contexts. This provides better protection for the user against man-in-the-middle attacks intended to obtain push subscription data. Browsers may ignore this rule for development purposes only.
A push message is sent from an application server to a webapp as follows:
This overall framework allows application servers to activate a Service Worker in response to events at the application server. Information about those events can be included in the push message, which allows the webapp to react appropriately to those events, potentially without needing to initiate network requests.
The following code and diagram illustrate a hypothetical use of the push API.
// https://example.com/serviceworker.js this.onpush = function(event) { console.log(event.data); // From here we can write the data to IndexedDB, send it to any open // windows, display a notification, etc. } // https://example.com/webapp.js navigator.serviceWorker.register('serviceworker.js').then( function(serviceWorkerRegistration) { serviceWorkerRegistration.pushManager.subscribe().then( function(pushSubscription) { console.log(pushSubscription.endpoint); console.log(pushSubscription.getKey('p256dh')); console.log(pushSubscription.getKey('auth')); // The push subscription details needed by the application // server are now available, and can be sent to it using, // for example, an XMLHttpRequest. }, function(error) { // During development it often helps to log errors to the // console. In a production environment it might make sense to // also report information about errors back to the // application server. console.log(error); } ); });
The fields included in the PushSubscription
is all the information needed
for an application server to send a push message. Push services that are
compatible with the Push API provide a push endpoint that conforms to the web
push protocol. These parameters and attributes include:
push endpoint
of a
PushSubscription
is a URL that allows an application server to request
delivery of a push message to a webapp.
getKey
method on a
PushSubscription
is used to retrieve keying material used to encrypt and
authenticate push messages. Each invocation of the function returns a new
ArrayBuffer
that contains the value of the corresponding key, or
null
if the identified key doesn't exist. Passing a value of
p256dh
retrieves a elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman
(ECDH) public key associated with the push subscription. Passing a value of
auth
returns an authentication secret that an application server uses in
authentication of its messages. These keys are used by the application server to
encrypt and authenticate messages for the push subscription, as described in
[[!WEBPUSH-ENCRYPTION]].
The Service Worker specification defines a ServiceWorkerRegistration
interface
[[!SERVICE-WORKERS]], which this specification extends.
partial interface ServiceWorkerRegistration { readonly attribute PushManager pushManager; };
The pushManager
attribute exposes a PushManager
, which has an associated service
worker registration represented by the ServiceWorkerRegistration
on
which the attribute is exposed.
The PushManager interface defines the operations to access push services.
interface PushManager { Promise<PushSubscription> subscribe(optional PushSubscriptionOptionsInit options); Promise<PushSubscription?> getSubscription(); Promise<PushPermissionState> permissionState(optional PushSubscriptionOptionsInit options); };
The subscribe
method when invoked MUST run the following steps:
Promise
.
DOMException
whose name is
"SecurityError
" and terminate these steps.
options
argument, if
provided, or a PushSubscriptionOptions
dictionary with default values.
applicationServerKey
attribute, check that the value is valid (i.e.,
ensure that it describes a valid point on the P-256 curve). If the
applicationServerKey
value is invalid, reject promise with
an InvalidAccessError
and terminate these steps.
PushManager
's associated
service worker registration.
DOMException
whose
name is "InvalidStateError
" and terminate these steps.
DOMException
whose name is
"InvalidStateError
" and terminate these steps.
DOMException
whose
name is "NotAllowedError
" and terminate these steps.
DOMException
whose name is "AbortError
" and
terminate these steps.
options
attribute of
subscription. If any attribute on allOptions contains a different
value to that stored for subscription, then reject promise with
an InvalidStateError
and terminate these steps. The contents of
BufferSource
values are compared for equality rather than
references.
DOMException
whose name is "AbortError
" and terminate these steps.
options
attribute of subscription to be a copy of
allOptions.
getKey
method of the PushSubscription
with an argument of
p256dh
.
getKey
method of the PushSubscription
with an argument of
auth
.
PushSubscription
providing the details of the new push
subscription.
The getSubscription
method when invoked MUST run the following steps:
Promise
.
DOMException
whose name is "AbortError
" and terminate these steps.
PushSubscription
providing the details of the retrieved push
subscription.
