> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ilert.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ilert.com/chatops/microsoft-teams/create-alerts-in-microsoft-teams.md).

# Create alerts in Microsoft Teams

Let people raise an ilert alert from a Microsoft Teams channel with @ilert alert — with or without an ilert account.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Install and connect the ilert app first**

An **Admin** or **Account owner** connects the app once, as described in the [Microsoft Teams integration guide](/chatops/microsoft-teams.md).
{% endhint %}

`@ilert alert` raises an ilert alert from the channel it is typed in. There are two ways to set it up:

|                | Who can raise an alert                     | What you configure                                                                                   |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Restricted** | Teams users who also have an ilert account | Nothing beyond connecting the app                                                                    |
| **Open**       | Anyone in the team                         | A Microsoft Teams alert source, which fixes the channels and the escalation policies they can choose |

Both can be in use at once: in a channel covered by a Teams alert source, people with an ilert account still reach their own alert sources through **Advanced settings**.

The command only works in a channel of a team the app is installed in, and the message has to start with the mention. A personal chat with the app answers that commands are not supported there.

## Option 1: Restrict to Teams users with an ilert account

Once the app is connected, anyone whose ilert username or email address matches their Teams email address can type `@ilert alert` in a channel.

Text after the command pre-fills the summary, so `@ilert alert checkout is timing out` starts with that summary. The app posts a card with an **Alert summary** field and a **Continue** button; **Continue** opens a dialog with:

| Field                 |                                                                                                                   |
| --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Alert source**      | Required. Searches the alert sources this user may read, and shows the first 50 matches — there is no second page |
| **Escalation policy** | Optional. Searches the escalation policies this user may read. Left empty, the alert source's own policy is used  |
| **Alert summary**     | Required                                                                                                          |
| **Alert details**     | Optional                                                                                                          |

**Create alert** raises the alert, and the app replies in the thread with a confirmation card that links to it.

Because the search covers only what the person may read in ilert, their permissions carry over from ilert into Teams.

Finding an alert source is not the same as being allowed to raise an alert on it. ilert also checks that the person may create, assign, escalate and add responders to alerts. A **Viewer** can read every alert source, so the search offers them, and the submission is then refused. A **Responder**, **User**, **Admin** or **Account owner** passes.

Nobody without an ilert account is permission-checked at all. Open the command up with [Option 2](#option-2-let-anyone-in-the-team-raise-an-alert) and a colleague with no ilert account can raise alerts that a **Viewer** with an account cannot.

{% hint style="info" %}
The **…** menu on any Teams message has a **Create an alert** action, which opens the same dialog with the message text as the summary and its images attached.
{% endhint %}

## Option 2: Let anyone in the team raise an alert

Colleagues without an ilert account can raise alerts too, from channels you nominate. This needs a dedicated **Microsoft Teams alert source**: it decides which channels the command works in, which escalation policies people can pick, and which priority and alert actions the resulting alerts get.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

## Create a Microsoft Teams alert source

In the sidebar, go to **Alerting** → **Alert sources** and click **Create new alert source**. Pick the **Microsoft Teams** tile and click **Next**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

## Name it and choose who is notified

Give it a name such as *Teams alerts from Support*, assign teams if you use them, and choose the escalation policy that handles alerts from this source. Click **Continue setup**. Leave grouping alone: it has no effect on alerts raised from chat.

ilert saves the alert source and opens its **Microsoft Teams settings** directly — there is no **Create** button in this wizard.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

## Choose the team, the channels, and the escalation policies

On **Microsoft Teams settings**, fill in:

| Field                                            |                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| ------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Team**                                         | The Microsoft Teams team this alert source belongs to                                                                                                                                        |
| **Channels**                                     | The channels where `@ilert alert` works for people without an ilert account. A channel can belong to only one Teams alert source; picking one that is taken shows an error and blocks saving |
| **Escalation policies**                          | What people can choose in the dialog. Leave it empty and the source's own escalation policy is used. Keep it to 10: ilert asks for at most 10 but does not stop you                          |
| **Custom label for escalation policy selection** | The question above the choices. The default is "Please select the team you'd like to alert"                                                                                                  |
| *Display names*                                  | Optional, once policies are chosen: a shorter name per policy to show in Teams, at most 24 characters                                                                                        |

**Dialog preview** shows what the dialog will look like while you edit.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

## Finish the setup

Click **Continue setup**, then **Finish setup** on the general settings page.

For an existing alert source, the same fields live under the **Microsoft Teams settings** tab of its edit page.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

Anyone in those channels can now type `@ilert alert`. After **Continue**, they see your question, the escalation policies you chose as radio buttons, and the summary and details fields.

## What happens when someone submits

* The alert belongs to the alert source that was chosen, or to the Teams alert source of the channel. It takes that source's **priority** and its alert actions — nobody picks a priority in Teams. Grouping does not apply, so every submission creates a new alert.
* The app replies in the thread: "An alert has been created successfully by *@name*", with a card linking to the alert.
* An alert raised by someone with an ilert account is created as that user. An alert raised by anyone else has no creator in ilert; the confirmation in Teams names them.

## FAQ

### "There is no Microsoft Teams alert source configured for this channel in ilert…"

The full message reads: "There is no Microsoft Teams alert source configured for this channel in ilert, which is required to enable alert creation for Microsoft Teams users without an ilert account."

The channel is not listed in any Teams alert source, and the person typing has no ilert account that matches their Teams email address. Either add the channel to a Teams alert source ([Option 2](#option-2-let-anyone-in-the-team-raise-an-alert)), or check that their Teams email address matches their ilert username or email address.

### The app answers "Unknown command"

Commands are matched at the start of the message, and `@ilert on-call` is not one of them — the commands are `help`, `connect`, `disconnect`, `alert`, and `oncall`. Type `@ilert help` to see the list.

### Which escalation policies can people choose?

Someone with an ilert account can search every escalation policy they may read. Everyone else is limited to the policies listed in the channel's Teams alert source — or, if none are listed there, to that source's own escalation policy.

### Can people pick the priority?

No. The alert source decides, exactly as it does for alerts from a monitoring tool. To have different priorities, create more than one Teams alert source and give each its own channels.


---

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