Reminders and notifications
How game-day reminder emails work (they go out automatically before each event), plus the browser push players get for chat, partner interest, and mixer rounds.
PickleFriend sends players a game-day reminder email roughly two days before an event, and delivers browser push notifications for chat, booking jobs, partner interest, and mixer round assignments.
Game-day reminder emails
When a player is invited to an event, a reminder email is queued for 56 hours before the event's start time. It goes out automatically; there's nothing to configure.
The email includes the event name, date, time, and location; a list of other confirmed players; a direct link to the player's schedule page; and an unsubscribe link.
Status is checked at send time
The reminder queue runs every few minutes. At send time, PickleFriend checks the player's current RSVP status and sends the reminder only to players who are "in". A player who has dropped out or is still undecided is skipped. A player who dropped out and rejoined before the send time still gets it, because the status that counts is the one at send time. Players who've opted out of event emails are also silently skipped.
When reminders are queued and removed
A reminder is queued for every player who is invited, auto-invited, or added as a guest, whatever their RSVP at that moment, including players auto-signed-in via auto-invite. Changing an RSVP doesn't remove it; the status check happens when it's time to send.
A pending reminder is removed when the player is uninvited, the event is deleted or cancelled, or a ladder cycle transition removes the player from a division event. If the event is rescheduled, the reminder moves with it. Re-inviting a player never creates a duplicate reminder.
Opt-out
Players unsubscribe via the link in any email. Organizers can check a player's email status in the roster.
Browser push notifications
Push notifications reach a player's phone or browser without an app install. The subscription uses the Web Push standard and is tied to the browser, not an account.
Enabling notifications
A bell icon appears in the event detail view on the player's schedule page. Tapping it opens the browser's permission dialog. Once granted, the subscription is saved and alerts arrive even when the tab is closed. The same button turns notifications off.
On the score entry page (/score), a separate toggle covers mixer-related push
alerts.
What triggers a push
| Trigger | Who receives it |
|---|---|
| Player posts a chat message | Players who are "in", on the waitlist or on the partner waitlist, plus anyone who has already posted on that event, and the organizer (the sender is left out) |
| Organizer posts a message | Same audience as player chat |
| New booking job posted | Players who are "in", on the waitlist or on the partner waitlist, plus anyone who has posted on that event, and the organizer |
| Player volunteers for a booking job | The organizer |
| Another player expresses partner interest | The target player |
| Mixer round published | Players assigned to a court ("Round N Starting") |
| Mixer round published (bye) | Sitting-out players ("You have a bye this round") |
| Mixer round republished (missing score) | Players on the affected court |
| Carry-over court still needs a score | Players on that court |
| Player drops out within 24 hours | The organizer, plus players who are "in", on the waitlist or on the partner waitlist |
Partner-interest pushes are rate-limited: the same selection only triggers a push once every 5 minutes, so repeated taps don't flood the recipient.
Ladder players and cross-division delivery
Push subscriptions attach to the player record used when subscribing. Because a ladder player can appear in multiple divisions, PickleFriend expands delivery to sibling-division records that share the same email, so the push reaches the player regardless of which division's event triggered it.
Browsers and devices
iOS Safari requires iOS 16.4 or later and the site saved to the home screen as a web app (PWA). On browsers that don't support push, the bell icon is hidden entirely. If a subscription becomes invalid (say, the player cleared browser data), it's automatically disabled on the next send attempt.
What's next
- Auto-invite: how automatic invitations work, which runs before reminders are ever queued.
- Announcements and chat: post a message to all confirmed players, or manage booking jobs.
- Waitlists: how dropped players affect reminders and who moves in next.