---
title: notifications API alpha methods
description: Receive notifications for activity on your account or statuses.
---

<style>
#TableOfContents ul ul ul {display: none}
</style>

{{< hint style="warning" >}}
This page documents experimental API endpoints and is kept for historical purposes only. See the [finalized version]({{< relref "methods/grouped_notifications" >}}) if you want to implement the grouped notifications feature in a client.
{{</ hint >}}

This page is about grouped notifications, which we implemented server-side so that:
- grouping is consistent across clients
- clients do not run into the issue of going through entire pages that do not contribute to any new group; instead, notifications are already deduplicated server-side

The API shape is a bit different from the non-grouped notifications, because large notification groups usually tend to involve the same accounts, and moving accounts to a root key can avoid a lot of duplication, resulting in less server-side work and smaller network payloads.

## Get all grouped notifications {#get-grouped}

```http
GET /api/v2_alpha/notifications HTTP/1.1
```

Return grouped notifications concerning the user. This API returns Link headers containing links to the next/previous page. However, the links can also be constructed dynamically using query params and `id` values.

Notifications of type `favourite` or `reblog` with the same type and the same target made in a similar timeframe are given a same `group_key` by the server, and querying this endpoint will return aggregated notifications, with only one object per `group_key`. Other notification types (such as `follow`) may be grouped in the future.

Types to filter include:
- `mention` = Someone mentioned you in their status
- `status` = Someone you enabled notifications for has posted a status
- `reblog` = Someone boosted one of your statuses
- `follow` = Someone followed you
- `follow_request` = Someone requested to follow you
- `favourite` = Someone favourited one of your statuses
- `poll` = A poll you have voted in or created has ended
- `update` = A status you boosted with has been edited
- `admin.sign_up` = Someone signed up (optionally sent to admins)
- `admin.report` = A new report has been filed

**Returns:** [GroupedNotificationsResults](#GroupedNotificationsResults)\
**OAuth:** User token + `read:notifications`\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### Request

##### Headers

Authorization
: {{<required>}} Provide this header with `Bearer <user token>` to gain authorized access to this API method.

##### Query parameters

max_id
: String. All results returned will be about notifications strictly older than this notification ID. In effect, sets an upper bound on results.

since_id
: String. All results returned will be about notifications strictly newer than this notification ID. In effect, sets a lower bound on results.

min_id
: String. Returns results about notifications immediately newer than this notification ID. In effect, sets a cursor at this ID and paginates forward.

limit
: Integer. Maximum number of results to return. Defaults to 40 notifications. Max 80 notification groups.

types[]
: Array of String. Types to include in the result.

exclude_types[]
: Array of String. Types to exclude from the results.

account_id
: String. Return only notifications received from the specified account.

expand_accounts
: String. One of `full` (default) or `partial_avatars`. When set to `partial_avatars`, some accounts will not be rendered in full in the returned `accounts` list but will be instead returned in stripped-down form in the `partial_accounts` list. The most recent account in a notification group is always rendered in full in the `accounts` attribute.

grouped_types[]
: Array of String. Restrict which notification types can be grouped. Use this if there are notification types for which your client does not support grouping. If omitted, the server will group notifications of all types it supports (currently, `favourite` and `reblog`). If you do not want any notification grouping, use [GET `/api/v1/notifications`]({{< relref "methods/notifications#get" >}}) instead.

#### Response

Sample call with limit=2.

```http
GET https://mastodon.social/api/v2_alpha/notifications?limit=2 HTTP/1.1
Authorization: Bearer xxx
```

##### 200: OK

The response body contains one page of grouped notifications. You can use the HTTP Link header for further pagination.

```http
Link: <https://mastodon.social/api/v2_alpha/notifications?limit=2&max_id=196012>; rel="next", <https://mastodon.social/api/v2_alpha/notifications?limit=2&min_id=196014>; rel="prev";
```

```json
{
  "accounts": [
    {
      "id": "16",
      "username": "eve",
      "acct": "eve",
      // …
    },
    {
      "id": "3547",
      "username": "alice",
      "acct": "alice",
      // …
    },
    {
      "id": "31460",
      "username": "bob",
      "acct": "bob",
      // …
    },
    {
      "id": "36509",
      "username": "mallory",
      "acct": "mallory",
      // …
    }
  ],
  "statuses": [
    {
      "id": "113010503322889311",
      "created_at": "2024-08-23T08:57:12.057Z",
      "account": {
        "id": "55911",
        "username": "user",
        "acct": "user",
        // …
      },
      // …
    },
    {
      "id": "113006771938929950",
      "created_at": "2024-08-22T17:08:15.654Z",
      "account": {
        "id": "55911",
        "username": "user",
        "acct": "user",
        // …
      },
      // …
    }
  ],
  "notification_groups": [
    {
      "group_key": "favourite-113010503322889311-479000",
      "notifications_count": 2,
      "type": "favourite",
      "most_recent_notification_id": 196014,
      "page_min_id": "196013",
      "page_max_id": "196014",
      "latest_page_notification_at": "2024-08-23T08:59:56.743Z",
      "sample_account_ids": [
        "16",
        "3547"
      ],
      "status_id": "113010503322889311"
    },
    {
      "group_key": "favourite-113006771938929950-478999",
      "notifications_count": 2,
      "type": "favourite",
      "most_recent_notification_id": 196012,
      "page_min_id": "196012",
      "page_max_id": "196012",
      "latest_page_notification_at": "2024-08-23T08:16:32.112Z",
      "sample_account_ids": [
        "31460",
        "36509"
      ],
      "status_id": "113006771938929950"
    }
  ]
}
```

