--- title: "Notification channels" description: "Set up where alert notifications go, by email, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, PagerDuty, or a signed webhook, and test each channel." url: "https://support.outpostplatform.com/service-desk/notification-channels/" product: "depot" type: "how-to" status: "draft" ai_summary: "Alerts > Notification channels in the Outpost console. Channel kinds Email, Webhook (JSON body, optional HMAC-SHA256 signature in X-Outpost-Signature, extra headers), Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat (incoming webhook URL), and PagerDuty (Events API v2 routing key). Messages per hour caps each channel. Secrets are write-only. Test sends a message and shows the result." availability: plans: ["home-lab", "essentials", "enterprise", "msp"] permission: "alert:manage" preview: false source: "https://gitlab.com/outpostplatform/docs/-/edit/main/src/content/docs/service-desk/notification-channels.md" license: "CC BY 4.0" --- # Notification channels A notification channel is a destination for alert notifications, such as an email list, a Slack channel, or a PagerDuty service. [Alert rules](/service-desk/alert-rules/) decide which alerts go to which channels. This page shows how to add each kind of channel and test it, so you know notifications arrive before you need them. ## Before you begin - You need `alert:manage`. Every channel page needs it, including reading the list, because a channel's settings are credentials. See [Roles and permissions](/depot/roles-and-permissions/). - For an email channel, outgoing email must be set up. See [Configure outgoing email](/depot/email/). - For Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Google Chat, create an incoming webhook in that service first. For PagerDuty, create a service integration that uses the Events API v2 and copy its routing key. ## Channel kinds | Kind | What you enter | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | **Email** | One or more recipient addresses | Sent through the outgoing email provider in **Settings** > **Email**. Everyone listed gets the same message. | | **Webhook** | **URL**, **Signing secret (optional)**, and **Extra headers (optional)** | Posts a JSON body. See [Receive webhooks](#receive-webhooks). | | **Slack** | **Incoming webhook URL** | Posts to the Slack channel the webhook belongs to. | | **Microsoft Teams** | **Incoming webhook URL** | Posts to the Teams channel the webhook belongs to. | | **Google Chat** | **Incoming webhook URL** | Posts to the Google Chat space the webhook belongs to. | | **PagerDuty** | **Integration routing key** | Triggers a PagerDuty incident. When the rule also sends on clear, the same alert resolves it. | Webhook URLs, signing secrets, headers, and routing keys are stored write-only. The console shows that one is saved but never shows it back. To keep a saved secret when you edit a channel, leave its box empty. ## Add a channel 1. Select **Alerts** > **Notification channels**, then **New channel**. On the MSP plan, open the client first. 2. In **Name**, enter a name your team will recognize in a rule, such as "On-call phone". 3. In **Kind**, choose the kind of channel. 4. Under **Where it goes**, enter the details for that kind: - **Email**: type an address in **Add a recipient** and select **Add**. Repeat for each recipient. - **Webhook**: enter the **URL**. To let the receiver check that a request came from your Outpost, enter a **Signing secret (optional)**. To send headers the receiver needs, such as an authorization header, select **Add header**. - **Slack**, **Microsoft Teams**, or **Google Chat**: paste the **Incoming webhook URL**. - **PagerDuty**: paste the **Integration routing key**. 5. In **Messages per hour**, enter the most messages this channel may send in an hour, or `0` for no limit. Messages beyond the limit are held until the next hour, not dropped. 6. Leave **Enabled** selected. 7. Select **Save channel**. ## Test a channel 1. In the channel list, select **Test** on the channel. 2. Check the **Last result** column. It shows **Test message sent.** or **Test failed.** with the reason. 3. Check that the message arrived where you expected it. Test every channel after you create or change it. A wrong address or URL looks the same as a quiet week until the day nobody is told. ## Receive webhooks {#receive-webhooks} A webhook channel sends an HTTP `POST` with a JSON body, the header `Content-Type: application/json`, and the header `User-Agent: Outpost-Depot`. ```json { "alert_public_id": "", "purpose": "notify", "tier": 0, "severity": "critical", "category": "disk", "title": "", "detail": "", "hostname": "", "client_name": "", "raised_at": "2026-10-12T03:12:00Z", "console_url": "" } ``` | Field | Meaning | | --- | --- | | `alert_public_id` | The alert's ID. It is the same for every message about one alert. | | `purpose` | `notify` for the first message, `escalation` for an escalation step, or `resolve` when the condition cleared. | | `tier` | `0` for the first message, and the step number for an escalation. | | `severity`, `category`, `title`, `detail` | The alert. `detail` is left out when the alert has none. | | `hostname` | The endpoint, left out for an alert that belongs to no endpoint. | | `client_name` | The client the alert belongs to. | | `raised_at` | When the condition first fired, in UTC. | | `console_url` | A link to the alert in the console, when one can be built. | When the channel has a signing secret, the request carries the header `X-Outpost-Signature`. Its value is the HMAC-SHA256 of the raw request body, keyed with the signing secret and written as lowercase hexadecimal. Compute the same value on your side and reject a request whose signature does not match. ## Turn a channel off or delete it - To stop a channel sending without deleting it, select **Edit**, clear **Enabled**, and select **Save channel**. The list shows it as **Disabled**, and the **Switched off** view lists every disabled channel. - Select **Delete** and confirm to remove a channel. Rules that use it stop notifying anybody through it. ## If something goes wrong | Symptom | Cause | Fix | | --- | --- | --- | | **Test failed.** on an email channel | Outgoing email is not set up, or the provider refused the message. | Check [Configure outgoing email](/depot/email/) and send a test from there. | | **Test failed.** on a Slack, Teams, or Google Chat channel | The incoming webhook was deleted or the URL is wrong. | Create a webhook in that service and paste the URL again. | | Test messages arrive, but alerts do not | No enabled rule sends to this channel for that alert. | Check the alert's **Who was told** card and your [alert rules](/service-desk/alert-rules/). | ## Next steps - [Create alert rules](/service-desk/alert-rules/) - [Alerts](/service-desk/alerts/)