---
title: Notifications
description: The notification methods (sinks) available for alert rules — e-mail, SMS, phone call, Microsoft Teams, and Slack.
---

# Notifications

Every [Alert Rule](handling-alerts) can deliver its alerts through one or more **notification methods**, also called *sinks*. When a rule fires, all attached sinks receive the notification simultaneously.

You configure sinks while creating a new rule or by clicking **Edit** on an existing rule on the [Alerts → Rules]({APP_HOST}/alerts/rules) page.

## In-App Notifications

Regardless of which sinks you configure, every alert is always shown in the [Alerts]({APP_HOST}/alerts) feed inside the application. A badge on the **Alerts** menu item indicates the number of unread alerts.

## Available Notification Methods

### E-Mail

Sends an e-mail message for every new alert event.

- **Setup**: enter an e-mail address when adding the sink.
- **Use case**: a detailed, readable record delivered directly to any inbox.

### SMS

Sends a text message to a mobile phone number for every new alert event.

- **Setup**: enter a phone number (including country code) when adding the sink.
- **Use case**: immediate, lightweight notification when you are away from a computer.

### Phone Call

Places an automated phone call to a number for every new alert event.

- **Setup**: enter a phone number (including country code) when adding the sink.
- **Use case**: situations where a notification must not be missed — e.g. critical monitoring.

### Microsoft Teams

Posts a message to a Microsoft Teams channel via an incoming webhook.

- **Setup**: provide a Teams webhook URL stored in [Options → Secrets]({APP_HOST}/secrets). The application will ask you to select the secret when configuring the sink.
- **Use case**: team-wide visibility directly inside your existing Teams workspace.

### Slack

Posts a message to a Slack channel via an incoming webhook.

- **Setup**: provide a Slack webhook URL stored in [Options → Secrets]({APP_HOST}/secrets). The application will ask you to select the secret when configuring the sink.
- **Use case**: team-wide visibility directly inside your existing Slack workspace.

## Alert Cooldown

Each notification method has an optional **Alert cooldown** setting. The cooldown is a period (in hours) during which no further notifications are sent after an alert has already been delivered. This prevents alert fatigue when a rule fires repeatedly in a short time.

- A cooldown of **0 hours** (the default) means every match triggers a notification.
- Set a higher value to receive at most one notification per cooldown window, regardless of how many matches occur.

## Managing Notification Methods

You can add, edit, or remove sinks at any time from the **Edit** dialog of an existing rule on [Alerts → Rules]({APP_HOST}/alerts/rules):

- Click **Add** to attach a new notification method.
- Click the **Edit** icon next to an existing sink to change its cooldown setting.
- Click the **Remove** (×) icon next to a sink to detach it from the rule.

Changes take effect immediately for subsequent alerts.