Alerts

Alert System Guide

Set up intelligent alerts to get notified when your metrics cross important thresholds.

Overview

The alert system monitors your metrics and sends notifications when conditions are met. Stay informed about critical changes without constantly checking your dashboard.

Availability: Pro, Scale, and Agency plans only.

Alert Features

• Threshold-based: Trigger when metrics cross specific values
• Multiple channels: In-app, Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams
• Flexible conditions: Greater than, less than, equals, and more
• Time ranges: Monitor over different time periods
• Alert history: View all triggered alerts
• Acknowledgment: Mark alerts as reviewed

Creating an Alert

Step 1: Navigate to Alerts

1. Click Alerts in the sidebar
2. Click New Alert button

Step 2: Configure Alert

Alert Name Give your alert a descriptive name (e.g., “MRR drops below $10k”)

Metric Selection Choose the metric to monitor:

• Select integration (e.g., Stripe)
• Select specific metric (e.g., MRR)

Condition Set the trigger condition:

• Operator: <, >, <=, >=, ==, !=
• Threshold: The value to compare against
• Time Range: Period to evaluate (1h, 24h, 7d, 30d)

Examples:

• MRR < $10,000 over last 24h
• Active Subscriptions > 1,000 over last 1h
• Bounce Rate > 50% over last 7d
• Deployments == 0 over last 24h

Step 3: Configure Notifications

Choose where to receive alerts:

In-App Notifications (always enabled)

• Toast notification in Dashtray
• Notification bell in header
• Alert history page

Slack (optional)

1. Check “Send to Slack”
2. Enter Slack webhook URL
3. Get webhook URL →

Discord (optional)

1. Check “Send to Discord”
2. Enter Discord webhook URL
3. Get webhook URL →

Microsoft Teams (optional)

1. Check “Send to Teams”
2. Enter Teams webhook URL
3. Get webhook URL →

Step 4: Save Alert

1. Review your configuration
2. Click Create Alert
3. Alert is now active and monitoring

Alert Evaluation

How It Works

1. Background job runs every 5 minutes
2. Evaluates all enabled alerts
3. Checks if conditions are met
4. Sends notifications if triggered
5. Logs the alert trigger

Evaluation Logic

Alerts evaluate the latest value within the specified time range:

• 1h: Last value in the past hour
• 24h: Last value in the past 24 hours
• 7d: Last value in the past 7 days
• 30d: Last value in the past 30 days

Example: “MRR < $10,000 over last 24h”

• Checks the most recent MRR value from the last 24 hours
• Triggers if that value is less than $10,000

Notification Frequency

To avoid spam, alerts follow these rules:

• Cooldown period: 1 hour between notifications for the same alert
• Continuous monitoring: Alert continues to evaluate every 5 minutes
• Re-notification: Sends again after cooldown if condition still met

Managing Alerts

Viewing Alerts

1. Click Alerts in the sidebar
2. See all configured alerts with:
   • Alert name and condition
   • Enabled/disabled status
   • Last triggered time
   • Edit and delete buttons

Enabling/Disabling Alerts

Toggle alerts on or off without deleting them:

1. Go to Alerts page
2. Click the toggle switch next to an alert
3. Disabled alerts won’t evaluate or send notifications

Editing Alerts

1. Go to Alerts page
2. Click Edit button on an alert
3. Modify any configuration
4. Click Save Changes

Deleting Alerts

1. Go to Alerts page
2. Click Delete button on an alert
3. Confirm deletion
4. Alert and its history are permanently deleted

Alert History

View all triggered alerts:

1. Click Alerts in the sidebar
2. Click History tab
3. See list of all triggered alerts with:
   • Alert name
   • Triggered time
   • Metric value
   • Threshold
   • Notifications sent
   • Acknowledgment status

Acknowledging Alerts

Mark alerts as reviewed:

1. Go to Alert History
2. Click Acknowledge on an alert
3. Alert is marked as reviewed
4. Helps track which alerts have been addressed

Setting Up Webhooks

Slack Webhook

1. Go to api.slack.com/messaging/webhooks
2. Click Create your Slack app
3. Choose From scratch
4. Name your app (e.g., “Dashtray Alerts”)
5. Select your workspace
6. Click Incoming Webhooks
7. Toggle Activate Incoming Webhooks to On
8. Click Add New Webhook to Workspace
9. Select channel to post to
10. Click Allow
11. Copy the webhook URL (starts with https://hooks.slack.com/)
12. Paste into Dashtray alert configuration

Discord Webhook

1. Open Discord and go to your server
2. Right-click the channel → Edit Channel
3. Click Integrations → Webhooks
4. Click New Webhook
5. Name your webhook (e.g., “Dashtray Alerts”)
6. Select channel
7. Click Copy Webhook URL
8. Paste into Dashtray alert configuration

