---
title: "Creating an Alert"
slug: "creating-an-alert"
updated: 2026-07-31T23:54:42Z
published: 2026-07-31T23:54:42Z
canonical: "docs.preset.io/creating-an-alert"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.preset.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Creating an Alert

Alerts and Reports RequirementThe Alerts and Reports functionality is only available for teams on the  [Professional and Enterprise plans](https://preset.io/pricing/?utm_source=Preset-Docs&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=Preset-Docs).

👤 This documentation is intended for Primary Creators and Workspace Admins. Check with your Team Admin for additional access.

## How to Create an Alert

After navigating to the *Alerts & Reports* screen, you'll be taken to the *Alerts* interface by default. To create a new alert, select **+ Alert**.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/4749ddf8-aa05-4f3f-80e1-07a5d2d0f137/Images/Documentation/image-1679076922489.png)

The *Add Alert* window appears.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/4749ddf8-aa05-4f3f-80e1-07a5d2d0f137/Images/Documentation/image-1679077416874.png)

### Define Basic Alert Details

To start, we need to define some basic details for your new alert. In this walkthrough tutorial, we will create an alert that is triggered when there is a failed user logon attempt within the last 24 hours.

Let's start with the horizontal panel across the top of the *Add Alert* window.

- In the **Alert Name** field (required), enter a name for your new alert.
- In the **Owners** field (required), select one or more owners for the alert. Owners have the ability to edit an alert. They are also notified in case of any execution failures.
- In the **Description** (optional) field, enter a short but meaningful description of the alert, to be included on the alert message.

The **Active** toggle switch is automatically enabled. Our alert's Basic Information looks as follows:

![](https://cdn.document360.io/4749ddf8-aa05-4f3f-80e1-07a5d2d0f137/Images/Documentation/image-1681497829439.png)

### Define the Alert Condition

Next, we will move to the *Alert Condition* panel. This area is used to define the event that triggers the activation and notification of the alert.

- In the **Database** field (required), select the database in which the SQL query should be executed.
- In the **SQL Query** field (required), enter a SQL statement that defines the nature of the alert (the metric you want to monitor). In the graphic below, the SQL statement instructs Preset to count the number of failed logon attempts.
- In the **Trigger Alert If...** field (required), define the condition and, in the **Value** field (required), enter the associated value of the condition. In the example shown, the alert is triggered when there is a value that is greater than 0 (i.e., a failed logon attempt happened):![](https://cdn.document360.io/4749ddf8-aa05-4f3f-80e1-07a5d2d0f137/Images/Documentation/image-1679077211817.png)

### Define the Alert Condition Schedule

This panel is used to define the frequency at which the data is checked to see if the defined condition has been met.

**Specify Time** The first schedule option enables you to specify a highly granular schedule based on your specific requirements. Data can be checked every minute, hour, day, week, month, or year, The day, week, month, and year options all allow you to define a schedule down to the hour & minute granularity.

**Check or Enter CRON** After setting a schedule, the subsequent **CRON** field will automatically populate with an equivalent CRON expression that represents your defined schedule.

Alternatively, you can also directly enter a [CRON](https://crontab.guru/) expression by selecting the secondary radio button and entering the expression in the **CRON Schedule** field.

**Select Timezone** In the **Timezone** field, select the drop-down menu and choose your timezone.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/4749ddf8-aa05-4f3f-80e1-07a5d2d0f137/Images/Documentation/image-1681497927007.png)

#### Define Schedule Settings

- In the **Log Retention** field (required), enter the number of days that the alert will be stored in the execution log. By default, this is set to 90 days.
- In the **Working Timeout** field (required), enter the number of seconds that the alert job is allowed to run before it results in an automatic timeout. By default, this is set to 3600 seconds.
- In the **Grace Period** field, enter the number of seconds that should pass before the alert can trigger relative to when a previous alert was triggered. If an alert triggers within this period, its status will be On Grace and the alert's evaluation will commence when this period concludes. By default, this is set to 14400 seconds.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/4749ddf8-aa05-4f3f-80e1-07a5d2d0f137/Images/Documentation/image-1681497066030.png)

### Define Message Content

In the **Message Content** section, select either the **Dashboard** or **Chart** radio button. Then, in the drop-down field, select the relevant dashboard or chart — a custom link will be prepared and sent based on the defined notification method (below).

When you select the Dashboard radio button, two optional controls let you narrow what gets sent:

- **Select tab**: pick a single tab of the dashboard from the drop-down. When a tab is selected, the alert captures and sends only that tab instead of the full dashboard. Leave it empty to send the first dashboard tab.
- **Dashboard Filter**: choose an existing dashboard filter from the Select Filter drop-down, then set a Value. The screenshot is generated with that filter applied, so recipients see the dashboard scoped to those values. To apply more than one, select + Apply another dashboard filter.

**Screenshot Width** is an optional parameter which allows you to customize the width (in pixels) for your alert dashboard / chart screenshot. Your custom width can be between 600 and 2400 pixels. The format is the plain number ( ex. `2000 `). Utilizing the custom screenshot width may allow you to show more columns in an wide table chart which would normally be cut off by the typical screenshot width; please note that tables wider than the maximum limit of 2400 pixels will be cut off.

**Ignore cache when generating screenshot** checkbox to produce real-time data (invalidating cache).

![](https://cdn.document360.io/4749ddf8-aa05-4f3f-80e1-07a5d2d0f137/Images/Documentation/image-1785542028995.png)

### Define Notification Method

In the **Notification Method** section, select **Add notification method**. The **Select delivery method** drop-down field appears. Select either **Email** or **Slack**, as needed. On selection, you will be prompted to enter an e-mail address or the channel name. You can also configure it to be sent to both recipient types:

![](https://cdn.document360.io/4749ddf8-aa05-4f3f-80e1-07a5d2d0f137/Images/Documentation/image-1681497987216.png)

Good job, your alert is ready to go! To finalize your alert, select **Add**.