Notification Center

The Notification center is where you send, manage, and automate notifications. You can trigger them manually, via the REST API, or automatically based on system events, with optional scheduling.

• Web: Notifications appear inside the ThingsBoard web interface.
• Mobile app: Push notifications via the ThingsBoard Mobile Application. Requires mobile app setup and mobile settings enabled in ThingsBoard.
• SMS: Delivered via SMS. Works without internet access. Requires an SMS provider configured by a System Administrator.
• Email: Delivered to the recipient’s inbox. Requires an outgoing mail server configured by a System Administrator.
• Slack: Messages to Slack users or channels. Requires Slack settings.
• Microsoft Teams: Messages to a Teams channel. Requires a webhook URL.

The Notification center is accessible from the left sidebar and provides the following options:

• Send notification: Send a one-off message manually to selected recipients.
• Inbox: View received notifications.
• Sent: View sent notifications and their delivery status.
• Recipients: Manage who receives notifications.
• Templates: Define notification content and delivery method.
• Rules: Configure triggers for automated notifications.

To send notifications automatically in response to system events, configure three components:

• Recipients: Who receives the notification — platform users, Slack channels, Teams channels, etc.
• Templates: What is sent — message content and delivery method (Web, Email, Slack, etc.).
• Rules: When it is sent — the trigger event and filter conditions that activate the notification.

For end-to-end examples, see the Examples section below.

The Recipients tab lists configured notification recipients.

To add one:

1. Click + Add recipients.
2. Enter a name for the recipients group.
3. Select the notification type:
   • Platform users – send notifications to ThingsBoard users. Select a user filter.
   • Slack – send notifications to a Slack channel or direct message. Requires Slack settings configured first. Select the channel type and specify the conversation.
   • Microsoft Teams – send notifications to a Teams channel. Requires a webhook URL. Enter the webhook URL and channel name.
4. Configure the fields specific to the selected type.
5. Click Add to create the recipients group.

You can also create recipients inline during the send wizard.

The Templates tab manages notification templates. Each template defines a set of delivery methods and message content per method.

1. Click + Add template.
2. Enter a template name and select the required type.
3. Choose one or more delivery methods.
4. Click Next to configure message content.
5. For each selected delivery method, enter the subject (if applicable) and message.
6. (Optional) Configure additional options such as icons, action buttons, or report attachments.
7. Click Add to create the template.

Templates support dynamic parameters wrapped in ${...}, like ${recipientFirstName}, with optional suffixes (upperCase, lowerCase, capitalize). See Notification template parameters for the full reference.

The selected template type must match the rule trigger type. For example, an Alarm rule requires an Alarm template.

Template type	Use case
General	Manual announcements, maintenance windows, broadcasts
Alarm	Device or asset alarms: creation, severity change, clearing
Device activity	Device goes online or offline
Entity action	Device, asset, or user created, updated, or deleted
Alarm comment	Team comments on active alarms
Alarm assignment	Alarm routed to an engineer
Rule engine lifecycle event	Rule chain or node fails to start
Rule node	Custom notifications built inside rule chains
Edge connection	Edge instance goes online or offline
Edge communication failure	Edge instance fails to communicate
Entities limit	Tenant nearing device or asset quota
API usage limit	Tenant nearing API call quota
New platform version	ThingsBoard upgrade available
Exceeded rate limits	API rate limit breached
Task processing failure	Background task processing fails
Resources shortage	Server resource shortage (CPU, RAM, storage)
Integration lifecycle event	Integration start/stop failures

Notification rules automate delivery based on trigger events. Each rule connects a system event with a matching template and recipients.

1. Open the Rules tab and click + Add rule.
2. Provide a rule name and select the required trigger type.
3. Choose an existing template or create a new one.
4. Add one or more recipients and click Next.
5. Configure the trigger-specific settings and click Add to save the rule.

Trigger	Level	When it fires	Default rule name
Alarm	Tenant	Alarm created, acknowledged, cleared, severity changed, or deleted	New alarm, Alarm update
Device activity	Tenant	Device becomes active or inactive	—
Entity action	Tenant	Entity created, updated, or deleted	Device created
Alarm comment	Tenant	Comment added or updated on an alarm	Comment on active alarm
Alarm assignment	Tenant	Alarm assigned or unassigned	Alarm assignment
Rule engine lifecycle event	Tenant	Rule chain or node lifecycle event	Rule node initialization failure
Edge connection	Tenant	Edge connection status changes	Edge connection status change
Edge communication failure	Tenant	Edge communication failure	Edge communication failure
Integration lifecycle event	Tenant	Integration fails to start or stop	Integration start failure
Entities limit	System	Tenant approaching entity count limit	—
API usage limit	System	Tenant reaching API usage threshold	API feature disabled, API feature warning
New platform version	System	New ThingsBoard version released	New platform version
Exceeded rate limits	System	Rate limit exceeded	Per-tenant rate limits exceeded, Per-entity rate limits exceeded
Task processing failure	System	Background task processing fails	Task processing failure
Resources shortage	System	Server resource usage exceeds thresholds	Resources shortage

The Alarm trigger uses an escalation chain instead of a simple recipient list. You configure multiple recipient stages with delays between them:

If a recipient acknowledges or clears the alarm before the next stage’s delay expires, subsequent recipients do not receive the notification. Configure which alarm statuses stop the chain in the Stop escalation on the alarm status become field.

Use Send notification to send a one-off message immediately or at a scheduled time. Suited for announcements, maintenance alerts, and direct messages to specific users.

1. Go to Notification center and click Send notification in the top-right corner.
2. Select recipients and delivery methods. Optionally schedule the notification. Click Next.
3. Enter the subject and message for each delivery method. For Web notifications, optionally add an action button with a dashboard link or URL. Click Next.
4. Review and click Send.

The recipient will receive the notification via the selected method.

The Inbox tab shows all notifications you have received. By default, only unread messages appear. Click All to view the full history.
The bell icon in the top-right corner shows the unread count and provides quick access to recent notifications.

The Sent tab lists all notifications you have sent and their delivery status. Click Notify again to resend, or the delete icon to remove.

The following recipes walk through the complete automated notification setup for specific delivery methods:

• Send Email on Alarm — configure email delivery when a device alarm is created.
• Send SMS on Alarm — send a text message when an alarm is triggered.
• Send Slack Message on Alarm — post a message to a Slack channel on alarm.
• Send Mobile App Notification on Alarm — push a notification to the ThingsBoard mobile app on alarm.
• Send Microsoft Teams Notification on Alarm — post a message to a Teams channel on alarm.