What's Missing in Standard Novu Architecture
Novu creates user sessions, but lacks the infrastructure to detect when users first achieve value in your application without custom implementation.
Standard Novu Flow vs Optimized Skene Flow
User signs up via authentication
User record created in your database
No automatic trigger - manual follow-up required
Watch your database 'users' table for new signups using standard API
Detect when user completes first key action (e.g., inviting their first team member) using your database queries
Trigger activation email sequence via Resend with personalized onboarding
Track activation completion and send milestone emails
Visual comparison of the flows:
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How Skene Fixes This
The Skene setup for Novu watches your database events and triggers activation workflows when users hit key milestones. It uses standard API to send personalized onboarding sequences that guide users to their first value moment.
Implementation Comparison
Using Skene Infrastructure
Install via Prompt
@task: Initialize Skene.
@action: Analyze my local code, validating subscription via `npx skene login`, and generate `skene.config.ts` to implement the Email Engagement pattern for Novu.Copy Skene Prompt for Cursor
Generated skene.config.ts
// skene.config.ts - The Automated Way
import { defineLoop } from '@skene/sdk';
export default defineLoop({
type: 'activation',
opinion: 'Detect when users complete their first key action and trigger personalized onboarding',
steps: [
{
trigger: {
type: 'database',
table: 'users',
event: 'insert'
},
condition: {
type: 'query',
query: `SELECT * FROM user_actions WHERE user_id = $1 AND action_type = 'first_project_created'`,
timeout: '5m'
},
action: {
type: 'email',
provider: 'resend',
template: 'activation_welcome',
personalization: {
name: '{{user.name}}',
activationLink: '{{user.activation_link}}'
}
}
}
],
recovery: {
retries: 3,
backoff: 'exponential'
}
});