##### 401: Unauthorized

Invalid or missing Authorization header.

```json
{
  "error": "The access token is invalid"
}
```

---

## Get a single notification group {#get-notification-group}

```http
GET /api/v2_alpha/notifications/:group_key HTTP/1.1
```

View information about a specific notification group with a given group key.

**Returns:** [GroupedNotificationsResults](#GroupedNotificationsResults)\
**OAuth:** User token + `read:notifications`\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### Request

##### Path parameters

:group_key
: {{<required>}} String. The group key of the notification group.

##### Headers

Authorization
: {{<required>}} Provide this header with `Bearer <user token>` to gain authorized access to this API method.

#### Response

##### 200: OK

On success, returns a [GroupedNotificationsResults](#GroupedNotificationsResults) with a single notification group.

```json
{
  "accounts": [
    {
      "id": "16",
      "username": "eve",
      "acct": "eve",
      // …
    },
    {
      "id": "3547",
      "username": "alice",
      "acct": "alice",
      // …
    }
  ],
  "statuses": [
    {
      "id": "113010503322889311",
      "created_at": "2024-08-23T08:57:12.057Z",
      "account": {
        "id": "55911",
        "username": "user",
        "acct": "user",
        // …
      },
      // …
    }
  ],
  "notification_groups": [
    {
      "group_key": "favourite-113010503322889311-479000",
      "notifications_count": 2,
      "type": "favourite",
      "most_recent_notification_id": 196014,
      "sample_account_ids": [
        "16",
        "3547"
      ],
      "status_id": "113010503322889311"
    }
  ]
}
```

##### 401: Unauthorized

Invalid or missing Authorization header.

```json
{
  "error": "The access token is invalid"
}
```

---

## Dismiss a single notification group {#dismiss-group}

```http
POST /api/v2_alpha/notifications/:group_key/dismiss HTTP/1.1
```

Dismiss a single notification group from the server.

**Returns:** Empty\
**OAuth:** User token + `write:notifications`\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### Request

##### Path parameters

:group_key
: {{<required>}} String. The group key of the notifications to discard.

##### Headers

Authorization
: {{<required>}} Provide this header with `Bearer <user token>` to gain authorized access to this API method.

#### Response

##### 200: OK

Upon a successful request, notifications with the given group key are successfully dismissed.

```json
{}
```

##### 401: Unauthorized

Invalid or missing Authorization header.

```json
{
  "error": "The access token is invalid"
}
```

---

## Get the number of unread notifications {#unread-group-count}

```http
GET /api/v2_alpha/notifications/unread_count HTTP/1.1
```

Get the (capped) number of unread notification groups for the current user.
A notification is considered unread if it is more recent than the [notifications read marker]({{< relref "methods/markers" >}}).
Because the count is dependant on the parameters, it is computed every time and is thus a relatively slow operation (although faster than getting the full corresponding notifications), therefore the number of returned notifications is capped.

**Returns:** Hash with a single key of `count`\
**OAuth:** User token + `read:notifications`\
**Version history**:\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### Request

##### Headers

Authorization
: {{<required>}} Provide this header with `Bearer <user token>` to gain authorized access to this API method.

##### Query parameters

limit
: Integer. Maximum number of results to return. Defaults to 100 notifications. Max 1000 notifications.

types[]
: Array of String. Types of notifications that should count towards unread notifications.

exclude_types[]
: Array of String. Types of notifications that should not count towards unread notifications.

account_id
: String. Only count unread notifications received from the specified account.

grouped_types[]
: Array of String. Restrict which notification types can be grouped. Use this if there are notification types for which your client does not support grouping. If omitted, the server will group notifications of all types it supports (currently, `favourite` and `reblog`). If you do not want any notification grouping, use [GET `/api/v1/notifications/unread_count`]({{< relref "methods/notifications#unread-count" >}}) instead.

