---
title: Foreground Service
description: Display a notification when running an ongoing headless task.
---

Foreground services are an advanced Android concept which allows you to display notifications to your users
when running long lived background tasks. The notification acts like any other notification, however it cannot be removed
by the user and lives for the duration of the service.

<Vimeo id="386254150" caption="Android Foreground Service" />

The service task can continue while the application is in the background, subject to Android and device restrictions.
Once the task completes, the service is stopped and the notification is removed. Examples of when to use a Foreground Service are:

- Capturing on-going information (such as current location for a fitness or delivery app).
- Playing media to the user.
- Displaying important information to the user, such as directions.
- Showing the status of a local device task, such as deleting files.

> Only a single Foreground Service can be running at any one time for an application.

To create a long running task, Notify Kit exposes a `registerForegroundService` method. It should be registered
outside of any React components as early as possible in your code (e.g. within the project `index.js` file).

> The Foreground Service is not persisted between hot reloads.

## Creating a service

Let's create our foreground service which we'll later hook into. The callback we register must be a promise, and is passed
a notification object when called.

```js
import notifee from 'react-native-notify-kit';

notifee.registerForegroundService(notification => {
  return new Promise(() => {
    // Long running task...
  });
});
```

Calling `stopForegroundService()` stops the active service and removes its notification. If no service is active or starting,
the call is a no-op. Duplicate STOP calls are safe, and the library does not cold-start a `ForegroundService` just to stop it.

On Android 12+ (API 31+), a `ForegroundServiceStartNotAllowedException` in the defensive terminal STOP/null path is handled
non-fatally. The unreleased fix for [Issue #81](https://github.com/marcocrupi/react-native-notify-kit/issues/81) also automatically
handles a narrow START case: after process death, Android may retry or redeliver
a START that the new process no longer tracks. If the command carries Android's RETRY/REDELIVERY flags and a valid request
ID, and no foreground state or service runner has been acquired, denial of the initial `startForeground()` promotion is
non-fatal. The library does not treat the denied promotion as successful or start a runner for that command.
It attempts to stop that service instance while preserving other pending STARTs. If they prevent stopping,
it re-evaluates the stop once none remain pending after definite rejection, provided the denied delivery is still current.

Separately, [Issue #82](https://github.com/marcocrupi/react-native-notify-kit/issues/82) handles a qualified initial
tracked START promotion denial on Android 15+ (API 35+). A valid tracked request can reach a new, never-promoted instance
after the FGS budget is exhausted, and Android can deny the actual `startForeground()` call. Only
`ForegroundServiceStartNotAllowedException` within that initial promotion boundary, with the implemented request,
ownership, and generation eligibility checks still valid, is handled non-fatally. Only the denied request is terminalized;
its runner is not started, other pending START obligations are preserved, and denial is not treated as successful promotion.
This does not generalize to every FGS denial. Native diagnostics record `cause=UNKNOWN`; exception message text is not an
authoritative diagnosis of Android's reason.

Other app-requested START failures, unrelated errors, and invalid configurations retain their existing error handling.
Neither recovery bypasses Android's background restrictions or guarantees service survival or restart under Android/OEM
policies. The device can stop the service (e.g. low memory), as can a user force quit from the application settings.

### Attach a notification

To attach a new notification to the service, the `asForegroundService` property on the notification object can be set to
`true`:

```js
import notifee, { AndroidColor } from 'react-native-notify-kit';

notifee.displayNotification({
  title: 'Foreground service',
  body: 'This notification will exist for the lifetime of the service runner',
  android: {
    channelId,
    asForegroundService: true,
    color: AndroidColor.RED,
    colorized: true,
  },
});
```

Running this code will create a foreground service notification which is bound to the runner we registered with
`registerForegroundService` above. As our example never returns the promise, the notification will exist for the lifetime
of the service, subject to Android timeouts and device restrictions.

You may also notice we have provided `color` and `colorized` properties. When setting `colorized` to `true` on a
foreground service notification, the `color` will be used to change the entire background color of the notification,
which is not possible on standard notifications.

