Saved-search email notifications are a mock: sendEmailNotification logs and returns true without sending

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Saved-search email notifications are a mock: sendEmailNotification logs and returns true without sending

Labels / Complexity: Frontend · Medium Complexity — Medium

Problem

src/lib/notificationService.ts sendEmailNotification is documented as a mock:

/**
 * Send email notification (mock implementation)
 */
async sendEmailNotification(email, alert, savedSearch): Promise<boolean> {
  // In a real implementation, this would call an email service API
  logger.info('Sending email notification:', { ... });
  // Simulate API delay
  await this.delay(500);
  // Mock success
  return true;
}

The function is wired into the product: src/hooks/useNotificationChecker.ts calls it (line 43) after checkForNewMatches(searches) finds new properties, so users who save searches are told a notification was sent when no email is ever delivered. checkForNewMatches itself reads saved searches from localStorage (line 163-172), meaning the entire saved-search alert pipeline is local-only and the "email sent" outcome is fabricated. There is no mail service call, no delivery status, and no failure path — the promise resolves true unconditionally.

Root cause

src/lib/notificationService.ts sendEmailNotification (line ~66): log + delay(500) + return true, no transport.

Why this is architecturally hard

1. The delivery contract must be defined. A real implementation needs a mail provider, template, and from-address — a third-party service decision the contributor must make (or gate behind an env-configured provider), plus a defined failure surface (false on error) that callers must handle.
2. Callers assume success. useNotificationChecker.ts treats the return value as delivery; the fix must decide whether failures surface to the user or are retried, and the local-storage-only search source (line 163) means alerts only fire on the device where the search was saved — a separate limitation that interacts with any real mail path.

Acceptance criteria

• sendEmailNotification either sends mail through a real, env-configured transport or returns false with a logged error; no unconditional true.
• A test asserts a transport failure returns false and a success returns true, without sending real mail.
• The mock comment and delay(500) simulation are removed.
• npm run lint and npm test pass.

Out of scope

Syncing saved searches server-side (a separate product decision).

Getting started

Files: src/lib/notificationService.ts, src/hooks/useNotificationChecker.ts. Commands: npm run lint, npm test. Good first files to read: src/lib/notificationService.ts, src/hooks/useNotificationChecker.ts.