#### Response

##### 200: OK

The response body contains the capped count of unread notifications.

```json
{
  "count": 42,
}
```

##### 401: Unauthorized

Invalid or missing Authorization header.

```json
{
  "error": "The access token is invalid"
}
```

---

## `GroupedNotificationsResults` entity {#GroupedNotificationsResults}

### Attributes

#### `accounts`

**Description:** Accounts referenced by grouped notifications.\
**Type:** Array of [Account]({{< relref "entities/Account" >}})\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `partial_accounts` {{%optional%}}

**Description:** Partial accounts referenced by grouped notifications. Those are only returned when requesting grouped notifications with `expand_accounts=partial_avatars`.
**Type:** Array of [PartialAccountWithAvatar](#PartialAccountWithAvatar)\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `statuses`

**Description:** Statuses referenced by grouped notifications.\
**Type:** Array of [Status]({{< relref "entities/Status" >}}}\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `notification_groups`

**Description:** The grouped notifications themselves.
**Type:** [NotificationGroup](#NotificationGroup)\
**Version history:**
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

### Examples

TODO

---

## `PartialAccountWithAvatar` entity {#PartialAccountWithAvatar}

These are stripped-down versions of [Account]({{< relref "entities/Account" >}}) that only contain what is necessary to display a list of avatars, as well as a few other useful properties. The aim is to cut back on expensive server-side serialization and reduce the network payload size of notification groups.

### Attributes

#### `id`

**Description:** The account id.\
**Type:** String (cast from an integer, but not guaranteed to be a number)\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `acct`

**Description:** The Webfinger account URI. Equal to `username` for local users, or `username@domain` for remote users.\
**Type:** String\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `url`

**Description:** The location of the user's profile page.\
**Type:** String (URL)\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `avatar`

**Description:** An image icon that is shown next to statuses and in the profile.\
**Type:** String (URL)\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `avatar_static`

**Description:** A static version of the avatar. Equal to `avatar` if its value is a static image; different if `avatar` is an animated GIF.\
**Type:** String (URL)\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `locked`

**Description:** Whether the account manually approves follow requests.\
**Type:** Boolean\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `bot`

**Description:** Indicates that the account may perform automated actions, may not be monitored, or identifies as a robot.\
**Type:** Boolean\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

### Examples

TODO

--

## `NotificationGroup` entity {#NotificationGroup}

### Attributes

#### `group_key`

**Description:** Group key identifying the grouped notifications. Should be treated as an opaque value.\
**Type:** String\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `notifications_count`

**Description:** Total number of individual notifications that are part of this notification group.\
**Type:** Integer\\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `type`

**Description:** The type of event that resulted in the notifications in this group.\
**Type:** String (Enumerable oneOf)\
`mention` = Someone mentioned you in their status\
`status` = Someone you enabled notifications for has posted a status\
`reblog` = Someone boosted one of your statuses\
`follow` = Someone followed you\
`follow_request` = Someone requested to follow you\
`favourite` = Someone favourited one of your statuses\
`poll` = A poll you have voted in or created has ended\
`update` = A status you interacted with has been edited\
`admin.sign_up` = Someone signed up (optionally sent to admins)\
`admin.report` = A new report has been filed\
`severed_relationships` = Some of your follow relationships have been severed as a result of a moderation or block event\
`moderation_warning` = A moderator has taken action against your account or has sent you a warning\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `most_recent_notification_id`

**Description:** ID of the most recent notification in the group.\
**Type:** String\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `page_min_id` {{%optional%}}

**Description:** ID of the oldest notification from this group represented within the current page. This is only returned when paginating through notification groups. Useful when polling new notifications.\
**Type:** String\
**Version history:**
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `page_max_id` {{%optional%}}

**Description:** ID of the newest notification from this group represented within the current page. This is only returned when paginating through notification groups. Useful when polling new notifications.\
**Type:** String\
**Version history:**
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `latest_page_notification_at` {{%optional%}}

**Description:** Date at which the most recent notification from this group within the current page has been created. This is only returned when paginating through notification groups.\
**Type:** String ([Datetime](/api/datetime-format#datetime))\
**Version history:**
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `sample_account_ids`

**Description:** IDs of some of the accounts who most recently triggered notifications in this group.\
**Type:** Array of String\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `status_id` {{%optional%}}

**Description:** ID of the [Status]({{< relref "entities/Status" >}}) that was the object of the notification. Attached when `type` of the notification is `favourite`, `reblog`, `status`, `mention`, `poll`, or `update`.\
**Type:** String\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `report` {{%optional%}}

**Description:** Report that was the object of the notification. Attached when `type` of the notification is `admin.report`.\
**Type:** [Report]({{< relref "entities/Report" >}})\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `event` {{%optional%}}

**Description:** Summary of the event that caused follow relationships to be severed. Attached when `type` of the notification is `severed_relationships`.\
**Type:** [RelationshipSeveranceEvent]({{< relref "entities/RelationshipSeveranceEvent" >}})\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

#### `moderation_warning` {{%optional%}}

**Description:** Moderation warning that caused the notification. Attached when `type` of the notification is `moderation_warning`.\
**Type:** [AccountWarning]({{< relref "entities/AccountWarning" >}})\
**Version history:**\
4.3.0-beta.1 - added\
4.3.0-beta.2 - deprecated

### Examples

TODO

---

## See also

{{< page-relref ref="methods/grouped_notifications" caption="Finalized grouped notifications API methods" >}}

{{< page-relref ref="methods/notifications" caption="Individual notification API methods" >}}

{{< caption-link url="https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/blob/main/app/controllers/api/v2_alpha/notifications_controller.rb" caption="app/controllers/api/v2_alpha/notifications_controller.rb" >}}