### Building a long lived task

A long lived task can use intervals or subscribe to events to update the notification until it completes or you call `stopForegroundService()`, subject to Android timeouts and device restrictions. Stopping the native service does not automatically cancel application-owned JavaScript work.

For example, we could build a task which subscribes to an event handler:

```js
notifee.registerForegroundService(() => {
  return new Promise(() => {
    // Example task subscriber
    onTaskUpdate(async task => {
      if (task.complete) {
        await notifee.stopForegroundService();
      }
    });
  });
});
```

The example code above would show the notification to the user until a new task event with `complete` being true is
sent.

### Updating an existing notification

Foreground notifications behave like any other notification, and can display anything (progress indicators, images etc).
Whilst our service is running, we can also update the current notification to display different content:

```js
notifee.registerForegroundService(notification => {
  return new Promise(() => {
    // Example task subscriber
    onTaskUpdate(async task => {
      if (task.update) {
        notifee.displayNotification({
          id: notification.id,
          body: notification.body,
          android: {
            ...notification.android,
            progress: {
              max: task.update.total,
              current: task.update.current,
            },
          },
        });
      }

      if (task.complete) {
        await notifee.stopForegroundService();
      }
    });
  });
});
```

Above we've updated the callback handler for the `onTaskUpdate` method. Each `task.update` call submits a new progress indicator
position. Repeated `displayNotification()` calls with the same ID update the active foreground-service notification and keep the same service runner.
NotifyKit tracks the latest update whose Android platform call returned normally for re-post and timeout handling; a normal return does not confirm that Android rendered the update. See [Issue #75](https://github.com/marcocrupi/react-native-notify-kit/issues/75).
Only a single foreground-service notification can exist for your application at any one time.

### Handling interactions

Much like other notifications, we can subscribe to [events](/react-native/events) when the user interacts with the
Foreground Service notification. The service task runs in its own context, allowing us to subscribe to events within itself.

For example, to stop the foreground service when a user presses an action, we can subscribe to the event inside of the
task:

```js
import notifee, { EventType } from 'react-native-notify-kit';

// Create the task runner
notifee.registerForegroundService(notification => {
  return new Promise(() => {
    notifee.onForegroundEvent(async ({ type, detail }) => {
      if (type === EventType.ACTION_PRESS && detail.pressAction.id === 'stop') {
        await notifee.stopForegroundService();
      }
    });
  });
});
```

A notification can then be created with a [Quick Action](/react-native/android/interaction#quick-actions) which
triggers the event:

```js
notifee.displayNotification({
  title: 'Foreground Service Notification',
  body: 'Press the Quick Action to stop the service',
  android: {
    channelId,
    actions: [
      {
        title: 'Stop',
        pressAction: {
          id: 'stop',
        },
      },
    ],
  },
});
```

It's important to note, for background events there can only be only a single handler registered at one time. It's recommended to listen to your service events in your application's main [`onBackgroundEvent`](/react-native/events#background-events) callback handler so you can continue to listen to other events outside of the service.

### Specifying foreground service types

On Android 14+ (API level 34+) you **must** declare a `foregroundServiceType` on the library's `ForegroundService` component in your app's `AndroidManifest.xml`, otherwise calling `displayNotification({ android: { asForegroundService: true } })` will throw a `SecurityException` (the library logs an early-abort error with the missing declaration before Android crashes).

> **Breaking change in v9.1.13**: the library previously shipped `android:foregroundServiceType="shortService"` on its own `ForegroundService` component, but that default was not safe to force on every consumer (Google Play policy, 3-minute `shortService` timeout, etc.) and was removed. Each app must now pick the types that match its use case and declare them explicitly. Existing apps upgrading from earlier versions must add this declaration.

```xml
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools">
  <application>
    ...
    <!-- Single service type -->
    <service
      android:name="app.notifee.core.ForegroundService"
      android:foregroundServiceType="location"
      tools:node="merge" />

    <!-- Or, multiple service types combined with | -->
    <service
      android:name="app.notifee.core.ForegroundService"
      android:foregroundServiceType="location|camera|microphone"
      tools:node="merge" />
  </application>
</manifest>
```

The `tools:node="merge"` marker tells the Android manifest merger to add the `foregroundServiceType` attribute to the library's existing `<service>` declaration (which has no `foregroundServiceType` of its own). You can also use the older `tools:replace="android:foregroundServiceType"` — both work.