The
permissionState
method when invoked MUST run the following steps:
Promise
.
PushPermissionState
) of the
requesting webapp.
PushPermissionState
providing the push permission status.
Permission to use the push service can be persistent, that is, it does not need to be reconfirmed for subsequent subscriptions if a valid permission exists.
If there is a need to ask for permission, it needs to be done by invoking the
subscribe
method.
A PushSubscriptionOptionsInit represents additional options associated with a push subscription. The user agent MAY consider these options when requesting express permission from the user. When an option is considered, the user agent SHOULD enforce it on incoming push messages.
These options are optional, and user agents MAY choose to support only a subset of them. A user agent MUST NOT expose options that it does not support.
Once set, options for a push subscription cannot change. A pre-existing push subscription can be unsubscribed to create a push subscription with new options.
dictionary PushSubscriptionOptionsInit { boolean userVisibleOnly = false; BufferSource? applicationServerKey = null; }; interface PushSubscriptionOptions { readonly attribute boolean userVisibleOnly; [SameObject] readonly attribute ArrayBuffer? applicationServerKey; };
The userVisibleOnly
option,
when set to true
, indicates that the push subscription will only be
used for push messages whose effect is made visible to the user, for example by
displaying a Web Notification. [[NOTIFICATIONS]]
The applicationServerKey
option includes an elliptic curve public key for an application server. This is the key
that the application server will use to authenticate itself when sending push messages to
this subscription as defined in [[!WEBPUSH-VAPID]]; the push service will reject any push
message unless the corresponding private key is used to generate an authentication token.
If present, the value of applicationServerKey
MUST include a point on
the P-256 elliptic curve [[!DSS]], encoded in the uncompressed form described in
[[!X9.62]] Annex A (that is, 65 octets, starting with an 0x04 octet). The
applicationServerKey
MUST be a different value to the one used for
message encryption [[WEBPUSH-ENCRYPTION]].
A PushSubscription object represents a push subscription.
interface PushSubscription { readonly attribute USVString endpoint; [SameObject] readonly attribute PushSubscriptionOptions options; ArrayBuffer? getKey(PushEncryptionKeyName name); Promise<boolean> unsubscribe(); serializer; };
When getting the endpoint
attribute, the user agent MUST return the push endpoint associated with the
push subscription.
The getKey
method retrieves keying material that
can be used for encrypting and authenticating messages. When getKey
is
invoked the following process is followed:
name
argument.
null
.
ArrayBuffer
instance.
p256dh
public key is encoded
using the uncompressed format defined in [[X9.62]] Annex A (that is, a 65 octet sequence
that starts with a 0x04 octet).
auth
parameter contains an octet sequence used by the user agent to
authenticate messages sent by an application server.
Keys named p256dh
and auth
MUST be supported, and
their values MUST correspond to those necessary for the user agent to decrypt received push
messages in accordance with [[!WEBPUSH-ENCRYPTION]].
The unsubscribe
method when
invoked MUST run the following steps:
Promise
.
false
and terminate these steps.
NetworkError
" exception and terminate these steps.
true
.
The serializer for a PushSubscription
invokes the following steps:
endpoint
and whose value
is the result of converting the endpoint
attribute of the
PushSubscription
to a serialized value. The user agent MUST use
a serialization method that does not contain input-dependent branchs (that is, one that is
constant time). Note that a URL - as ASCII text - will not ordinarily require special
treatment.
PushSubscription
, ordered by the name of the key:
getKey
).
getKey
.
USVString
. The user agent MUST use a
serialization method that does not branch based on the value of b.
keys
and whose value is
keys.
Note that the options to a PushSubscription
are not serialized.
Encryption keys used for push message encryption are provided to a webapp
through the getKey
method or the serializer of
PushSubscription
. Each key is named using a value from the
PushEncryptionKeyName
enumeration.
enum PushEncryptionKeyName { "p256dh", "auth" };
The p256dh
value is
used to retrieve the P-256 ECDH Diffie-Hellman public key described in
[[!WEBPUSH-ENCRYPTION]].