Microsoft Teams Webhook

1. Open Microsoft Teams
2. Navigate to the channel
3. Click ••• (More options) → Connectors
4. Search for “Incoming Webhook”
5. Click Configure
6. Name your webhook (e.g., “Dashtray Alerts”)
7. Upload an image (optional)
8. Click Create
9. Copy the webhook URL
10. Paste into Dashtray alert configuration

Alert Examples

Revenue Monitoring

Alert: MRR drops below target

• Metric: Stripe MRR
• Condition: < $10,000
• Time Range: 24h
• Notifications: Slack #revenue channel

Alert: Churn rate increases

• Metric: Stripe Churn Rate
• Condition: > 5%
• Time Range: 7d
• Notifications: Slack #customer-success

Traffic Monitoring

Alert: Traffic spike

• Metric: Google Analytics Page Views
• Condition: > 100,000
• Time Range: 1h
• Notifications: Discord #alerts

Alert: Bounce rate too high

• Metric: Plausible Bounce Rate
• Condition: > 70%
• Time Range: 24h
• Notifications: Slack #marketing

Development Monitoring

Alert: No deployments

• Metric: Vercel Deployments
• Condition: == 0
• Time Range: 24h
• Notifications: Slack #engineering

Alert: Build failures

• Metric: Vercel Build Success Rate
• Condition: < 90%
• Time Range: 7d
• Notifications: Discord #dev-ops

Subscription Monitoring

Alert: Active subscriptions milestone

• Metric: Stripe Active Subscriptions
• Condition: > 1,000
• Time Range: 1h
• Notifications: Slack #general (celebrate!)

Best Practices

Alert Configuration

• Be specific: Use clear, descriptive alert names
• Set realistic thresholds: Avoid alert fatigue
• Choose appropriate time ranges: Match your business cycle
• Test alerts: Verify notifications are received

Notification Management

• Use channels wisely: Route alerts to relevant teams
• Avoid over-alerting: Too many alerts = ignored alerts
• Set up escalation: Critical alerts to multiple channels
• Document responses: Note how to respond to each alert

Monitoring Strategy

• Start simple: Begin with a few critical alerts
• Iterate: Add more alerts as you learn
• Review regularly: Disable or adjust noisy alerts
• Track acknowledgments: Ensure alerts are being addressed

Troubleshooting

Alert Not Triggering

1. Check alert status: Ensure alert is enabled
2. Verify condition: Confirm metric meets condition
3. Check time range: Ensure data exists in time range
4. Review evaluation: Alerts check every 5 minutes
5. Check cooldown: 1-hour cooldown between notifications

Notifications Not Received

In-App:

1. Check notification bell in header
2. Verify browser notifications are enabled
3. Check Alert History page

Slack:

1. Verify webhook URL is correct
2. Check Slack channel permissions
3. Test webhook with curl:
   curl -X POST -H 'Content-type: application/json' \
     --data '{"text":"Test from Dashtray"}' \
     YOUR_WEBHOOK_URL
   

Discord:

1. Verify webhook URL is correct
2. Check Discord channel permissions
3. Ensure webhook wasn’t deleted

Teams:

1. Verify webhook URL is correct
2. Check Teams channel permissions
3. Ensure connector is still active

Alert Triggering Too Often

1. Adjust threshold: Make condition less sensitive
2. Increase time range: Use longer evaluation period
3. Disable temporarily: Toggle off while investigating
4. Check data quality: Ensure metric data is accurate

Limitations

MVP Limitations

• No email notifications: Coming in future update
• No SMS notifications: Coming in future update
• No alert groups: Coming in future update
• No custom schedules: Alerts run 24/7
• No alert dependencies: Each alert is independent

Plan Limitations

• Free: No alerts available
• Pro: Unlimited alerts
• Scale/Agency: Unlimited alerts + audit logs

FAQ

Q: How often are alerts checked? A: Every 5 minutes.

Q: Can I get email notifications? A: Not in the MVP. Email notifications coming in a future update.

Q: Can I set up alerts for multiple metrics? A: Each alert monitors one metric. Create multiple alerts for multiple metrics.

Q: Can I schedule alerts (e.g., only during business hours)? A: Not in the MVP. Alert scheduling coming in a future update.

Q: What happens if my webhook URL changes? A: Edit the alert and update the webhook URL.

Q: Can I test an alert before saving? A: Not in the MVP. Test by setting a condition you know will trigger.

Q: How long is alert history retained? A: Based on your plan’s data retention policy (3 days for Free, unlimited for Pro+).

Q: Can I export alert history? A: Not in the MVP. Export functionality coming for Scale+ users.

Need Help?

• Email: [e-mail]
• Webhook Setup Help: See integration-specific documentation above
• Community: Join our Discord for alert configuration tips