When you create a foreground service on Android 14+, the OS verifies the app holds the matching runtime permissions for the declared type (for example, `RECORD_AUDIO` for `microphone`). If the permission is missing, the system throws a `SecurityException`. You can also scope the types per-invocation by setting `foregroundServiceTypes` on the notification — this is useful when the app has been granted additional permissions at runtime and you want to update the running service:

```js
import notifee, { AndroidForegroundServiceType } from 'react-native-notify-kit';

notifee.displayNotification({
  title: 'Foreground service',
  body: 'This notification will exist for the lifetime of the service runner',
  android: {
    channelId,
    asForegroundService: true,
    foregroundServiceTypes: [
      AndroidForegroundServiceType.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_TYPE_CAMERA,
      AndroidForegroundServiceType.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_TYPE_MICROPHONE,
    ],
  },
});
```

If no `foregroundServiceTypes` property is provided on the notification, the types are taken from the manifest.

If a new permission is granted while the service is running, posting the same notification (same `id` and `channelId`) with the updated `foregroundServiceTypes` array updates the running service with the new types.

### Android 15+ data sync timeouts

For apps targeting Android 15+ (API 35+), Android limits background `dataSync` foreground execution to a cumulative
6 hours in a 24-hour period. This budget is shared by all services of that type in the application, rather than being a
separate timer for each notification. A new START or process recreation does not automatically reset it. Bringing the app
to the foreground resets the allowance under Android's rules. The effective remaining time is not exposed through a
reliable ordinary public API. `mediaProcessing` has its own separately tracked budget; `shortService` has shorter limits.
See [Foreground service timeouts](https://developer.android.com/develop/background-work/services/fgs/timeout) and
[Android 15 behavior changes](https://developer.android.com/about/versions/15/behavior-changes-15#fgs-changes).

When the budget is exhausted, Android can invoke `onTimeout()` and allows only a few seconds for service teardown.
The application process must be able to execute that handling in time; otherwise Android can crash it with
`RemoteServiceException$ForegroundServiceDidNotStopInTimeException`.

The Android foreground-service timeout path now prioritizes foreground demotion, coordinates conditional service stopping
with concurrent START requests, and protects newer service state from stale timeout cleanup. It uses
`STOP_FOREGROUND_REMOVE` to remove the foreground notification, snapshots the latest valid notification for the event,
and protects runner, cached notification, and ownership state when retiring a foreground lifetime. Duplicate and stale
callbacks are checked against that lifetime before cleanup. Conditional stopping requires current authority and preserves
pending STARTs, including obligations whose acceptance is unknown.

A conditional stop can be refused when later STARTs exist, or deferred when stopping is not authorized. Accepted,
refused/unknown, and failed outcomes are distinct; a normal return from `stopForeground()` is not independent confirmation
from Android's Activity Manager (AMS). Demotion and stop failures remain observable in native diagnostics and are not
converted to success. If a callback's provenance is ambiguous but its type matches the current foreground type, handling
may prioritize demotion to reduce crash risk; this can end a newer foreground lifetime early.

The native timeout handling is hardened when Android delivers the callback and the application process can execute it.
Device-level process suspension may still prevent timely handling. A callback that never executes cannot initiate teardown,
and process survival is not guaranteed under Android/OEM suspension. Issue #82 reports crashes on vivo/iQOO/OnePlus
Android 15/16 and hypothesizes an OEM CPU freeze; that specific cause is unconfirmed. Qualification on those devices under
the original conditions and reproduction of the reported OEM freeze are **NOT_RUN**. The responsive Pixel timeout test
does not establish that these OEM crashes are eliminated.

