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This guide helps you plan and execute a migration from Novu to Courier. It covers how the two platforms compare, where Courier gives you more flexibility, and a concrete step-by-step plan for moving everything over.

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Mapping Novu Concepts to Courier

NovuCourier
WorkflowsTemplates + Automations
SubscribersUsers / Profiles
TopicsSubscription Topics
IntegrationsIntegrations
DigestDigest
DelayDelay
PreferencesPreferences
InboxInbox
TenantsTenants

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Workflows, Templates, and Automations

Novu workflows combine notification content, channel routing, and orchestration logic (digest, delay, conditions) into a single resource. Courier splits these into two independent pieces, and this is the most meaningful architectural difference between the platforms. Templates own the content layer. You design them visually in the Designer (drag-and-drop blocks for email, SMS, push, and chat) or define them in code with Elemental JSON. Either way, your product team can ship copy changes without an engineering cycle. Automations own the orchestration layer: delays, conditions, branching, digests, and cancellation. An automation’s send node references a template by ID, so the two evolve independently. A PM updates a welcome email while an engineer tunes the onboarding sequence, and they never step on each other.
Novu Step TypeCourier Equivalent
Channel step (email, SMS, push, chat)Send node (references a template)
Digest stepDigest node
Delay stepDelay node
Custom stepFetch Data node or condition logic
Build automations visually in the Automations Designer or define them through the Automations API.

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Subscribers and Users

Novu subscribers are the equivalent of Courier profiles. Both store recipient data: email, phone, push tokens, locale, and custom properties. Courier profiles accept nested JSON natively, so structured data like account tiers, team roles, or feature flags fits naturally. You can create profiles ahead of time through the API, or identify users inline at send time. Pass a user_id that doesn’t exist yet and Courier creates the profile on the fly.

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Topics and Subscription Topics

Novu topics group subscribers for bulk notification delivery. In Courier, the closest equivalent depends on your use case:
  • For notification categories (letting users opt in/out of types of notifications): use Subscription Topics within Preferences
  • For bulk delivery to groups: use Lists or Audiences

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Integrations

Novu and Courier both call provider connections “integrations.” Courier supports 50+ providers across email, SMS, push, chat, and webhooks. You can wire up multiple providers for the same channel type, and Courier fails over between them automatically. If your primary email provider goes down, traffic shifts to the backup without any code changes.

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Digest and Delay

Courier’s Digest node works the same way as Novu’s digest step: collect matching events over a configurable time window, then send a single summary notification. Your template gets access to the full list of digested events for rendering rich summaries. Delay works similarly; specify a duration or a specific timestamp and the automation pauses before continuing to the next step.

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Preferences

Novu’s preference system supports global and per-workflow channel controls. Courier Preferences support the same hierarchy (global, per-topic, per-channel) and enforce them automatically at send time. On top of the API, Courier ships a hosted preference page you can deploy in minutes and embeddable React components for in-app preference centers. No custom UI work required.

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In-App Notifications

Novu’s Inbox component provides in-app notifications. Courier Inbox serves the same purpose with drop-in components for React, iOS, Android, and vanilla JS. Courier Inbox runs on the same delivery pipeline as email, push, and SMS; there’s no separate service to manage. Out of the box you get read/unread state, archiving, per-user history, toast notifications, and tab-based organization.

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Tenants

Tenants in Courier work much like tenants in Novu. You scope branding, preference defaults, and notification feeds to individual customer organizations. Pass a tenant_id at send time and Courier applies per-tenant branding and preferences automatically.

