Notification methods

Route: /notifications-methods

A method defines how messages are sent (SMTP server, Telegram bot token, etc.). Rules only reference an existing method; they do not duplicate channel credentials.

See also: Overview · Notification rules

Types available in the UI

Type	UI status	Notes
Email	Enabled	SMTP + test send
Telegram	Enabled	Bot token + default chat ID + test
WhatsApp	Disabled (coming soon)	—
REST API	Disabled (coming soon)	—
Custom (via script)	Disabled (coming soon)	—

Create a method

1. Open Management → Notification methods.
2. Click Create notification method.
3. Fill in Name, Type, and Status (enabled/disabled toggle).
4. Complete type-specific configuration (see below).
5. Optional: Test notification.
6. Save.

Table actions: edit, bulk enable/disable, view Configuration (raw JSON with masked passwords), delete (requires admin permission on methods).

Email

The Email method delivers alerts to users’ inboxes. Subject and body can be customized further in notification rules using templates.

Configuration fields

Field	Description
SMTP Host	Outbound mail server
SMTP Port	Port (e.g. 587)
Enable SSL	SSL encryption
Use Start TLS	STARTTLS
Username / Password	SMTP credentials
Status	Whether the method is enabled

Setup steps

1. Click Create notification method.
2. Set a name and select Email.
3. Fill SMTP settings.
4. Optional: enter a test email and click Test notification.
5. Save.

Use Test notification to verify delivery before you rely on this method in production.

Telegram

The Telegram method sends alerts via a bot. Suitable for team channels and on-call chat.

Configuration fields

Field	Description
Bot Token	Token from @BotFather
Default chat ID	Default user or channel chat ID

Setup steps

1. Create a bot with @BotFather on Telegram.
2. Copy the bot token into the form.
3. Start a chat with the bot and send a message to obtain the chat ID.
4. Optional: Test notification.
5. Save.

Message configuration (Telegram)

On the method or on a rule, enable Message Configuration to override the default test message:

Option	Description
Message Format	HTML or Markdown (default: HTML)
Use Template	Pick a template
Custom Message	Free-text body with %fieldName% placeholders

When HTML is selected, use Telegram HTML markup — not arbitrary HTML.

Telegram HTML markup

Telegram HTML format uses a custom markup subset, not full HTML. ToBeAlert passes the message to Telegram with parse mode HTML; unsupported tags may be stripped or cause delivery errors.

Tag	Effect
<b>, <strong>	Bold
<i>, <em>	Italic
<u>, <ins>	Underline
<s>, <strike>, <del>	Strikethrough
<tg-spoiler>, <span class="tg-spoiler">	Spoiler
<a href="URL">text</a>	Link
<code>	Inline code
<pre>	Code block
<pre><code class="language-python">	Syntax-highlighted block

Templates and Telegram

Notification templates support rich HTML for email. The template Preview pane renders standard HTML. When the same template is sent through Telegram with Message Format → HTML, only the tags above are honored. For rich email layout and simple Telegram text, maintain separate templates or use Custom Message with Telegram-safe markup.

Example custom message (HTML format):

<b>Alert:</b> %resource% — %event%
<i>Severity:</i> %severity%
<a href="%href%">Open in ToBeAlert</a>

For Markdown format, use Telegram Markdown instead (for example *bold*, _italic_, [link](url)).

WhatsApp, REST API, and Custom

These types appear in the Type dropdown but are not selectable yet. Use Email or Telegram for production setups today.

Best practices

1. Choose channels by urgency — instant messaging for critical alerts; email for less time-sensitive traffic.
2. Avoid overload — limit who receives notifications to reduce alert fatigue.
3. Test during setup and after credential changes.
4. Use fallback methods where possible (e.g. email + Telegram).
5. Reuse one method per environment instead of duplicating SMTP settings on every rule.