#### Handling FG_TIMEOUT

`EventType.FG_TIMEOUT = 9` is Android-only. Native handling attempts this event best-effort when it handles a foreground
service timeout and a notification snapshot is available. `EventDetail` can contain `notification`, optional `startId`,
and optional `fgsType`. The API 34 single-parameter callback can report `fgsType = -1` because it supplies no explicit type.

Register foreground and background listeners at the usual application entry points. For example, in `index.js`, before
`AppRegistry.registerComponent`, add this branch to your existing background handler (only one can be registered):

```js
import notifee, { EventType } from 'react-native-notify-kit';

notifee.onBackgroundEvent(async ({ type, detail }) => {
  if (type === EventType.FG_TIMEOUT) {
    console.log('Foreground service timeout', {
      notificationId: detail.notification?.id,
      startId: detail.startId,
      fgsType: detail.fgsType,
    });
    // Signal your application-owned task to stop and checkpoint if appropriate.
    // Do not immediately start another foreground service here.
  }
});
```

Use the same event check in your `onForegroundEvent` listener for foreground delivery and unsubscribe when its component
unmounts. See [Events](/react-native/events) for listener registration and background/headless constraints.
The event is not an AMS teardown acknowledgment, does not guarantee JavaScript task cancellation, and does not authorize a
new START. If the process is suspended or terminated, JavaScript may never run the handler. Delivery is not guaranteed
exactly once in every Android condition.

#### Planning dataSync work

- Make long tasks interruptible and save progress or checkpoints where appropriate; handle cancellation in your own task.
- Plan for bounded foreground execution and coordinate all `dataSync` services sharing the application's budget.
- Do not immediately restart after `FG_TIMEOUT` without considering Android's budget and START restrictions.
- Consider [WorkManager or other appropriate alternatives](https://developer.android.com/develop/background-work/background-tasks/data-transfer-options) for deferrable work. WorkManager is not a guaranteed bypass of FGS limits.
- Account for OEM execution restrictions and battery policies. Select a foreground service type that matches the actual
  work, rather than choosing another type just to avoid a timeout.

### Controlling display timing on Android 12+

Android 12 (API 31) introduced a system-imposed delay of up to 10 seconds before a foreground service notification is displayed, to give short-lived services time to finish before bothering the user. The library overrides this by default so foreground service notifications display **immediately**, matching pre-Android-12 behavior. You can opt out via `foregroundServiceBehavior`:

```js
import notifee, { AndroidForegroundServiceBehavior } from 'react-native-notify-kit';

notifee.displayNotification({
  title: 'Deferred foreground service',
  body: 'Displayed after the platform default delay.',
  android: {
    channelId,
    asForegroundService: true,
    foregroundServiceBehavior: AndroidForegroundServiceBehavior.DEFERRED,
  },
});
```

Values:

- `AndroidForegroundServiceBehavior.IMMEDIATE` — **library default** when `asForegroundService: true`. Displays the notification immediately. Corresponds to `NotificationCompat.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_IMMEDIATE`.
- `AndroidForegroundServiceBehavior.DEFERRED` — restores the Android 12+ deferred behavior (up to 10 s delay). Corresponds to `NotificationCompat.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_DEFERRED`.
- `AndroidForegroundServiceBehavior.DEFAULT` — framework-neutral default. Corresponds to `NotificationCompat.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_DEFAULT`.

The property is ignored when `asForegroundService` is `false` or not set, and has no effect below API 31.

### Warmup (advanced)

For latency-sensitive apps that call `displayNotification({ asForegroundService: true })` very early after process start (e.g. from a launch deeplink), `notifee.prewarmForegroundService()` pre-loads the foreground service classes and warms the `INotificationManager` Binder proxy on a background thread. It's idempotent and safe to call multiple times; on iOS it resolves immediately as a no-op.

```js
import notifee from 'react-native-notify-kit';

// Call early in your app startup — e.g. in index.js or App.tsx
notifee.prewarmForegroundService();
```

Most apps do not need this — the library warms automatically via its `InitProvider` content provider during app startup. The opt-in API is an escape hatch for lazy-loaded libraries, post-splash-screen warmup, or low-end devices where the automatic warmup hasn't completed by the first notification.