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A trigger is a saved notification channel — it stores the destination URL (or email recipients), the message template, and any authentication headers. Once created, you attach a trigger to one or more alert configs. This means you can point a single “Slack #incidents” trigger at dozens of monitors without re-entering the webhook URL each time.

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Create a trigger

1

Open the triggers list

In the Kener admin dashboard, go to Triggers. Click New Trigger.
2

Choose a trigger type

Select one of the four channel types:
TypeDelivers to
webhookAny HTTP endpoint via POST
slackSlack incoming webhook URL
discordDiscord channel webhook URL
emailOne or more email addresses via SMTP or Resend
3

Fill in channel details

  • Name (required) — a label used to identify this trigger in alert configs
  • Description (optional) — free-text note for your team
  • Status — toggle between ACTIVE and INACTIVE to enable/disable delivery without deleting the trigger
For webhook, slack, and discord: enter the destination URL.For email: enter comma-separated recipient addresses in To, and a sender in the format Name <[email protected]> in From.
4

Customise the template (optional)

Every trigger ships with a default template. You can override the message body with your own Mustache template. See variable reference for the full list of available variables.For webhook: you can also add custom HTTP headers (key/value pairs). Default headers sent by Kener are user-agent, accept: application/json, and content-type: application/json. Custom headers override defaults if the key matches.
5

Save and test

Click Create Trigger. Once saved, use the Test Trigger button to send a sample TRIGGERED notification to verify delivery.
The Test Trigger button is only available after the trigger has been saved.

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Trigger meta structure

Internally, each trigger stores its configuration in a trigger_meta JSON field. The shape depends on the type: 
{
  "to": "[email protected], [email protected]",
  "from": "Kener Alerts <[email protected]>",
  "email_subject": "{{alert_name}}",
  "email_body": "<html>...</html>"
}

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Referencing environment secrets

Trigger URLs and bodies support a {{ENV_VARIABLE_NAME}} syntax that resolves environment variables at send time. This keeps secrets out of the database: 
https://hooks.example.com/alert?token={{ENV_WEBHOOK_SECRET}}
Kener scans the URL, headers, and body for {{ENV_...}} patterns and substitutes the value from process.env before sending.

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Alert configs

An alert config defines when to notify — the trigger defines how. After creating triggers, create an alert config to wire them to a monitor.

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Creating an alert config

1

Open the alerts list

Go to Alerts in the admin dashboard. Click Create Alert.
2

Select monitors

Choose one or more monitors this alert applies to. A single alert config can cover multiple monitors.
3

Set the alert type and value

Alert typeValueExample
STATUSDOWN or DEGRADEDFire when monitor is DOWN
LATENCYMilliseconds (positive integer)Fire when latency > 2000 ms
UPTIMEPercentage 0–100Fire when uptime drops below 99%
4

Set thresholds

  • Failure threshold — how many consecutive failures before the alert fires (minimum 1)
  • Success threshold — how many consecutive successes before the alert resolves (minimum 1)
A failure threshold of 3 prevents noisy alerts from transient failures. A success threshold of 2 prevents premature resolution on a single lucky check.
5

Set severity and optional settings

  • Severity — WARNING or CRITICAL
  • Create incident — set to YES to automatically open a Kener incident when this alert fires
  • Description — optional free-text note included in the alert_message variable
6

Attach triggers

Select one or more saved triggers from the list. Only ACTIVE triggers appear. If no triggers exist yet, create them first.
7

Save

Click Create Alert. The alert config is active immediately. You can toggle it on/off from the alerts list without deleting it.

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Alert config fields

FieldTypeValuesDefault
alert_forstringSTATUS, LATENCY, UPTIME—
alert_valuestringDOWN, DEGRADED, or number—
failure_thresholdinteger ≥ 1Any positive integer—
success_thresholdinteger ≥ 1Any positive integer—
severitystringWARNING, CRITICALWARNING
create_incidentstringYES, NONO
is_activestringYES, NOYES
alert_descriptionstringFree textnull

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Alert lifecycle

Monitor check → condition not met  → no action
Monitor check → condition met (1 of N) → counter increments
Monitor check → condition met (N of N) → alert TRIGGERED → notifications sent
Monitor check → condition not met (1 of M) → counter resets
Monitor check → condition resolved (M of M) → alert RESOLVED → notifications sent
While an alert is in TRIGGERED state, Kener does not send duplicate notifications for the same condition. A new notification fires only when the state changes (TRIGGERED → RESOLVED or a new TRIGGERED cycle begins after a prior RESOLVED).

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Deleting a trigger

Deleting a trigger removes it from all alert configs that reference it. You must type the trigger’s name in the confirmation dialog to proceed. Consider setting the trigger status to INACTIVE instead if you want to pause delivery without breaking existing configs.

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