Personalization Reference

The Inbox can be personalized at every level — from swapping the bell icon, to per-row layout, to fully custom popovers and routing. This reference covers render props, click handling, conditional display, HTML content, and composing the Inbox primitives inside your own UI.

Render props

Render props let you replace specific parts of the Inbox while keeping the surrounding chrome (default actions, hover states, animations, accessibility).

Prop	Replaces	Keep default actions?
`renderBell`	Bell icon	N/A
`renderAvatar`	Notification avatar	✅
`renderSubject`	Subject line	✅
`renderBody`	Body text	✅
`renderDefaultActions`	Mark-as-read / archive / snooze buttons	❌ (you implement them)
`renderCustomActions`	Primary + secondary action buttons	✅
`renderNotification`	Entire notification row	❌ (you implement everything)

`renderBell`

Receives the unread count broken down by severity:

import { Inbox, SeverityLevelEnum } from "@novu/react";

<Inbox
  applicationIdentifier="YOUR_NOVU_APP_ID"
  subscriberId="subscriber-123"
  renderBell={(unreadCount) => (
    <button className="relative p-2">
      <BellIcon />
      {unreadCount.severity[SeverityLevelEnum.HIGH] > 0 && (
        <span className="absolute -top-1 -right-1 bg-red-500 text-white text-xs rounded-full px-1">
          {unreadCount.severity[SeverityLevelEnum.HIGH]}
        </span>
      )}
    </button>
  )}
/>

`renderAvatar`

<Inbox
  /* ... */
  renderAvatar={(notification) => (
    <img
      src={notification.avatar ?? "/default-avatar.png"}
      alt=""
      className="w-8 h-8 rounded-full"
    />
  )}
/>

`renderSubject` / `renderBody`

<Inbox
  /* ... */
  renderSubject={(notification) => (
    <strong className="text-sm">{notification.subject}</strong>
  )}
  renderBody={(notification) => (
    <p className="text-xs text-gray-600">{notification.body}</p>
  )}
/>

`renderDefaultActions`

Replaces the built-in mark-as-read / archive / snooze affordances. You’re responsible for re-implementing them.

import { Inbox } from "@novu/react";
import { Archive, Check } from "lucide-react";

<Inbox
  /* ... */
  renderDefaultActions={(notification) => (
    <div className="flex gap-2">
      <button title="Mark as read"><Check className="w-4 h-4" /></button>
      <button title="Archive"><Archive className="w-4 h-4" /></button>
    </div>
  )}
/>

`renderCustomActions` (primary / secondary buttons)

Useful for matching brand button styles without re-implementing default actions:

<Inbox
  /* ... */
  renderCustomActions={(notification) => (
    <div className="flex gap-2 mt-3">
      {notification.secondaryAction && (
        <button className="px-3 py-1 rounded border border-gray-300 text-sm">
          {notification.secondaryAction.label}
        </button>
      )}
      {notification.primaryAction && (
        <button className="px-3 py-1 rounded bg-pink-500 text-white text-sm">
          {notification.primaryAction.label}
        </button>
      )}
    </div>
  )}
/>

`renderNotification` (full takeover)

Use sparingly — you lose all built-in affordances:

<Inbox
  /* ... */
  renderNotification={(notification) => (
    <article className="p-4 border-b">
      <header className="flex justify-between">
        <h3 className="font-semibold">{notification.subject}</h3>
        <time className="text-xs text-gray-500">
          {new Date(notification.createdAt).toLocaleString()}
        </time>
      </header>
      <p>{notification.body}</p>
    </article>
  )}
/>

Conditional display

renderNotification receives the full notification object, including tags, data, severity, and workflow. Branch on whichever signal best fits the UI.

