Channels

A channel is where senders post alerts. The channel decides who receives them: the devices behind it, its subscribers, or both. Senders never need to know which devices those are.

The Channels page lists the channels you can send to or receive. Each channel’s actions menu holds everything you can do with it.

This device

Every installation has a This device channel from the start, with or without an account. It sends only to the device it belongs to, even after you sign in, and its send URLs keep working if you sign in, sign out, or switch accounts.

You can manage its send URLs and heartbeats without an account. It cannot be renamed, shared, subscribed to, or deleted.

Create a channel

Signed in, choose Create channel on the Channels page and give it a Name and a Description of its purpose. You are subscribed to it automatically, so its alerts reach all of your devices right away; see Subscriptions to choose specific devices instead.

Then open Channel settings from the channel’s actions to set:

• General: the name and description.
• Access: Visibility (Private or Public; public channels appear in the public directory after platform approval) and Subscriptions (Disabled, Open, or Approval required).
• End-to-end encryption: see Encrypted alerts.

Send URLs

A send URL lets a sender post alerts to one channel and nothing else. Give each sender its own URL, so you can see which ones are in use and stop one without touching the others. Choose Manage send URLs from the channel’s actions.

• Every channel has a Default send URL. You can regenerate it but not revoke it.
• Create send URL adds another one. Give it a name that says who uses it, for example Deploy script.
• Copy copies a URL again at any time. Only people who can manage the channel can copy its URLs.
• Regenerate replaces a URL with a new one. The old URL stops working immediately; update the sender.
• Revoke turns a URL off for good. Other URLs keep working.

A URL shows as Active, Revoked, or Suspended. Gregor suspends a send URL that keeps sending far past its rate limit; regenerate it after fixing the sender.

Copy send URL in the channel’s actions is a shortcut for copying one of the channel’s URLs.

Who can change a channel

Role	Can do
Owner	Everything, including deleting the channel, adding and removing administrators, and transferring ownership.
Administrator	Edit settings, manage send URLs, heartbeats, and callbacks, review subscribers, and request public listing.
Subscriber	Receive alerts and choose their own delivery devices.

Administrators and ownership transfer are managed in the web console.

A send URL only sends; it gives no right to read or change the channel.

Delete a channel

The owner can choose Delete channel from the channel’s actions. The channel is disabled immediately, and all of its send URLs and heartbeat URLs stop working. Alerts already delivered stay in recipients’ inboxes. This cannot be undone.