Most “notify Slack on everything” setups die of noise. People mute the channel, then miss the payment failure. AlertHub’s rule is deliberately simple: three levels, and only two of them leave the building.
| Level | Dashboard | Slack, Telegram, Discord, Teams, email dest., Google Chat | WhatsApp Pro | Mobile push |
|---|---|---|---|---|
info | Yes | No | No | No |
warning | Yes | Yes | Yes (quota) | Yes |
critical | Yes | Yes | Yes (quota) | Yes (high priority) |
There is no separate “error” level in the API. Use critical for pages. Older WordPress copy sometimes says “Error”; send critical.
How to choose
Info — history you might search later: successful deploys, every Shopify order on a high-volume shop, cron heartbeats, “user signed up”.
Warning — someone should act soon, but the company is not on fire: low stock, failed test payments, cancelled orders, disk at 85%.
Critical — wake a human: production deploy failed, site down, invoice.payment_failed on a real customer, GitHub Actions on main.
WhatsApp and push inherit the same gate. Burning WhatsApp quota on info is not possible; burning it on every $5 order is, if you mark those warning.
Setup (once)
- Create a project at app.thealerthub.com.
- Connect destinations. Send three test POSTs (
info,warning,critical) from the Ingestion API. - Confirm only the last two hit Telegram/Slack.
Field: ah_level in JSON or query. Default is info if omitted — safe for accidental webhooks.
Pattern 1: Two URLs for the same vendor
Vercel, UptimeRobot, and Shopify can register multiple webhooks. Production error URL with ah_level=critical; success URL with ah_level=info. See Vercel deploys and uptime alerts.
Pattern 2: Filter in n8n / Zapier / Make
Keep the SaaS noisy, then set level in the last hop. n8n IF node, Zapier Filter, Make router. Native Stripe/Shopify URLs cannot branch; use two endpoints or an automation tool.
Pattern 3: WordPress hooks
The plugin lets you pick the level per hook. High-volume woocommerce_new_order → info; woocommerce_order_status_failed → warning. Guide: WooCommerce orders.
Ideas to squeeze more value
- Default new sources to info. Promote to warning after a week of watching the feed.
- Critical is a privilege. If everything is critical, nothing is. Reserve it for customer-facing breakage and money.
- Inbox unread. Warning/critical you already handled should be marked read — inbox & retention.
FAQ
Can I page on info with a destination filter?
Not today. Change the source level or stop sending.
Does email ingest default to info?
{key}@sendalert.thealerthub.com is info. Use {key}@warning… or {key}@critical… to page. Email ingest.
Is error accepted?
Send critical. Unknown values should not be relied on.
Next steps
Send the three-level test, then audit existing webhooks. Pair with Webhook Builder to set ah_level on query URLs.
Related: WhatsApp Pro · mobile push