Example: Route alerts to Slack

This example shows how to route alert notifications to a Slack workspace using Notification Center.
The workflow uses a connector, a preset, and a router to send alerts to specific Slack channels based on alert priority.

Workflow overview

1. Create a Slack connector: defines where notifications are sent
2. Create a preset: defines how messages appear in Slack
3. Create a router and routing rules: defines which alerts go to Slack
4. Label alerts: ensures alerts match the correct router

Create a Slack connector

1. Go to Integrations, then Notification Center, then Connectors.
2. Select + New connector.
3. Select Slack as the destination type.
4. In Details, enter a connector name and optional description.
5. In Configuration:
   • Integration: Select the Slack integration. Create one if none exists.
   • Channel: Enter a default Slack channel (for example, #infra-alerts).

6. (Optional) Select Advanced, then Dynamic fields, define a dynamic channel.

   Example:

   {% if alertDef.priority == "P1" %}
   critical-alerts
   {% else %}
   general-alerts
   {% endif %}
   

7. Select Send test notification to confirm delivery.

8. Select Create connector.

Create a preset (optional)

If you do not need message customization, use the system preset and skip this section.

To create a custom preset:

1. Go to Integrations, then Notification Center, then Presets.
2. Open the Alerts tab and select Slack.
3. Select + New alert preset.

4. Customize message fields:

   Field	Example
   Title	[{{ alertDef.priority }}] {{ alertDef.name }}
   Description	{{ alertDef.description }}
   Footer	Triggered at {{ alert.timestamp }}

5. Use the Preview panel to review output.

6. (Optional) Use Send test notification to validate with your Slack connector.
7. Select Create preset.

Create a router and routing rule

1. Go to Integrations, then Notification Center, then Routers.
2. Select + New router.
3. In Details, enter a name such as Production Alerts.

4. In Routing labels, add labels that this router matches:

   group:sre
   environment:prod
   

5. Matching alerts appear in the Matching entities panel.

6. After creating the router, add a routing rule:

   • Condition

   alertDef.priority == "P1"
   

   • Destination
     • Connector: Slack – Prod
     • Preset: Slack Critical Alerts
   • (Optional) In Fallback, select a connector for unmatched alerts.
   • Select Create router.

Add labels to alerts

1. Go to Alerts, then Create alert.

2. In Labels, add routing labels that match your router:

   routing.team:sre
   routing.environment:prod
   

3. In Notifications, select Notification Center.

4. Save the alert.

Example result

A triggered alert produces a Slack message similar to:

Title:
[P1] CPU Usage High – Production

Body:
CPU usage for host server-1 exceeded 95%.

Footer:
Triggered at 2025-11-11 10:04 UTC

Next steps

• PagerDuty routing example: Route critical alerts to PagerDuty.
• Dynamic templating reference: Add dynamic channels and message logic.
• Routing rules: Add additional conditions and destinations to refine Slack delivery.