notifications

name	notifications
description	Use when the user wants to set up, list, update, or troubleshoot notification destinations (Slack, Email, Microsoft Teams, ServiceNow, webhooks, Zapier). Trigger phrases include "add a Slack channel", "set up email alerts to ops@", "why is the Teams channel failing", "list our notification channels", "change the webhook URL", "delete the Zapier integration".

Region: If more than one squaredup-* server is connected, ask the user which one they mean before running any tools, then use that same server for every SquaredUp tool call in the task.

Managing notification channels

Notification channels are the destinations where SquaredUp delivers alerts - Slack, Email, Microsoft Teams, ServiceNow, generic webhooks, Zapier. Each channel is a configured endpoint plus its delivery credentials. A channel by itself doesn't deliver anything; it gets attached to monitors or rules which decide when to fire.

This skill is for managing the channels themselves - adding, removing, updating, troubleshooting. Wiring a channel to a specific monitor is a separate concern - use the alerting_rule_* tools (see the alerting skill).

Tool map

Tool	What it does
channel_list	List all channels in the tenant - id, displayName, type, enabled, and a failed flag.
channel_get	Full read of one channel, including its config and status.
channel_create	Create a new channel. Requires displayName, channelType, and a config matching the type.
channel_update	Update an existing channel. Partial body supported.
channel_delete	Remove a channel. Any monitor rules pointing at it silently no-op until reconfigured.

Channel types and config shape

channelType is one of (config field names match the backend validator exactly - don't paraphrase them):

• SlackAPI - bot-token Slack. Config: { token, channel }.
• SlackWebHook - incoming-webhook Slack. Config: { url } (the Slack webhook URL - not webhookUrl). Optional queryArgs.
• Teams - Microsoft Teams webhook. Config: { url }. Optional queryArgs.
• Custom - generic JSON webhook. Config: { url, bodyTemplate }. Optional queryArgs. bodyTemplate is a templated JSON body - supports variables like {{name}}, {{newState}}, {{link}}.
• ServiceNow - incident creation. Config: { username, password, url } (instance URL, e.g. https://mycompany.service-now.com/).
• Email - direct delivery. Config: { emailAddresses: string[] } (not recipients).
• Zapier - Zapier catch-hook. No config required.

The backend validates and returns a clear 400 if anything's missing - let the error propagate rather than guessing.

Standard workflow: add a channel

channel_create({
    body: {
        displayName: 'Prod alerts → #ops',
        channelType: 'SlackWebHook',
        config: { url: 'https://hooks.slack.com/services/...' },
    },
});
// → { id: 'channel-...', enabled: true, status: { failed: false, ... } }

enabled defaults to true. status is system-managed - don't set it on create.

Standard workflow: rotate or change config

channel_update({
    channelId: 'channel-abc123',
    body: { config: { url: 'https://hooks.slack.com/services/<new>' } },
});

Partial body is OK - fields you don't include are left alone. The tool auto-includes the existing channel type when only config is changing, so you don't need to fetch and re-send it.

Standard workflow: diagnose a failing channel

If channel_list shows failed: true, channel_get returns status with failed, failureDate, and failureReason. Surface failureReason verbatim to the user - it's usually enough to point at the fix (expired webhook, revoked Slack token, ServiceNow credential change).

Common mistakes

• Setting status or hidden. Both are platform-managed and aren't part of the channel tools' input - leave them out.
• Setting up a channel and expecting alerts to start. Channels are destinations only. A monitor needs an alerting rule pointing at the channel - create one with alerting_rule_create (see the alerting skill).
• Guessing config fields. Each type has a specific schema. If unsure of values, ask the user rather than improvising.
• Confusing channels with users. Channels deliver to a destination (a Slack channel, a shared inbox). They don't grant a person access - that's permissions.

When to skip this skill

• The user wants to share a dashboard view via a public link - that's sharing.
• The user wants to manage who can see a workspace or dashboard - that's permissions.
• The user wants to know what triggers an alert (the rule, not the destination) - no MCP tool for that yet; clarify the limitation.