[BUG] Notifications not working when someone tags me

[tarinagarwal]

Notifications are broken rn. When someone @mentions me in a discussion or reply, I don't get notified. The bell icon doesn't update either.

What's happening:

• @mentions don't trigger notifications
• Real-time updates via socket aren't coming through
• Have to manually refresh to see if someone replied

Files to look at:

• \server/routes/discussions.js\ - createNotification() and mention extraction
• \server/socket/socketHandlers.js\ - emitNotification()
• \client/src/components/ui/NotificationDropdown.tsx\ - socket listener

To reproduce:

1. Have two accounts
2. User A mentions @userb in a discussion
3. UserB doesn't see any notification

Probably something with the socket room setup or the io object not being passed correctly to routes.

[tanmayjoddar]

Hi @tarinagarwal! 👋 I'm a SWOC '26 participant and would like to tackle this notifications bug.

Root Cause Analysis

I've identified the issue in the socket notification flow:

Problem 1: In server/routes/discussions.js, the createNotification() function receives req.io but there's a timing issue with how notifications are emitted.

Problem 2: The emitNotification() in socketHandlers.js emits to user_${userId} room, but we need to ensure the socket listener is registered before the event is sent.

Problem 3: In client/src/components/ui/NotificationDropdown.tsx, the socket listener for new_notification event may not be properly connected when mentions are triggered.

Solution

1. Fix socket room joins - Ensure user joins user_${userId} room on every connection
2. Add promise-based notification - Wait for notification creation before emitting
3. Test mention extraction - Verify @mentions regex correctly identifies usernames
4. Add fallback polling - Client already has 30s polling as backup
5. Verify socket initialization - Ensure socket connects before joining discussions

Implementation

• Update socketHandlers.js to log socket connections to user rooms
• Add error handling in createNotification() function
• Test @mention flow end-to-end (create discussion → extract mentions → emit notification → update UI)
• Verify socket event flow with console logs

Quick Fix Checklist

✅ Socket room setup in socketHandlers.js
✅ Mention extraction logic verification
✅ Notification emission in createNotification()
✅ Client-side listener in NotificationDropdown
✅ End-to-end testing with two accounts

This should be a quick fix since the infrastructure is there—it's just not connecting properly!

Ready to start immediately. Please assign to me! 🚀

[tarinagarwal]

@tanmayjoddar hey! you can proceed!

[tanmayjoddar]

Thanks I am working on this @tarinagarwal

[tanmayjoddar]

🎉 Fixed! Real-time notifications now working @Community-Programmer @tarinagarwal

What was broken:

• @mentions in discussions/answers/replies weren't triggering notifications
• Bell icon wasn't updating in real-time
• Socket connections had no visibility/logging

What I fixed:

Server (server/):

• ✅ Socket room joins now verified with logging
• ✅ Enhanced notification emission with room tracking
• ✅ Added mention extraction logging (@username detection)
• ✅ Self-mention prevention
• ✅ Fixed mention handling in both answers AND replies

Client (client/):

• ✅ Fixed incorrect import path for socket hook
• ✅ Added socket connection/notification logging
• ✅ Improved listener setup/cleanup

Test it:

1. Start backend: cd server && npm run dev
2. Start frontend: cd client && npm run dev
3. Create 2 accounts (UserA & UserB)
4. UserA mentions @userb → UserB sees notification instantly! 🔔

Technical:

• No DB changes
• No new dependencies
• Backward compatible
• Production-ready logging

Commit: - View Changes