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

[
  {
    "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

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

[
  {
    "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
  }
]

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