Create a new app by clicking New App/Website, or add a platform to an existing app in Settings > Push & In-App. Select the platform(s) you want to configure and click Next: Configure Your Platform.
Setting up your first OneSignal app, Organization, and channel.
Click Save & Continue after entering your credentials.
3
Save your App ID and install the SDK
Your App ID is displayed on the final screen. Copy and save it — you need it when initializing the SDK. Select your SDK platform, then follow the setup guide.
Save your App ID and invite additional team members.
No, but they’re highly recommended and open source on GitHub. You can integrate OneSignal using only the REST API, but the SDKs simplify the process significantly, especially for handling push notifications across platforms.
Push notifications have platform-specific requirements that the SDKs handle for you, including:
Obtaining push tokens across Android, iOS, Huawei, and web
Managing Subscription status and User opt-in prompts
Displaying and processing push notifications on the client
Apple’s APNs and Google’s FCM use different payload formats. The OneSignal SDK parses custom payloads to display and track messages accurately. Maintaining this manually adds significant complexity. Learn more: Build vs. Buy: What Goes Into Building a Push Notification Platform.
Do I need separate OneSignal apps for iOS and Android?
No. A single OneSignal app supports multiple platforms — iOS, Android, Huawei, Amazon, and web. Configure each platform’s credentials in Settings > Push & In-App and they all share the same app, Users, and segments.
Can devices in China or on Huawei receive push notifications?
If the device has Google Play Services, it receives push through FCM. If the app was downloaded from the Huawei AppGallery (including non-HarmonyOS Huawei devices running Android), it receives push through HMS — set up the Huawei SDK to enable this. OneSignal defaults to FCM for devices that support both HMS and FCM. You can prefer HMS over FCM if needed.