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Why Courier

  • Fully managed infrastructure. No self-hosting to maintain, no bridge endpoints to deploy. Courier handles orchestration, delivery, retries, and scaling.
  • Content and logic stay separate. Templates and automations are independent resources. Your product team updates copy in the Designer while engineers tune workflow timing; neither blocks the other.
  • Visual template designer. Build email, SMS, push, and chat content with drag-and-drop blocks. Preview across channels, personalize with variables, and publish without deploying code.
  • Built-in in-app channel. Courier Inbox works without a third-party provider. Drop in a React, iOS, or Android component and deliver in-app notifications on the same pipeline as email and push.
  • Automatic failover. Configure multiple providers per channel and Courier fails over automatically. If SendGrid goes down, your email still goes out through your backup provider.
  • Hosted preferences out of the box. Ship a user-facing preference center with a single config, or embed React components directly in your app. No custom UI required.
  • 50+ integrations. Email, SMS, push, chat, webhooks, CDPs, and observability tools. Switch providers without changing your send code.
  • Full delivery observability. Message Logs track every message from API request to provider delivery with a detailed timeline, error details, and rendered content inspection.

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Migration Steps

1

Create your Courier workspace

Sign up and create a workspace. Courier gives you separate Test and Production environments with independent API keys, so you can migrate safely without affecting live traffic.
2

Configure integrations

Go to Integrations in your Courier dashboard and connect the same providers you use in Novu (SendGrid, Twilio, FCM, etc.). Each provider maps to a channel type (email, SMS, push, chat). You can configure multiple providers per channel for failover.If you use Novu’s inbox component, enable Courier Inbox; no external provider needed.
3

Recreate templates

Novu workflows contain inline content per channel step. In Courier, extract the content into templates:
  1. Create a new template for each notification type
  2. Add content blocks for each channel (email body, SMS text, push title/body, etc.)
  3. Use {{variable}} syntax for dynamic data; both platforms use the same Handlebars-style approach
  4. Publish the template to make it available for sending
4

Recreate workflows as automations

If your Novu workflows include digest, delay, or conditional logic, recreate them in Automations. You can build automations visually in the Automations Designer or define them programmatically via the Automations API.For simple notification types that don’t need orchestration (no delays, no digests), you can skip automations entirely and send directly via the Send API.
5

Migrate subscriber data

Create user profiles in Courier with the same identifiers you use in Novu. You can create profiles via the Profiles API or inline at send time.
{
  "user_id": "user_123",
  "profile": {
    "email": "user@example.com",
    "phone_number": "+15551234567",
    "custom": {
      "name": "Jane Doe",
      "plan": "enterprise"
    }
  }
}
For bulk migration, use the Bulk API to upsert users in batches.
6

Set up preferences

If you use Novu’s subscriber preferences, recreate your structure in Courier:
  1. Define subscription topics that map to your Novu workflow categories
  2. Configure default channel routing per topic
  3. Migrate subscriber preference selections via the Preferences API
Courier also provides a hosted preference page you can deploy immediately, or React components for embedding preferences in your app.
7

Update your trigger calls

Replace Novu’s workflow trigger calls with Courier’s Send API:
curl -X POST https://api.courier.com/send \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "message": {
      "to": { "user_id": "user_123" },
      "template": "order-confirmation",
      "data": {
        "order_id": "ORD-456",
        "total": "$79.99"
      }
    }
  }'
Courier handles routing, preferences, and failover automatically based on your template and workspace configuration.
8

Test and cut over

  1. Send test messages in your Test environment and verify delivery in Message Logs
  2. Validate that preferences, routing, and template rendering match your Novu setup
  3. Switch your production code to use Courier’s Production API key
  4. Monitor Message Logs and Analytics for delivery confirmation

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API Mapping

OperationNovuCourier
Send a notificationPOST /v1/events/triggerPOST /send
Create/update a subscriberPUT /v1/subscribers/:idPUT /profiles/:id
Get a subscriberGET /v1/subscribers/:idGET /profiles/:id
Set preferencesPATCH /v2/subscribers/:id/preferencesPUT /users/:id/preferences/:topic
Get message statusGET /v1/messages/:idGET /messages/:id
List messagesGET /v1/messagesGET /messages
Manage topicsPOST /v1/topicsPUT /lists/:id
Bulk operationsBulk triggerPOST /bulk

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What’s Next

Quickstart

Send your first notification in under 2 minutes

Template Designer

Build notification content with the visual editor

Automations

Add delays, conditions, digests, and branching to your notification workflows

Preferences

Let users control which notifications they receive