By workflow tag

renderNotification={(notification) => {
  if (notification.tags?.includes("billing")) {
    return <BillingRow notification={notification} />;
  }

  return <DefaultRow notification={notification} />;
}}

By workflow identifier

renderNotification={(notification) => {
  if (notification.workflow?.identifier === "comment-mention") {
    return <CommentMentionRow notification={notification} />;
  }

  return <DefaultRow notification={notification} />;
}}

By data object

renderNotification={(notification) => {
  if (notification.data?.priority === "high") {
    return (
      <div className="bg-red-50 ring-1 ring-red-300 p-3 rounded-lg">
        <strong>{notification.subject}</strong>
        <p>{notification.body}</p>
      </div>
    );
  }

  return <DefaultRow notification={notification} />;
}}

By severity

import { SeverityLevelEnum } from "@novu/react";

renderNotification={(notification) => {
  if (notification.severity === SeverityLevelEnum.HIGH) {
    return <UrgentRow notification={notification} />;
  }

  return <DefaultRow notification={notification} />;
}}

HTML in notification content

By default Novu sanitizes the subject and body to prevent XSS. To allow rich HTML:

In the workflow — open the In-App step editor and toggle on Disable content sanitization.
In the Inbox — render the field with dangerouslySetInnerHTML.

Only enable this if you fully control the trigger payload. Raw HTML opens an XSS surface area.

Body only

<Inbox
  /* ... */
  renderBody={(notification) => (
    <div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: notification.body }} />
  )}
/>

Subject only

<Inbox
  /* ... */
  renderSubject={(notification) => (
    <span dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: notification.subject }} />
  )}
/>

Both subject and body

<Inbox
  /* ... */
  renderNotification={(notification) => (
    <div className="p-4 border-b">
      <h3 dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: notification.subject }} />
      <div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: notification.body }} />
    </div>
  )}
/>

Example workflow content (works with both Liquid variables and HTML tags):

{{subscriber.firstName}}, <b>good news!</b> Your <i>analytics dashboard</i>
is ready. <a href="https://app.example.com/analytics" target="_blank">Open it</a>.

Notification click behavior

`routerPush` integration

When a notification has a redirect.url defined in the workflow, Novu calls routerPush(url) so navigation stays inside your SPA router.

// Next.js App Router
import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";

const router = useRouter();
<Inbox /* ... */ routerPush={(path) => router.push(path)} />;

// React Router v6
import { useNavigate } from "react-router-dom";

const navigate = useNavigate();
<Inbox /* ... */ routerPush={(path) => navigate(path)} />;

// Remix
import { useNavigate } from "@remix-run/react";

const navigate = useNavigate();
<Inbox /* ... */ routerPush={(path) => navigate(path)} />;

// Gatsby
import { navigate } from "gatsby";

<Inbox /* ... */ routerPush={(path) => navigate(path)} />;

`onNotificationClick`

Override click behavior entirely (open a drawer, modal, etc.):

<Inbox
  /* ... */
  onNotificationClick={(notification) => {
    if (notification.data?.entity === "issue") {
      openIssueDrawer(notification.data.entityId);

      return;
    }

    if (notification.redirect?.url) {
      window.location.href = notification.redirect.url;
    }
  }}
/>

`onPrimaryActionClick` / `onSecondaryActionClick`

<Inbox
  /* ... */
  onPrimaryActionClick={(notification) => acceptInvite(notification.data.inviteId)}
  onSecondaryActionClick={(notification) => declineInvite(notification.data.inviteId)}
/>

The <Inbox> component is composable. When passed children, it acts as a context provider — drop the feed into any popover, drawer, or page.

Component	Renders
`<Bell />`	Bell icon trigger
`<Notifications />`	Header + scrollable list + footer (no Preferences page)
`<InboxContent />`	Same as `<Notifications />` plus the Preferences page
`<Preferences />`	Standalone preferences

import { Inbox, Notifications } from "@novu/react";

<Inbox
  applicationIdentifier="YOUR_NOVU_APP_ID"
  subscriberId="subscriber-123"
>
  <Notifications />
</Inbox>

import { Inbox, InboxContent, Bell } from "@novu/react";
import { Popover, PopoverTrigger, PopoverContent } from "@radix-ui/react-popover";

<Inbox
  applicationIdentifier="YOUR_NOVU_APP_ID"
  subscriberId="subscriber-123"
>
  <Popover>
    <PopoverTrigger>
      <Bell />
    </PopoverTrigger>
    <PopoverContent className="h-[600px] w-[400px] p-0">
      <InboxContent />
    </PopoverContent>
  </Popover>
</Inbox>

