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Overview

Send real-time alerts to your Slack workspace channels with rich formatting, including status updates, error details, and quick action buttons.
Slack notifications are included in select plans. Monthly quotas: Free (0), Solo (200), Team (1,000), Stack (5,000). Integration requires Slack workspace admin permissions.

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Setup

Setting up Slack notifications is simple and done per-monitor:

Select Your Monitor

Navigate to the monitor you want to configure

Open Notifications Section

Find the “Notifications” section in your monitor settings

Enable Slack Channel

Check the “Slack” checkbox for Site Down and/or Site Recovery alerts

Configure Slack Channel

Click the settings icon (⚙️) next to Slack to open channel configuration

Select Channel

Choose which Slack channel should receive alerts (e.g., #watchmantower)

Confirm Selection

Click “Confirm Selection” to save your channel preference
Slack notification settings

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Channel Configuration

When you click the settings icon next to Slack, you’ll see:
  • Your Workspace: The connected Slack workspace name and URL
  • Channel Selection: Dropdown to choose from your available channels
  • Preview: See which channel will receive the alerts
Slack channel selection

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What You’ll Receive

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Site Down Alert

When your site goes down, Slack receives: Message: 
🚨 Monitor Down

YourSite.com is DOWN
Status: 500 Internal Server Error
Response Time: Timeout after 30s

Failed Checks: 3/3
Downtime: 5 minutes

🔗 View Incident

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Site Recovery Alert

When your site comes back online: Message: 
✅ Monitor Recovered

YourSite.com is back online

Total Downtime: 12 minutes
Failed Checks: 8

🔗 View Incident Report

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SSL Expiry Warning

Message: 
🔒 SSL Expiring Soon

YourSite.com certificate expires in 7 days

Expiry Date: 2025-11-28
Issuer: Let's Encrypt

⚠️ Renew certificate soon

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Domain Expiry Warning

Message: 
⚠️ Domain Expiring Soon

YourSite.com domain expires in 14 days

Expiry Date: 2025-12-07
Registrar: Namecheap

🔗 Renew domain now

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Slack Features

Rich Formatting

Slack messages include color coding, emojis, and structured layouts

Instant Delivery

Alerts arrive in 2-5 seconds after detection

Channel History

All alerts are searchable in your Slack channel history

Mobile Notifications

Receive alerts on Slack mobile app with push notifications

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Multiple Channels

You can send alerts to different channels for different monitors:
  1. Production Monitoring → #production-alerts
  2. Staging Sites → #staging-alerts
  3. Personal Projects → #my-sites
Each monitor can be configured with its own Slack channel preference.

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Best Practices

Dedicated Alert Channel

Create a dedicated channel like #watchmantower or #monitoring

Enable Notifications

Configure Slack channel to send notifications for all messages

Pin Important Alerts

Pin critical or recurring alerts for team visibility

Use Threads

Reply in threads to discuss incidents without cluttering the channel

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Connecting Your Workspace

To connect a Slack workspace, you need to be a workspace admin or have permission to add apps.

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First-Time Setup

  1. Navigate to any monitor’s detail page
  2. Click the “Notifications” tab
  3. Check the Slack checkbox in the channels section
  4. Click the settings icon (⚙️) next to Slack
  5. Connect your Slack workspace (first-time only)
  6. Select your desired channel from the dropdown
  7. Click “Confirm Selection”
After the first connection, you can directly select channels for other monitors without reconnecting.

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Required Permissions

Watchman Tower needs these Slack permissions:
  • Read channel information: To list available channels
  • Send messages: To post alerts to selected channels
  • Read workspace info: To display workspace name and details

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Troubleshooting

Check these:
  1. Verify Slack checkbox is enabled for the monitor
  2. Ensure channel is selected in settings
  3. Confirm the monitor is active and checking
  4. Check Slack workspace connection in Settings → Integrations
  5. Try sending a test alert
Common causes:
  • Channel is private and Watchman Tower app hasn’t been invited
  • You need to invite @Watchman Tower to private channels
  • Refresh your channel list in integration settings
Solution: In Slack, type /invite @Watchman Tower in the private channel
Steps to fix:
  1. Open the monitor’s notification settings
  2. Click the settings icon (⚙️) next to Slack
  3. Select the correct channel
  4. Click “Confirm Selection”
  5. Verify the change in your monitor settings
If your workspace gets disconnected:
  1. Go to Settings → Integrations → Slack
  2. Click “Reconnect Workspace”
  3. Re-authorize the connection
  4. Your channel selections will be preserved

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Slack vs Other Channels

FeatureSlackEmailPushSMS
CostFreeFreeFreePaid
Delivery Speed2-5 seconds5-30 seconds1-2 seconds5-10 seconds
Detail LevelHighHighMediumLow
Historical Record✅ Channel history✅ Inbox❌❌
Team Visibility✅ All members see❌ Individual❌ Individual❌ Individual
Rich Formatting✅ Markdown✅ HTML✅❌ Text only
Threading✅ Thread replies❌❌❌

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Next Steps

Email Alerts

Configure email notifications

Push Notifications

Get instant mobile alerts

SMS Alerts

Set up text message notifications

Alert Overview

Learn about all notification options