Novu

How does a booking change reach a customer’s inbox?

Your app saves the new booking time, then asks Novu to run the steps you set up for that event. Novu calls the recipient a subscriber. Use the same stable customer identity in the server-side trigger and the signed-in inbox so the message goes to the right person. Ask your developer to verify that identity on the server using Novu’s production inbox authentication.

The booking stays in your app. Give the message only what it needs, such as the new time and a link that checks access when opened. Connect the delivery service in the relevant Novu environment if you add an external channel.

What if the customer wants the inbox but no email?

Set the booking update’s channel preferences so the person can keep the inbox and turn optional email off. Check what the workflow lets a subscriber change and what is set for that workflow by default.

When something is missing, open the Activity Feed and look up the matching run. See whether the in-app step ran, the email step was skipped or an integration reported an error. A completed run does not tell you a person read the message.

How would you trace two booking changes before connecting email?

On paper, give two fictional customers the same starting booking time. Pick one customer, move their appointment and draw the path from the saved record to their inbox. Keep email, provider connections and app accounts untouched.

1. 1
   Follow the right identity

   Write down which customer receives the inbox item. The second customer’s inbox should show no change.
2. 2
   Keep the inbox when email is off

   Mark the first customer’s optional email as off. Expect the inbox step to run and the email step to be skipped. Note where you would check each outcome in the Activity Feed.
3. 3
   Trace one repeated event

   Give the booking change a stable reference and write down how the app recognizes a repeated copy before starting another notification. A different saved time should be eligible for its own notification.

What counts toward the Cloud plan, and what changes if you host it?

Novu Cloud Free lists 10,000 workflow runs per month. A run is the workflow for one subscriber, so multiple steps inside it are a different unit from separate recipients. The Free plan lists 24 hours of Activity Feed retention. Budget separately for delivery services you connect.

Novu also has a self-hostable project. Running it yourself means operating the service and its storage, upgrades and backups. Keep your app’s event and identity mapping and a copy of the workflow behavior you depend on. Plan a move by testing preferences and inbox history separately from moving your templates.