"use client";

import {
  Drawer,
  DrawerContent,
  DrawerHeader,
  DrawerTitle,
  DrawerTrigger,
} from "@/components/ui/drawer";
import { Inbox, InboxContent } from "@novu/react";

export function NotificationDrawer() {
  return (
    <Inbox
      applicationIdentifier="YOUR_NOVU_APP_ID"
      subscriberId="subscriber-123"
    >
      <Drawer direction="right">
        <DrawerTrigger className="rounded-full border px-4 py-2">
          Notifications
        </DrawerTrigger>
        <DrawerContent className="w-[400px]">
          <DrawerHeader>
            <DrawerTitle>Inbox</DrawerTitle>
          </DrawerHeader>
          <InboxContent />
        </DrawerContent>
      </Drawer>
    </Inbox>
  );
}

Full-page notification center

import { Inbox, InboxContent } from "@novu/react";

export default function NotificationsPage() {
  return (
    <main className="max-w-3xl mx-auto py-12">
      <h1 className="text-2xl font-semibold mb-6">Notifications</h1>
      <Inbox
        applicationIdentifier="YOUR_NOVU_APP_ID"
        subscriberId="subscriber-123"
      >
        <InboxContent />
      </Inbox>
    </main>
  );
}

All customization props (appearance, localization, tabs, routerPush, render props, context) flow through the <Inbox> provider and apply to children automatically.

Localization

Override Inbox UI text per locale. Localization changes UI chrome only — to translate notification content, use Workflow Translations.

<Inbox
  applicationIdentifier="YOUR_NOVU_APP_ID"
  subscriberId="subscriber-123"
  localization={{
    locale: "en-US",
    "inbox.filters.labels.default": "Notifications",
    "inbox.filters.labels.unread": "Unread",
    "inbox.filters.labels.archived": "Archived",
    "inbox.filters.labels.snoozed": "Snoozed",
    "inbox.filters.dropdownOptions.unread": "Unread only",
    "inbox.filters.dropdownOptions.default": "All",
    "notifications.emptyNotice": "You're all caught up.",
    "notifications.actions.readAll": "Mark all as read",
    "notifications.actions.archiveAll": "Archive all",
    "notifications.actions.archiveRead": "Archive read",
    "notification.actions.read.tooltip": "Mark as read",
    "notification.actions.unread.tooltip": "Mark as unread",
    "notification.actions.archive.tooltip": "Archive",
    "notification.actions.unarchive.tooltip": "Unarchive",
    "notification.actions.snooze.tooltip": "Snooze",
    "notification.actions.unsnooze.tooltip": "Unsnooze",
    "notification.snoozedUntil": "Snoozed until",
    "snooze.options.anHourFromNow": "An hour from now",
    "snooze.options.inOneDay": "Tomorrow",
    "snooze.options.inOneWeek": "Next week",
    "snooze.options.customTime": "Custom time...",
    "preferences.title": "Notification Preferences",
    "preferences.global": "Global Preferences",
    "preferences.emptyNotice": "No notification specific preferences yet.",
    dynamic: {
      "new-comment-on-post": "Post comments",
      "new-follower-digest": "New Follower Updates",
    },
  }}
/>

The full key list is in defaultLocalization.ts.

Localizing workflow names

localization.dynamic is a Record<workflowId, string> used to display friendly workflow names in the Preferences UI:

localization={{
  dynamic: {
    "weekly-digest": "Weekly Digest",
    "team-mention": "Team Mentions",
  },
}}

Multi-language switching pattern

const [locale, setLocale] = useState("en-US");

const localizationByLocale = {
  "en-US": { "preferences.title": "Notification Preferences", locale: "en-US" },
  "es-ES": { "preferences.title": "Preferencias de Notificación", locale: "es-ES" },
  "fr-FR": { "preferences.title": "Préférences de Notification", locale: "fr-FR" },
};

<Inbox
  /* ... */
  localization={localizationByLocale[locale]}
/>;

Tabs

Group notifications into filtered tabs:

import { Inbox, SeverityLevelEnum } from "@novu/react";

<Inbox
  applicationIdentifier="YOUR_NOVU_APP_ID"
  subscriberId="subscriber-123"
  tabs={[
    { label: "All", filter: { tags: [] } },
    { label: "Promotions", filter: { tags: ["promotions"] } },
    { label: "Security", filter: { tags: ["security", "alert"] } },
    { label: "Critical", filter: { severity: SeverityLevelEnum.HIGH } },
    { label: "High Priority", filter: { data: { priority: "high" } } },
    {
      label: "Billing High",
      filter: { tags: ["billing"], data: { priority: "high" } },
    },
  ]}
/>;

tags: workflow-level. Multiple tags use OR logic.
severity: from the In-App step’s severity. Accepts a single value or an array.
data: matches keys defined in the In-App step’s data object.
Combine tags + data + severity for narrower filters.

