CloudOps Documentation
Integrations
Monitoring & Alerting Integrations
AWS SNS
AWS SNS Setup
Alert Webhook

Alert Webhook

Overview

To forward AWS CloudWatch Alarms to CloudOps, create an SNS Topic, register the CloudOps webhook URL as a Subscription, and set the Topic as the notification target for your CloudWatch Alarm.

You will need:

  • CloudOps webhook URL — the endpoint that CloudOps issues when you register an AWS SNS webhook source. Obtain it first by following Integrate AWS SNS to CloudOps.
  • AWS console permission to create SNS Topics, Subscriptions, and CloudWatch Alarms.

The setup follows this order:

  1. Create an SNS Topic
  2. Create an SNS Subscription (connect CloudOps webhook URL)
  3. Create a CloudWatch Alarm and link it to the SNS Topic
  4. Test the integration

1. Create an SNS Topic

Navigate to SNS in the AWS Console

Log in to the AWS Console , type SNS in the search bar, and navigate to Simple Notification Service.

Create a Topic

Click [Topics] in the left menu, then click [Create topic].

  • Type: Select Standard (FIFO does not support HTTPS subscriptions)
  • Name: Enter a recognizable name (e.g., cloudops-alarm-topic)

Leave the remaining settings at their defaults and click [Create topic].

2. Create an SNS Subscription

Register the CloudOps webhook URL as a subscription to the Topic.

Create Subscription

On the Topic detail page, click [Create subscription].

Configure the Subscription

  • Protocol: Select HTTPS
  • Endpoint: Paste the Webhook URL issued by CloudOps.

Click [Create subscription].

Subscription Confirmation

SNS sends a SubscriptionConfirmation request to the registered endpoint. CloudOps handles the confirmation automatically.

Verify that the Status changes to Confirmed in the Subscription list.

⚠️
If the Status remains PendingConfirmation, verify that the CloudOps webhook URL is correct. If incorrect, delete the Subscription and create a new one.

3. Create a CloudWatch Alarm

Configure a CloudWatch Alarm to send notifications to the SNS Topic created above when it fires.

Navigate to CloudWatch

Type CloudWatch in the AWS Console search bar to navigate.

Create an Alarm

Click [Alarms > All alarms] in the left menu, then click [Create alarm].

Select a Metric

Click [Select metric] to choose the metric to monitor.

Example:

  • EC2 > Per-Instance Metrics > CPUUtilization
  • Select the target instance and click [Select metric]

Configure Conditions

  • Threshold type: Static
  • Whenever CPUUtilization is…: Select Greater than
  • than…: Enter the threshold value (e.g., 80)

Click [Next].

Configure Notifications

  • Alarm state trigger: Select In alarm
  • Select an SNS topic: Select Select an existing SNS topic
  • Send a notification to…: Select the Topic created above (e.g., cloudops-alarm-topic)

ℹ️
To also send notifications on OK state transitions, click [Add notification] and add an OK trigger to the same Topic. CloudOps will treat this as a RECOVERY event.

Click [Next].

Enter Name and Description

  • Alarm name: Enter a recognizable name (e.g., cpu-high-alarm)
  • Alarm description: Optional

Click [Next] → [Create alarm] to complete.

4. Test the Integration

Force the Alarm to Fire

To immediately test the created Alarm, force a state change using the AWS CLI:

aws cloudwatch set-alarm-state \
  --alarm-name "cpu-high-alarm" \
  --state-value ALARM \
  --state-reason "CloudOps integration test"

Verify on CloudOps

Check that the Requests (24h) count increases on the registered webhook source in the CloudOps console.

If the event does not arrive:

  • Confirm the SNS Subscription Status is Confirmed.
  • Confirm the endpoint URL in the SNS Topic’s Subscriptions tab matches the value issued by CloudOps exactly.
  • Confirm the CloudWatch Alarm’s Actions point to the correct SNS Topic.

Restore State

After testing, restore the Alarm state to normal:

aws cloudwatch set-alarm-state \
  --alarm-name "cpu-high-alarm" \
  --state-value OK \
  --state-reason "Test completed"
v1.1.0