iOS App Clips

App Clips let users complete a task quickly without downloading your full app. With Pushwoosh, you can send push notifications to App Clip users — iOS automatically grants 8-hour notification access when the App Clip is opened.

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What you need

• Pushwoosh iOS SDK 7.0.33+
• Xcode 15+
• A separate Pushwoosh application for your App Clip (different bundle ID = separate app)
• A real device for testing (push tokens don’t work on simulator)

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1. Create a Pushwoosh application

Your App Clip has a different bundle ID (e.g. com.yourapp.Clip), so it needs a separate Pushwoosh app with its own APNs key.

1. Go to Pushwoosh Control Panel
2. Create a new application with the App Clip bundle ID
3. Upload your APNs authentication key
4. Copy the Application Code and API Token

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2. Create an App Clip target

1. In Xcode: File → New → Target → App Clip
2. Add Push Notifications capability to the App Clip target

For detailed screenshots of adding capabilities, see the basic integration guide.

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3. Add Pushwoosh frameworks

In the App Clip target’s Build Phases → Link Binary With Libraries, add:

• PushwooshFramework.framework
• PushwooshCore.framework
• PushwooshBridge.framework

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4. Configure Info.plist

<!-- Pushwoosh -->
<key>Pushwoosh_APPID</key>
<string>XXXXX-XXXXX</string>
<key>Pushwoosh_API_TOKEN</key>
<string>YOUR_API_TOKEN</string>

<!-- Ephemeral push (8-hour auto-grant, no dialog) -->
<key>NSAppClip</key>
<dict>
    <key>NSAppClipRequestEphemeralUserNotification</key>
    <true/>
    <key>NSAppClipRequestLocationConfirmation</key>
    <false/>
</dict>

<key>UIBackgroundModes</key>
<array>
    <string>remote-notification</string>
</array>

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5. Initialize the SDK

SwiftUI

import SwiftUI
import PushwooshFramework

class AppClipDelegate: NSObject, UIApplicationDelegate, PWMessagingDelegate {

    func application(_ application: UIApplication,
                     didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]? = nil) -> Bool {
        Pushwoosh.configure.delegate = self
        Pushwoosh.configure.registerForPushNotifications()
        return true
    }

    func application(_ application: UIApplication,
                     didRegisterForRemoteNotificationsWithDeviceToken deviceToken: Data) {
        Pushwoosh.configure.handlePushRegistration(deviceToken)
    }

    func application(_ application: UIApplication,
                     didFailToRegisterForRemoteNotificationsWithError error: Error) {
        Pushwoosh.configure.handlePushRegistrationFailure(error as NSError)
    }

    func application(_ application: UIApplication,
                     didReceiveRemoteNotification userInfo: [AnyHashable: Any],
                     fetchCompletionHandler completionHandler: @escaping (UIBackgroundFetchResult) -> Void) {
        Pushwoosh.configure.handlePushReceived(userInfo)
        completionHandler(.noData)
    }

    func pushwoosh(_ pushwoosh: Pushwoosh, onMessageOpened message: PWMessage) {
        print("Push opened: \(message.payload ?? [:])")
    }
}

@main
struct YourAppClip: App {
    @UIApplicationDelegateAdaptor(AppClipDelegate.self) var appDelegate

    var body: some Scene {
        WindowGroup {
            ContentView()
        }
    }
}

UIKit

import UIKit
import PushwooshFramework

@main
class AppDelegate: UIResponder, UIApplicationDelegate, PWMessagingDelegate {

    func application(_ application: UIApplication,
                     didFinishLaunchingWithOptions launchOptions: [UIApplication.LaunchOptionsKey: Any]?) -> Bool {
        Pushwoosh.configure.delegate = self
        Pushwoosh.configure.registerForPushNotifications()
        return true
    }

    func application(_ application: UIApplication,
                     didRegisterForRemoteNotificationsWithDeviceToken deviceToken: Data) {
        Pushwoosh.configure.handlePushRegistration(deviceToken)
    }

    func application(_ application: UIApplication,
                     didFailToRegisterForRemoteNotificationsWithError error: Error) {
        Pushwoosh.configure.handlePushRegistrationFailure(error as NSError)
    }

    func application(_ application: UIApplication,
                     didReceiveRemoteNotification userInfo: [AnyHashable: Any],
                     fetchCompletionHandler completionHandler: @escaping (UIBackgroundFetchResult) -> Void) {
        Pushwoosh.configure.handlePushReceived(userInfo)
        completionHandler(.noData)
    }

    func pushwoosh(_ pushwoosh: Pushwoosh, onMessageOpened message: PWMessage) {
        print("Push opened: \(message.payload ?? [:])")
    }
}

With ephemeral permissions, iOS grants push access for 8 hours automatically. If you want to use ephemeral mode without showing a permission dialog, call UIApplication.shared.registerForRemoteNotifications() directly instead of Pushwoosh.configure.registerForPushNotifications().

To request permanent push permission (standard dialog), use Pushwoosh.configure.registerForPushNotifications() as shown above.

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Ephemeral push permissions

When a user opens your App Clip, iOS grants push notification access for 8 hours without asking. After 8 hours, the permission expires. The user must reopen the App Clip to get another 8 hours.

To get a push token for 8 hours without showing a permission dialog:

UIApplication.shared.registerForRemoteNotifications()

To get a permanent push token (shows the standard permission dialog):

Pushwoosh.configure.registerForPushNotifications()

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Limitations

Limitation	Details
No rich notifications	App Clips can’t include Notification Service Extension — no images, no Communication Notifications
Size limit	15 MB (iOS 16) / 50 MB (iOS 17+)
8-hour push window	Ephemeral permission expires after 8 hours
No background processing	Silent push has limited functionality
Device ID	identifierForVendor returns zeros — SDK handles this automatically (7.0.33+)

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How it looks

Push notification received in an App Clip with ephemeral permissions