To show counts per tab, use the useCounts hook.

Recipe: brand-aligned, fully personalized Inbox

"use client";

import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
import { Inbox, SeverityLevelEnum } from "@novu/react";
import { dark } from "@novu/react/themes";

export function BrandedInbox({ subscriberId, subscriberHash }) {
  const router = useRouter();

  return (
    <Inbox
      applicationIdentifier={process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_NOVU_APP_ID!}
      subscriberId={subscriberId}
      subscriberHash={subscriberHash}
      routerPush={(path) => router.push(path)}
      tabs={[
        { label: "All", filter: { tags: [] } },
        { label: "Mentions", filter: { tags: ["mention"] } },
        { label: "Critical", filter: { severity: SeverityLevelEnum.HIGH } },
      ]}
      appearance={{
        baseTheme: dark,
        variables: {
          colorPrimary: "#FB4CA3",
          colorPrimaryForeground: "#FFFFFF",
          borderRadius: "12px",
        },
        elements: {
          notification: ({ notification }) =>
            notification.data?.priority === "high"
              ? "bg-red-500/10 ring-1 ring-red-500/30"
              : "",
          notificationPrimaryAction__button: "bg-pink-500 hover:bg-pink-600",
        },
      }}
      renderAvatar={(notification) => (
        <img
          src={notification.avatar ?? "/default-avatar.png"}
          alt=""
          className="w-8 h-8 rounded-full ring-1 ring-white/10"
        />
      )}
      localization={{
        locale: "en-US",
        "inbox.filters.labels.default": "All",
        "notifications.emptyNotice": "Nothing new — you're all caught up.",
      }}
    />
  );
}

Personalization

Personalization Reference

Render props

`renderBell`

`renderAvatar`

`renderSubject` / `renderBody`

`renderDefaultActions`

`renderCustomActions` (primary / secondary buttons)

`renderNotification` (full takeover)

Conditional display

By workflow tag

By workflow identifier

By data object

By severity

HTML in notification content

Body only

Subject only

Both subject and body

Notification click behavior

`routerPush` integration

`onNotificationClick`

`onPrimaryActionClick` / `onSecondaryActionClick`

Custom popover

Standalone notification feed (no popover)

Popover with Radix UI

Custom popover with shadcn Drawer

Full-page notification center

Localization

Localizing workflow names

Multi-language switching pattern

Tabs

Recipe: brand-aligned, fully personalized Inbox

​Personalization Reference

​Render props

​renderBell

​renderAvatar

​renderSubject / renderBody

​renderDefaultActions

​renderCustomActions (primary / secondary buttons)

​renderNotification (full takeover)

​Conditional display

​By workflow tag

​By workflow identifier

​By data object

​By severity

​HTML in notification content

​Body only

​Subject only

​Both subject and body

​Notification click behavior

​routerPush integration

​onNotificationClick

​onPrimaryActionClick / onSecondaryActionClick

​Custom popover

​Standalone notification feed (no popover)

​Popover with Radix UI

​Custom popover with shadcn Drawer

​Full-page notification center

​Localization

​Localizing workflow names

​Multi-language switching pattern

​Tabs

​Recipe: brand-aligned, fully personalized Inbox

Personalization Reference

Render props

`renderBell`

`renderAvatar`

`renderSubject` / `renderBody`

`renderDefaultActions`

`renderCustomActions` (primary / secondary buttons)

`renderNotification` (full takeover)

Conditional display

By workflow tag

By workflow identifier

By data object

By severity

HTML in notification content

Body only

Subject only

Both subject and body

Notification click behavior

`routerPush` integration

`onNotificationClick`

`onPrimaryActionClick` / `onSecondaryActionClick`

Custom popover

Standalone notification feed (no popover)

Popover with Radix UI

Custom popover with shadcn Drawer

Full-page notification center

Localization

Localizing workflow names

Multi-language switching pattern

Tabs

Recipe: brand-aligned, fully personalized Inbox