Add a source and send it a signal

Create a source, copy its one-time signal address, point a device or outside system at it, and send a test signal to prove the path works.

In the sidebar, open Critical Alerts, then Setup, then Sources. The page address is /critical-alerts/sources.

A source is the door a signal comes in through. For a webhook source, Nova gives you a signal address. A device, alarm panel or monitoring system sends its details to that address, and Nova turns them into a signal for your rules to match.

Before you start

• Your admin has to give your role permission to manage critical alert sources.
• Have the outside system's settings open. You will paste the address into it, and Nova shows the address only once.

Steps

1. Press New source. The Create source drawer opens.
2. Type a Name. The Key fills in from the name; leave it, because it cannot change after the source is created.
3. Choose the Source type: webhook for a device or outside system, email, SMS, or an event inside Nova.
4. Leave Status as active and Auth mode as Token.
5. If the system should check in on a schedule, type Heartbeat timeout seconds. Nova can then raise an alert when the check-ins stop.
6. Press Create source. Nova opens Source endpoint & tools with the new signal address under POST endpoint.
7. Press Copy new POST endpoint and paste the address into the outside system. Then press I have stored it.

Warning: The address contains a secret. Nova shows it once and cannot show it again. If you lose it, issue a new one: see Rotate or revoke a source address.

What the outside system sends

The outside system sends a message to the address. Nova reads these details from it, and every one is optional:

• an event name (such as freezer_high_temp), which a rule can match on;
• a signal type: open when the problem starts, clear when it is over, heartbeat for a routine check-in;
• a severity: critical, high, warning, info or low;
• a title and a summary, which become the incident's wording.

Anything else the system includes is kept with the signal, so you can read it later under Signals.

Send a test signal

1. On the source's row, press Tools. The Source endpoint & tools drawer opens.
2. Under Manual signal, check Source key, then set Event name, Signal type, Severity, Title and Summary the way the real device would.
3. Press Send test signal. Nova runs the signal through your rules and opens an incident if one matches.

Human trigger on the same drawer makes a signed link a person can open to raise the alert by hand. Fill in the same fields, press Generate human trigger link, then Copy the Preview URL or the Confirm URL.

What you see

• Each row shows the source's status, its type, its authentication mode, and the time of its last signal and last heartbeat.
• Edit opens the source's settings. Tools opens Source endpoint & tools.
• The Filters button narrows the list by Status and Type.

If something looks different

• New source is missing: your role cannot manage sources.
• The drawer reads "No active token hint available": this source has never had an address issued. Press Rotate token to issue one.
• The outside system reports an error: check that it sends to the address exactly as copied, and that it sends a message rather than simply opening the address. Opening the address in a browser does not work.

Open Sources