Slack setup for Elementary CLI

Elementary Slack integration includes sending Slack alerts on failures in dbt tests and models, and the option to distribute the data observability report as a message attachment.

Token vs Webhook

There are two integration options: Token or Webhook. Both methods let you receive alerts from Elementary, but there are several features that are only supported in one of the two. Below is features support comparison table, to help you select the integration method.

If possible, Token is the preferred way. It allows more flexibility and supports more features than Webhook.

Slack integration	Elementary alerts	Elementary report	Multiple channels	Slack workflows
Token	✅	✅	✅	❌
Webhook	✅	❌	❌	✅

Slack integration setup

First create a Slack app:

Create a Slack App

1. Create a Slack app

Go to the Slack page to create apps and create a new app (from scratch). Call it "Elementary" and connect it to the workspace of your choice.

2. Optional - Slack app display

To change the display of the Elementary slack app, scroll down on the Slack app basic information page to the 'Display Information' section:

Here is the Elementary icon for your use (click to download):

Based on the method you selected, create a token or webhook:

Create Slack Token

1. Create a Slack token

Go to the "OAauth & Permissions" page for your newly-created app, and add the following scopes under "Bot Token Scopes":

• channels:join - Join public channels in a workspace
• channels:read - View basic information about public channels in a workspace
• chat:write - Send messages as <app>
• files:write - Upload, edit, and delete files as <app>
• users:read - View people in a workspace
• users:read.email - View email addresses of people in a workspace
• groups:read - View basic information about private channels that your slack app has been added to

2. Install app at your Workspace

At the "OAuth & Permissions" page, press on "Install to Workspace" in order to generate Slack token:

Create Slack Webhook

Create a webhook

Go to the 'Incoming Webhooks' page for your newly-created app and toggle 'Activate Incoming Webhooks' to turn it on. Then click on 'Add New Webhook to Workspace':

Select the channel that the notifications will be posted to:

Lastly, pass the token / webhook to the CLI as a param or in the config.yml file:

Slack config as CLI params

Token:

Use the Slack token when you execute edr monitor using the option -st, --slack-token and -ch, --slack-channel-name:

edr monitor --slack-token <your_slack_token> --slack-channel-name <slack_channel_to_post_at>

Webhook:

Use the webhook URL when you execute edr monitor using the option -s, --slack-webhook:

edr monitor --slack-webhook <your_slack_webhook_url>

Slack config as in config.yml

The CLI reads the Slack integration from a file, copy it into a file called config.yml. Create it here: HOME_DIR/.edr/config.yml

Here is the format in the yml itself:

Token:

config.yml

slack:
  token: <your_slack_token>
  channel_name: <slack_channel_to_post_at>
  group_alerts_by: <"table"> or <"alert">

# optional #
timezone: <optional_timezone_for_timestamps>

Webhook:

config.yml

slack:
  notification_webhook: <your_slack_webhook_url>
  group_alerts_by: <"table"> or <"alert">
  # optional #
  workflows: false

# optional #
timezone: <optional_timezone_for_timestamps>

---

Slack Workflows

If you use Slack Workflows, add the following configuration to your config.yml under the slack tag:

config.yml

slack:
  notification_webhook: <your_slack_webhook_url>
  workflows: true

This flag workflows: true changes the format in which edr sends Slack alerts to the key-value pairs format supported by Slack Workflows. The alert keys can be used to build a Slack workflow.

The alert format is:

{
  "alert_description": str,
  "table_name": str,
  "detected_at": str,
  "type": str,
  "description": str
}

---