The auth
value is used to
retrieve the authentication secret described in [[!WEBPUSH-ENCRYPTION]].
typedef any JSON; [Exposed=ServiceWorker] interface PushMessageData { ArrayBuffer arrayBuffer(); Blob blob(); JSON json(); USVString text(); };
PushMessageData objects have an associated bytes (a byte sequence) set on
creation, which is null
if there was no data in the push message.
The arrayBuffer()
method, when invoked, MUST return an ArrayBuffer
whose contents are
bytes. Exceptions thrown during the creation of the
ArrayBuffer
object are re-thrown.
The blob()
method, when
invoked, MUST return a Blob
whose contents are bytes and
type is not provided.
The json()
method, when
invoked, MUST return the result of invoking the initial value of
JSON.parse
with the result of running utf-8 decode on
bytes as argument. Re-throw any exceptions thrown by
JSON.parse
.
The text()
method, when
invoked, MUST return the result of running utf-8 decode on bytes.
To extract a byte sequence from object, run these steps:
BufferSource
USVString
The Service Worker specification defines a ServiceWorkerGlobalScope
interface
[[!SERVICE-WORKERS]], which this specification extends.
partial interface ServiceWorkerGlobalScope { attribute EventHandler onpush; attribute EventHandler onpushsubscriptionchange; };
The onpush
attribute is
an event handler whose corresponding event handler event type is
push
.
The onpushsubscriptionchange
attribute is an event handler whose corresponding event handler event type is
pushsubscriptionchange
.
push
event
The PushEvent interface represents a received push message.
typedef (BufferSource or USVString) PushMessageDataInit; dictionary PushEventInit : ExtendableEventInit { PushMessageDataInit data; }; [Constructor(DOMString type, optional PushEventInit eventInitDict), Exposed=ServiceWorker] interface PushEvent : ExtendableEvent { readonly attribute PushMessageData? data; };
Upon receiving a push message from the push service, the user agent MUST run the following steps:
null
.
push
event MUST NOT be fired for a push message that was
not successfully decrypted using the key pair associated with the push
subscription.
PushEvent
interface, with the event type push
, which
does not bubble, is not cancelable, and has no default action.
data
attribute of
e to a new PushMessageData
instance with bytes
set to the binary push message data.
If the same push message has been delivered to a service worker registration multiple times unsuccessfully, acknowledge the receipt of the push message according to [[!WEBPUSH-PROTOCOL]].
Acknowledging the push message causes the push service to stop delivering the message and to report success to the application server. This prevents the same push message from being retried by the push service indefinitely.
Acknowledging also means that an application server could incorrectly receive a delivery receipt indicating successful delivery of the push message. Therefore, multiple rejections SHOULD be permitted before acknowledging; allowing at least three attempts is recommended.
When a constructor of the PushEvent interface, or of an interface that inherits from the PushEvent interface, is invoked, the usual steps for constructing events are extended to include the following steps:
data
member is not present, set the
data
attribute of the event to null
and terminate these steps.
data
" member of eventInitDict.
data
attribute of the event to a new PushMessageData
instance with bytes
set to b.
pushsubscriptionchange
event
The pushsubscriptionchange
event indicates that a push subscription
has been invalidated, or will soon be invalidated. For example, the push service
MAY set an expiration time. A Service Worker SHOULD attempt to resubscribe while
handling this event, in order to continue receiving push messages.
When new push subscription information becomes available, the user agent MUST run the following steps:
ExtendableEvent
interface, with the event type
pushsubscriptionchange
, which does not bubble, is not cancelable, and
has no default action.
This algorithm ensures that the Service Worker is able to react to any non-destructive change in a push subscription, such as an automatic refresh, without causing any active push subscription to be terminated prematurely. A Service Worker can request a new push subscription during this process and ensure that no push messages are lost.
enum PushPermissionState { "granted", "denied", "prompt" };
Enumeration | Description |
---|---|
granted
|
The webapp has permission to use the Push API. |
denied
|
The webapp has been denied permission to use the Push API. |
prompt
|
The webapp needs to ask for permission in order to use the Push API. |
The editors would like to express their gratitude to the Mozilla and Telefónica Digital teams implementing the Firefox OS Push message solution and specially to Doug Turner, Nikhil Marathe, Fernando R. Sela, Guillermo López, Antonio Amaya, José Manuel Cantera and Albert Crespell, for their technical guidance, implementation work and support.