Slack

Send AnomalyArmor alerts to Slack channels

Send AnomalyArmor alerts directly to your Slack workspace. Get notified about schema changes, freshness violations, and other data events where your team already works.

Alerts arrive as richly formatted Slack Block Kit messages with a color-coded severity bar, structured fields, and a View Details link back to AnomalyArmor.

Example Slack Alert:

Breaking schema changes detected

3 changes in 2 table(s) (2 breaking)

Rule: Production Schema Monitor Tables: orders, customers

Changes:

• orders: Column Removed shipping_status (breaking)
• orders: Column Added tracking_number
• customers: Column Removed legacy_id (breaking)

[View Details]

Why Slack?

Slack is ideal for alerts that need quick team visibility:

• Real-time: Alerts appear instantly in channels
• Contextual: Team can discuss and coordinate in threads
• Actionable: Click through to AnomalyArmor for details
• Flexible: Route different alerts to different channels

Prerequisites

Before you begin:

• Admin access to your Slack workspace (or permission to install apps)
• AnomalyArmor account with alert configuration permissions
• At least one Slack channel where you want to receive alerts

Setup Guide

Step 1: Navigate to Destinations

1. Log in to AnomalyArmor
2. Click Alerts in the left sidebar
3. Select Destinations tab
4. Click Add Destination

You’ll see the Destinations page with a + Add Destination button in the top-right corner.

Step 2: Select Slack

From the destination type list, click Slack.

Step 3: Authorize with Slack

Click Connect to Slack to begin the OAuth flow. Slack will show a standard authorization dialog listing the permissions AnomalyArmor needs:

Permission	Why We Need It
Post to channels	Send alert messages
View channel list	Let you select destination channels
View workspace info	Display workspace name in AnomalyArmor

AnomalyArmor requests only the minimum permissions needed to send alerts. We cannot read your messages, files, or private channels.

Step 4: Select Channels

After authorization, choose which channels can receive alerts:

1. Public channels: Any public channel in your workspace
2. Private channels: Must invite the AnomalyArmor bot first

To use a private channel:

1. Open the private channel in Slack
2. Type /invite @AnomalyArmor
3. The channel will appear in AnomalyArmor’s channel list

Step 5: Name Your Destination

Give the destination a descriptive name:

Examples:
- "Slack - #data-alerts"
- "Production Alerts - Slack"
- "Platform Team Slack"

This name appears when creating alert rules, so make it recognizable.

Step 6: Test the Connection

Click Send Test Alert to verify everything works:

[OK] Test alert sent successfully
  Channel: #data-alerts
  Message: "Test alert from AnomalyArmor"

Check Slack to confirm the message arrived.

Step 7: Save

Click Save to complete the setup. Your Slack destination is now ready to use in alert rules.

Alert Message Format

AnomalyArmor Slack alerts are formatted using Slack’s Block Kit for rich, structured messages. Each alert type displays contextually relevant information.

Schema Change Alerts

Schema change alerts show affected tables, breaking change counts, and detailed change lists:

Breaking schema changes detected in warehouse

5 changes in 2 table(s) (2 breaking)

Field	Value
Rule	Production Schema Monitor
Severity	CRITICAL
Tables	orders, customers
Breaking	2 changes

Changes:

• orders: Column Removed shipping_status (breaking)
• orders: Column Added tracking_number
• customers: Column Removed legacy_id (breaking)

[View Details]

Freshness Violation Alerts

Freshness SLA violation alerts show overdue time, SLA thresholds, and last update times:

Freshness SLA Violation

Data is 4.5 hours overdue

Field	Value
Rule	Sales Freshness
Severity	HIGH
Asset	warehouse.sales
Overdue	4.5 hours (2.3 intervals)
SLA Threshold	2.0 hours
Last Update	2025-12-28 10:30 UTC

[View Details]

Message Components

Component	Description
Color bar	Visual severity indicator (red for critical, orange for high, yellow for medium, blue for low)
Alert title	What happened with summary stats
Context fields	Rule name, severity, and event-specific details
Changes list	Detailed breakdown of changes (schema alerts)
View Details button	Link to view full alert details in AnomalyArmor
Footer	Alert ID and Rule ID for tracing

Multiple Slack Destinations

You can create multiple Slack destinations for different use cases:

Destination	Channel	Use Case
Critical Alerts	#data-incidents	Breaking changes, SLA violations
Schema Changes	#data-changes	All schema drift notifications
Dev/Test Alerts	#data-dev	Non-production events
Team-Specific	#analytics-team	Alerts for specific assets

Routing Example

Production Breaking Changes

• Scope: production database
• Event: Schema change (column removed, table removed)
• Destinations: Slack #data-alerts, PagerDuty (for on-call)

Dev Schema Changes

• Scope: development database
• Event: Any schema change
• Destinations: Slack #data-dev

Best Practices

Channel Selection

Use dedicated alert channels

Don’t send alerts to busy team channels. Create dedicated channels like #data-alerts so alerts don’t get lost in conversation.

Separate by urgency

Route breaking changes to a channel with notifications enabled. Route informational alerts (like new tables) to a quieter channel.

Consider channel membership

Make sure the right people are in the channel. Data engineers should be in #data-alerts, but not necessarily all of #general.

Alert Volume

Too many alerts leads to alert fatigue. If a channel gets 50+ alerts/day, people stop paying attention. Be selective about what triggers Slack notifications.

Tips to reduce noise:

• Start with critical alerts only
• Use email for low-priority events
• Set freshness SLAs with buffer (e.g., 2x expected update time, not too tight)
• Filter out expected changes (dev databases)

Thread Usage

AnomalyArmor posts each alert as a new message. To keep channels clean:

1. Create a thread on the alert to discuss
2. Use reactions (👀 = investigating, ✅ = resolved)
3. @mention teammates who need to see it

Troubleshooting

”Channel not found”

Cause: The channel was deleted, renamed, or AnomalyArmor lost access.

Fix:

1. Verify the channel exists in Slack
2. For private channels, re-invite the AnomalyArmor bot
3. Edit the destination and reselect the channel

”Unable to post message”

Cause: Permission issues or Slack API errors.

Fix:

1. Check that AnomalyArmor app is still installed in Slack
2. Try removing and re-adding the Slack destination
3. Verify your Slack workspace allows third-party apps

Alerts not appearing

Cause: Rule configuration or routing issues.

Fix:

1. Check the alert rule is enabled
2. Verify the rule’s scope matches the event
3. Confirm the Slack destination is selected for the rule
4. Use Send Test Alert to verify the connection

OAuth errors during setup

Cause: Permission or network issues.

Fix:

1. Ensure you have admin permissions in Slack (or can request app installation)
2. Disable browser popup blockers temporarily
3. Try a different browser
4. Contact your Slack workspace admin if apps are restricted

Security

Data Sent to Slack

Alert messages contain:

• Asset names (table/column names)
• Change types (added, removed, modified)
• Timestamps

Alert messages do not contain:

• Actual data values
• Database credentials
• Connection strings
• Query results

Revoking Access

To disconnect AnomalyArmor from Slack:

1. In Slack: Settings → Manage apps → AnomalyArmor → Remove
2. In AnomalyArmor: Delete the Slack destination

Next Steps

Alert Rules

Create rules that route to Slack

Best Practices

Reduce alert fatigue