Laravel Reverb , keep track of online users

Hello,

To manage notifications effectively in Laravel Reverb while tracking online users, you can use presence channels combined with a database to store notifications. Here’s a step-by-step approach:

Step 1- Presence Channels (channels.php)

in channels.php file; define a presence channel to track user presence

Broadcast::channel('foo-channel.{userId}', function ($user) {
    return ['id' => $user->id];
});

Step 2- Detect Online Users

use Echo on the client side to detect online users when they join the presence channel.

# there might be better solutions
Echo.join(`foo-channel.${userId}`)
    .here((users) => {
        console.log(users); // Online users
    })
    .joining((user) => {
        console.log(`${user.name} has joined`);
    })
    .leaving((user) => {
        console.log(`${user.name} has left`);
    });

Step 3- Handle Notifications (Offline/Online) check if the user is online. If they are, send the notification directly; if not, store it in the database.

# simple approach, but probably enough to what you want to get
p f sendNotification($userId, $msg)
{
    $u= User::find($userId);

    if ($this->isUserOnline($userId)) {
        Notification::send($u, new YourNotification($msg));
    } else {
        $this->storeNotificationInDatabase($userId, $msg);
    }
}

Step 4- Reconnected Users: When a user reconnects, check for any missed notifications in the database and send them