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This guide walks you through the full Vela setup using the dashboard UI — from creating an app to receiving your first alert.

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Prerequisites

  • You can sign in to the Vela dashboard.
  • You know which team channel or email should receive alerts.
  • You have a sample event payload ready (JSON).
{
  "eventName": "build.failed",
  "severity": "high",
  "service": "api-gateway",
  "environment": "production",
  "errorCode": "DEPLOY_502",
  "message": "Deployment failed after health checks",
  "customerId": "cust_123"
}

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Step 1: Create an App

  1. Open the Dashboard and click Create New App.
  2. Enter an App Name and optionally customize the Slug (auto-generated from the name).
  3. Click Create App.
Create New App modal
  1. On the API key reveal screen, click Copy key and store it in a password manager or secret vault.
  2. Click Open app to continue.
The full API key is only shown once at creation. If you lose it, go to Settings and regenerate.

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Step 2: Define a Schema

Navigate to Schema Builder in the sidebar.
  1. Create or select an event name (e.g. order.placed).
  2. Add fields using the visual editor — set name, type, and whether each field is required.
  3. Optionally add a Description for the event.
  4. Click Update to save.
Schema Builder
The right-hand Preview panel shows the generated JSON schema, so you can verify the shape before saving.
Define schemas before creating notification rules — this makes condition pickers easier and type-safe.

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Step 3: Add Integration Destinations

Navigate to Integrations in the sidebar. Destinations are where alerts get delivered. You must add at least one before creating notification rules.
  1. Click Add destination.
  2. Choose a channel type (Slack, Discord, or Email).
  3. Enter a label and the webhook URL or email address.
  4. Click Save destination.
  5. Click Test to verify delivery.
Integrations page
  1. Channel type: Slack (webhook)
  2. Label: e.g. #incident-alerts
  3. Webhook URL: paste your Slack incoming webhook URL
  4. Save and send a test message
  1. Channel type: Discord (webhook)
  2. Label: e.g. #ops-discord
  3. Webhook URL: paste your Discord webhook URL
  4. Save and send a test message
  1. Channel type: Email
  2. Label: e.g. On-call email
  3. Email: e.g. oncall@company.com
  4. Save and send a test message
Each destination shows a Verified badge once the test succeeds.

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Step 4: Create Notification Rules

Navigate to Notifications in the sidebar. Rules define when and where to send alerts based on incoming events.
  1. Click New Rule.
  2. Enter a Rule Name and select an Event from your saved schemas.
  3. Under Conditions, click Add to define filters (e.g. currency contains USD, amountCents less than 7000).
  4. Under Actions, click Add and pick a destination from your integrations.
  5. Click Save Rule.
Notifications page with rule builder
If you don’t see a destination in the action dropdown, add it first in Integrations, then return here.
Recommended starter rules:
RuleEventConditionAction
High severity build failuresbuild.failedseverity equals highSlack + Email
Production auth failuresauth.failedenvironment equals productionDiscord
Payment failurespayment.failedregion equals us-east-1Slack

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Step 5: Send a Test Event

Use the API key from Step 1 to send your first event: 
curl -X POST https://api.vela.dev/v1/ingest \
  -H "x-api-key: vela_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "event": "build.failed",
    "data": {
      "severity": "high",
      "service": "api-gateway",
      "environment": "production",
      "errorCode": "DEPLOY_502",
      "message": "Deployment failed after health checks"
    },
    "level": "error",
    "customer_id": "cust_123"
  }'
Then verify:
1

Check Event Feed

Navigate to Event Feed in the sidebar. Your event should appear at the top.
2

Check rule triggers

Go to Notifications — the matching rule’s trigger count should increase.
3

Check destinations

Confirm your Slack channel, Discord channel, or email inbox received the alert.

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Step 6: Manage Keys and Secrets

Navigate to Settings in the sidebar.
Settings page with client secrets

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Rotate API Key

Use this when the current API key may be compromised or as part of scheduled rotation.
  1. Scroll to the Danger Zone.
  2. Click Regenerate API Key.
  3. Copy the newly revealed key immediately.
  4. Update all server-side environments and redeploy.
The old key is revoked immediately — any services still using it will fail.

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Create Client Secrets

Client secrets are used for server-to-server management API access.
  1. In the Client Secrets section, enter a label (e.g. Production server).
  2. Click Create client secret.
  3. Copy and store the revealed secret immediately — it is shown only once.

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Default Metadata

The Default Metadata section at the bottom lets you define key-value pairs (e.g. env = production, region = us-east-1) that are automatically attached to all events ingested by this app.

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Troubleshooting

ProblemSolution
No destination in action dropdownAdd a destination in Integrations first, then return to Notifications
Rule saved but no alert sentCheck that event name and condition values exactly match the event payload
API key not visible in SettingsFull key is only shown at creation/rotation — use Regenerate if needed
Webhook test failsVerify the URL format and provider permissions, then retry
Ingest fails after key rotationEnsure all services were updated with the new key and redeployed