PixoMonitorDocs

Alert Channels

Alert channels determine how you receive notifications when monitors detect issues. PixoMonitor supports 8 different notification channels so you can get alerts wherever works best for your team.

Available Channels

ChannelBest ForSetup Complexity
EmailPersonal notificationsEasy
SlackTeam chat integrationEasy
DiscordDeveloper communitiesEasy
TelegramMobile notificationsMedium
Microsoft TeamsEnterprise teamsEasy
SMSCritical alertsEasy
VoiceUrgent escalationsEasy
WebhooksCustom integrationsMedium

Email

Email is the default notification channel. Alerts are sent directly to your inbox with detailed information about the incident.

Setup

1

Go to Alert Channels

Navigate to Settings → Alert Channels and click Add Channel.

2

Select Email

Choose Email as the channel type.

3

Enter your email address

Enter the email address where you want to receive alerts.

4

Save and test

Click Save, then use the Test button to verify delivery.

Email Content

Alert emails include:

  • Monitor name and URL
  • Current status (DOWN/UP)
  • Error message (if applicable)
  • Response time
  • Timestamp
  • Direct link to the monitor dashboard

Add alerts@pixomonitor.com to your email contacts or safe senders list to ensure alerts don't go to spam.

Slack

Send alerts to Slack channels for team visibility. Alerts appear as rich messages with status indicators and action buttons.

Setup

1

Create a Slack webhook

  1. Go to api.slack.com/apps
  2. Click Create New App → From scratch
  3. Name your app "PixoMonitor" and select your workspace
  4. Go to Incoming Webhooks and enable them
  5. Click Add New Webhook to Workspace
  6. Select the channel for alerts
  7. Copy the webhook URL
2

Add the channel in PixoMonitor

  1. Go to Settings → Alert Channels → Add Channel
  2. Select Slack
  3. Paste your webhook URL
  4. Click Save
3

Test the integration

Click the Test button to send a test alert to your Slack channel.

Slack Message Format

Alerts include:

  • Color-coded status indicator (green/red/yellow)
  • Monitor name and URL
  • Status and error details
  • "View Monitor" button linking to the dashboard

For multiple channels, create separate alert channels in PixoMonitor, each with its own Slack webhook URL.

Discord

Send alerts to Discord servers via webhooks. Perfect for developer communities and gaming-related services.

Setup

1

Create a Discord webhook

  1. Open your Discord server settings
  2. Go to Integrations → Webhooks
  3. Click New Webhook
  4. Name it "PixoMonitor" and select the channel
  5. Click Copy Webhook URL
2

Add the channel in PixoMonitor

  1. Go to Settings → Alert Channels → Add Channel
  2. Select Discord
  3. Paste the webhook URL
  4. Click Save
3

Test the integration

Click the Test button to send a test alert.

Discord Message Format

Alerts appear as embedded messages with:

  • Color-coded embed (red for down, green for up)
  • Monitor name as the title
  • Status, URL, and error fields
  • Timestamp footer

Telegram

Receive alerts via Telegram bot. Great for mobile notifications with instant delivery.

Setup

1

Create a Telegram bot

  1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather
  2. Send /newbot to create a new bot
  3. Follow the prompts to name your bot
  4. Copy the bot token provided
2

Get your chat ID

  1. Start a chat with your new bot
  2. Send any message to the bot
  3. Visit https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOUR_BOT_TOKEN>/getUpdates
  4. Find the chat.id value in the response

For group chats, add the bot to the group first, then check getUpdates for the group chat ID (will be a negative number).

3

Add the channel in PixoMonitor

  1. Go to Settings → Alert Channels → Add Channel
  2. Select Telegram
  3. Enter your bot token and chat ID
  4. Click Save
4

Test the integration

Click the Test button to verify the bot can send messages.

Keep your bot token secret. Anyone with the token can send messages as your bot.

Microsoft Teams

Send alerts to Microsoft Teams channels using Incoming Webhooks.

Setup

1

Create a Teams webhook

  1. Open Microsoft Teams
  2. Navigate to the channel where you want alerts
  3. Click the ... menu → Connectors
  4. Find Incoming Webhook and click Configure
  5. Name it "PixoMonitor" and optionally add an icon
  6. Click Create and copy the webhook URL
2

Add the channel in PixoMonitor

  1. Go to Settings → Alert Channels → Add Channel
  2. Select Microsoft Teams
  3. Paste the webhook URL
  4. Click Save
3

Test the integration

Click the Test button to send a test message to your Teams channel.

