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Alerts and on-call

Telegram and phone

Spectate can send alerts to Telegram chats, as text messages (SMS) and as voice calls. In Telegram you acknowledge an alert with a button. In a voice call you press 1. SMS and calls use notification credits. Telegram is free.

Telegram

The Spectate Telegram bot is @SpectateAlertBot. It posts alerts to private chats and to groups.

Connect a Telegram chat

1. In the dashboard, select Alerting → New channel.
2. Under Integration, select Telegram.
3. Optional: enter a Name. The default is Telegram: CHAT NAME.
4. Select Connect Telegram.
5. Select Open Telegram for a private chat, or Add to a group for a group.
6. In Telegram, select Start, or select the group.

You can also send the command that the dashboard shows, /start YOUR_LINK_TOKEN, to the bot. The link works one time and expires after 30 minutes. When the bot gets the link, it creates the channel and replies with a confirmation. The dashboard closes the dialog. Then add the channel to an escalation path.

To move a channel to another chat, open the channel, select Edit, and select Connect a different chat. If Telegram upgrades a group to a supergroup, Spectate moves the channel to the new chat by itself.

Telegram messages

An alert message shows the severity and title, the description, the resource, the source, the URL and the time the alert fired. It has two buttons: Acknowledge and View in Spectate.

When someone acknowledges or resolves the alert, anywhere, Spectate edits the message. The status line changes to, for example, "Acknowledged by Ada" or "Resolved after 14m". When the alert resolves, the bot also replies to the alert message.

Link your Telegram account

The Acknowledge button acts as the Spectate member whose Telegram account pressed it. Link your Telegram account before you use it:

1. In the dashboard, open Account → Profile.
2. Under Telegram, select Link Telegram.
3. In the private chat with the bot, select Start.

One Telegram account links to one Spectate account. If you connect a private chat as a channel, Spectate also links your Telegram account to you, unless one of the two is already linked. To remove the link, select Unlink under Account → Profile → Telegram.

If a Telegram user without a link presses Acknowledge, Telegram shows a message that explains how to link. The alert stays unacknowledged. The linked member's role decides: members, admins, managers and owners can acknowledge, billing members cannot.

SMS

An SMS channel sends a text message to one phone number. Enter the number in international format, for example +31612345678.

The message is the alert title and the source, for example Checkout API is down (source: Uptime). You cannot reply to acknowledge. Acknowledge the alert in the dashboard, in Slack or in Telegram.

Each SMS uses 1 credit. The resolved notification is also an SMS.

Voice calls

A voice channel calls one phone number. Enter the number in international format.

The call goes like this:

1. Spectate says: "This is Spectate. Critical severity alert: TITLE. Press 1 to acknowledge the alert."
2. Spectate waits for a key, says the alert again, and waits again.
3. If you press 1, Spectate acknowledges the alert. It says that the escalation has stopped.
4. If you press no key, Spectate says that the alert was not acknowledged, and ends the call.

If the alert is already acknowledged or resolved when you press 1, Spectate tells you. A call can acknowledge its alert for 2 hours after Spectate places it.

Each call uses 2 credits. A voice channel gets the resolved notification as an SMS, which uses 1 credit.

Who acknowledged

For on-call pages by SMS or voice call, see how Spectate pages a member.

Credits

SMS and voice calls use notification credits:

• One SMS: 1 credit per recipient.
• One voice call: 2 credits per number.
• A test SMS or test call uses credits too.

Spectate takes the credits only after the SMS or call went out. A retry does not use credits again.

Each paid plan includes credits every month: 10 on Starter, 50 on Team and 200 on Business. The trial includes no monthly credits. Buy more in packs of 100 under Billing → SMS and call credits. Bought credits never expire. Owners and billing members can buy credits.

See channels for the details and pricing for the price of a pack.