Use Alerts
Describe a condition in plain English, let Orion parse it into a governed threshold check, pick where it notifies you, and confirm what happens when it fires
Time: ~6 minutes
You'll need: A governed reveal for the metric and a workspace AI key so Orion can parse your sentence
Role: Tracer, Weaver, or Luminary
An alert lets you describe a condition in plain English — Orion matches it to a governed reveal and metric, turns it into a structured threshold, and re-checks it once a day. By the end you'll have an active alert and know exactly what it does when the condition is met.
Before you start
- Make sure the metric you want to watch is backed by a governed reveal. Alert values come from reveals only, never raw SQL — if the metric has no reveal, build one in Forge first.
- Confirm the workspace has an Anthropic API key so Orion can parse your sentence (set in Lumen → AI settings).
- Have a role of Tracer or above. See Alerts.
- Decide on the line that genuinely matters — a threshold that fires every day is just noise.
Steps
Open the Set an Alert drawer
Click the Alerts pill in the navigation (the bell-plus icon) to open the Alerts page, then click Create Alert. Alternatively, from an Orion answer that includes a metric, set an alert straight from it — the drawer opens pre-filled with your sentence.
Describe the alert in plain English
In the Describe your alert in plain English field, type the condition, e.g. "notify me when CAC exceeds $50". Then click Parse Alert → (or press Cmd/Ctrl+Enter).
Review what Orion parsed
Orion returns a structured summary — Metric (and the reveal it resolved to), Condition (one of exceeds, drops_below, or changes_by, plus the threshold), and Check (the schedule, which is daily). If it shows a confidence note like "Medium confidence — verify the metric is correct," click Back and reword so it matches the right metric.
Pick where it notifies you
Set the notify channel. The default is in_app (a card in your Action Center); choose slack to also post a trigger to a channel or DM. For Slack delivery the workspace needs a Slack bot token and a valid channel/DM target. Email and in-app updates are covered in Notifications.
Create the alert
Click Create Alert. It is saved as active and will be checked daily, and Celiq runs an immediate value preview so you can see where the metric stands right now.
Confirm it's wired correctly
On the Alerts page, click Test now on the alert. Celiq evaluates the reveal immediately and shows the current value against the threshold, e.g. Current: $38 (safe) or Current: $62 (triggered) — no waiting for the daily batch and no notifications sent.
Result
Your alert shows on the Alerts page with an Active status badge and counts toward Active Alerts (N). When the daily check finds the condition met, you'll see an Action Center entry titled like CAC exceeds $50 with the line Current value is $62. Triggered alert: "notify me when CAC exceeds $50". If you pointed it at Slack, the same trigger posts to your chosen channel or DM.
An alert's actions are Test now, Pause/Resume, and Delete — there is no edit. To change the metric, condition, or threshold, delete the alert and create a new one. Pause instead of delete for a temporary break; a paused alert keeps its history.
Next steps
- Use Signals — let Orion surface unexpected moves you didn't think to watch for.
- Set Up the Weekly Brief — get a recurring Monday summary of the business.
- Signals — how automatic anomaly detection complements your threshold rules.