Alert rules watch the results of a monitor and fire when a metric crosses a threshold. Each monitor can have multiple alert rules.
Creating an Alert Rule
Open a monitor’s detail page and click Add Alert Rule.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | A descriptive label for this rule |
| Metric | Which value to watch (see below) |
| Condition | Comparison operator: >, <, >=, <=, = |
| Threshold | The numeric value to compare against |
| Consecutive count | How many checks in a row must violate the condition before the rule fires (default: 1). Use this to avoid false alarms from transient blips. |
| Cooldown (minutes) | Minimum time between repeat notifications for the same rule. Prevents alert fatigue. |
| Enabled | Toggle to enable or disable without deleting the rule |
Available Metrics
| Metric | Description | Applicable types |
|---|---|---|
response_time_ms | Round-trip time in milliseconds | All types |
ssl_days_remaining | Days until the SSL certificate expires | SSL |
status_code | HTTP response status code | HTTP |
job_success | 1.0 if the job succeeded, 0.0 if it failed | All types |
Example Rules
Alert if response time is slow:
- Metric:
response_time_ms, Condition:>, Threshold:2000, Consecutive:3 - Fires after 3 checks in a row exceed 2 seconds.
Alert if SSL certificate is expiring:
- Metric:
ssl_days_remaining, Condition:<, Threshold:14 - Fires as soon as fewer than 14 days remain.
Alert if a service goes down:
- Metric:
job_success, Condition:<, Threshold:1, Consecutive:2 - Fires after 2 consecutive failed checks.
Alert on unexpected HTTP status:
- Metric:
status_code, Condition:>, Threshold:399 - Fires immediately on any 4xx or 5xx response.
Rule States
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| OK | No violations, all checks are passing |
| Building | Violations are accumulating but the consecutive count has not been reached yet |
| Firing | Condition met, notifications have been sent |
| Acknowledged | A user has acknowledged the alert, suppressing further notifications until the rule resets |
Alert Rules Dashboard
The Alerts page shows all rules across all monitors with a summary of how many are firing, building, or OK. From here you can acknowledge a firing rule or navigate directly to its parent monitor.
Acknowledging an Alert
When a rule is firing, click Acknowledge on the Alerts page or on the monitor detail. This suppresses further notifications for that rule until it returns to OK and fires again. You can also acknowledge via the link in the notification message.