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Courier

Courier routes product notifications across an in-app inbox and external services such as email, push and SMS.

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How do you send to a fallback without sending everywhere?

Set the route according to what a customer needs. For a package update, you might always want an item in the app’s inbox but only one external alert. Courier supports routes that try the next option when an earlier one fails and routes that send to all selected channels.

Connect the external delivery accounts and keep the recipient’s channel details current. Check which channels and fallback conditions apply to that message, including preferences. A fallback for a failed attempt serves a different purpose from sending another alert because the person did not open the first.

Why can a message say sent without reaching the inbox?

For email, Courier’s guide distinguishes handing the message to the delivery provider from receiving confirmation that it was delivered. Start in Logs, open the message and inspect what Courier reports for the route and provider. If the provider accepted the message but the person still cannot find it, check the provider’s status and the recipient mailbox separately.

Keep a stable event reference in your app. If the response is missing, check for the first request before deciding to retry. Avoid treating an uncertain response as permission to send a second copy.

How do you walk through a fallback before connecting a provider?

Draw the routes for a fictional package update. Use paper only, with no live contacts, accounts or credentials. Draw an inbox item and an external path that tries push before email. Assume the account allows both channels.

  1. Check the primary path
    Give the fictional account a working push destination. Write down one app inbox item and a push attempt. There should be no fallback email on the paper success path.
  2. Change one input
    Now remove the push destination. If your chosen route is set up to proceed on that outcome, write down one inbox item and an email attempt. Mark which outcome still needs a test in a disposable setup.
  3. Keep sent and read separate
    Write down where you would look for a send or provider outcome. Leave customer reading status unknown until you have evidence of it.

What does Courier count, and what should you keep?

Courier lists 10,000 sends per month on Developer and US$0.005 per send on Business. Courier describes one template to one recipient through the Send API as one send across its selected channels. A Journey is a sequence of steps and its separate Send nodes can count separately. External provider fees can still apply.

Courier documents moving template content through its Templates API. Keep the app events, user mapping, channel preferences and routing rules you need to rebuild. A copy of the templates alone does not recreate a customer’s inbox history.