How digests work
A digest uses two kinds of template:- The notifications that get collected are the templates mapped to the subscription topic. You keep sending these normally.
- The digest template is the one you set in Digest settings. It renders the collected notifications as a single message.
DIGESTED status in your logs. Recipients on the Instant schedule receive each notification immediately, with no batching.
Delivery schedules
Delivery schedules are the frequency options recipients can choose from. Add up to four. The first in the list is the default recipients see selected, and you can drag to reorder. Recipients pick their option in the preference center.
Each scheduled option delivers at the time and timezone you set. The time picker shows both the local time and its UTC equivalent, for example
9:00 AM · 17:00 UTC.
Digest template
Select the template that renders the digest. It takes the collected notifications and lays them out as one message. Until you link a template, notifications for this topic send individually instead of being batched. The template receives the collected items grouped by category. Each category is available by its name, with acount and the retained items:
category_name.count for the total and loop over category_name.items to render each event.
Categories
Categories are optional. They separate different kinds of items within one digest, so a single digest can group, for example, comments and mentions under distinct sections. Add up to five. For each category, set a name and a retain setting that controls which items are kept when more arrive than the digest shows:
Each category appears in the digest template under its name as
{ count, items }, as shown above.
Trigger empty
By default, a scheduled digest is skipped when it has collected no items. Turn on Trigger empty to send it anyway at its scheduled time. This is useful when your own system supplies the data that fills the digest, so the send should fire even if Courier collected nothing.Publishing
Digest settings are part of your preference page. Save the settings, then publish your preferences in the editor for the changes to reach recipients.FAQ
How do recipients choose their digest frequency?
How do recipients choose their digest frequency?
They pick from the delivery schedules you configure, in the hosted or embedded preference center. The first schedule in your list is the default they see selected. Choosing Instant opts them out of batching for that topic.
What's the difference between Instant and a digest schedule?
What's the difference between Instant and a digest schedule?
Instant sends each notification immediately, with no batching. A digest schedule collects the topic’s notifications and delivers them together at the time you set.
How does the digest template access the collected items?
How does the digest template access the collected items?
Collected notifications arrive grouped by category. Each category is available by its name with a
count and an items array, so you reference category_name.count and loop over category_name.items in the template.Do I need a template for digests to send?
Do I need a template for digests to send?
Yes. The digest template renders the collected notifications as one message. Until a topic has a digest template linked, its notifications send individually instead of being batched.
What does Trigger empty do?
What does Trigger empty do?
It sends the digest on schedule even when no items were collected. Leave it off to skip empty digests; turn it on when your own system provides the data the digest renders.
Next steps
Preferences Editor
Map templates to the topic and open its digest settings
Design Studio
Build the template that renders the digest
Hosted Preference Center
Where recipients choose their digest schedule
User Preferences API
Read and set a user’s preferences, including their digest schedule