Teams Message Format

Alerts appear as Message Cards with:

  • Theme color based on status
  • Activity title with status emoji
  • Facts table with monitor details
  • "View Monitor" action button

SMS

Receive text message alerts on your phone. Ideal for critical alerts that need immediate attention.

Setup

1

Add SMS channel

  1. Go to Settings → Alert Channels → Add Channel
  2. Select SMS
2

Enter your phone number

Enter your phone number in E.164 international format:

+1234567890

Include the country code with a + prefix.

3

Save and verify

Click Save, then use the Test button to verify delivery.

SMS Content

SMS alerts are kept brief (under 160 characters) and include:

  • Monitor name
  • Current status
  • Timestamp

SMS alerts are rate-limited to prevent spam. There's a 5-minute cooldown between SMS alerts for the same monitor.

Voice Calls

For critical alerts, PixoMonitor can call you with a spoken message. The call will repeat the alert details twice.

Setup

1

Add Voice channel

  1. Go to Settings → Alert Channels → Add Channel
  2. Select Voice
2

Enter your phone number

Enter your phone number in E.164 international format:

+1234567890
3

Save

Click Save to enable voice call alerts.

Voice Alert Content

The automated call will say:

"PixoMonitor monitoring alert. Your monitor [name] is currently [status]. [Error details]. Please check your dashboard for details. Repeating: [name] is [status]."

Use voice alerts as a final escalation step in your escalation policy for critical incidents that aren't acknowledged.

Webhooks

Webhooks let you integrate PixoMonitor with any service that accepts HTTP requests. Use webhooks for custom integrations, incident management tools, or automation workflows.

Setup

1

Add Webhook channel

  1. Go to Settings → Alert Channels → Add Channel
  2. Select Webhook
2

Configure the webhook

  • URL — The endpoint to receive alerts
  • Secret — Optional secret for signature verification
3

Save and test

Click Save, then Test to verify connectivity.

Webhook Payload

Webhooks receive a JSON payload:

{
  "event": "monitor.down",
  "monitor": {
    "id": "uuid",
    "name": "My Website",
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "type": "HTTP"
  },
  "alert": {
    "status": "DOWN",
    "error": "Connection timeout",
    "responseTime": null,
    "timestamp": "2026-03-24T12:00:00Z"
  }
}

Event Types

EventDescription
monitor.downMonitor detected a failure
monitor.upMonitor recovered
monitor.anomalyPerformance anomaly detected

Signature Verification

If you provide a secret, PixoMonitor signs payloads with HMAC-SHA256. Verify the signature from the X-Signature header:

const crypto = require('crypto');
 
function verifySignature(payload, signature, secret) {
  const expected = crypto
    .createHmac('sha256', secret)
    .update(JSON.stringify(payload))
    .digest('hex');
  return crypto.timingSafeEqual(
    Buffer.from(signature),
    Buffer.from(expected)
  );
}

Webhook URLs must be publicly accessible. Private/internal IPs (10.x.x.x, 192.168.x.x, localhost) are blocked for security.

Testing Alert Channels

Every alert channel has a Test button to verify it's working correctly.

What Test Alerts Include

Test alerts are clearly marked and include sample data:

  • Test monitor name
  • "DOWN" status
  • Message explaining it's a test
  • Timestamp

Troubleshooting Test Failures

If test alerts fail:

  1. Email — Check spam folder, verify address
  2. Slack/Discord/Teams — Verify webhook URL hasn't been revoked
  3. Telegram — Ensure bot hasn't been blocked
  4. SMS/Voice — Verify phone number format (+1234567890)
  5. Webhooks — Check endpoint returns 2xx, verify firewall rules

Managing Multiple Channels

You can configure multiple alert channels to ensure you never miss an alert:

  • Email + Slack — Personal notification plus team visibility
  • SMS + Voice — Critical alerts during on-call hours
  • Webhook — Integration with incident management tools

Alert Priority with Escalation Policies

Use escalation policies to configure tiered alerting:

  1. Immediate — Slack notification
  2. 5 minutes — SMS to on-call engineer
  3. 15 minutes — Voice call if not acknowledged

Test all your alert channels regularly, especially before relying on them for critical production services.

Best Practices

  1. Use multiple channels — Don't rely on a single notification method
  2. Test after setup — Always verify channels work before going live
  3. Configure escalation — Set up tiered alerts for critical services
  4. Keep credentials secure — Treat webhook secrets like passwords
  5. Monitor for spam — Configure appropriate cooldown periods
  6. Review regularly — Ensure channels still work and reach the right people