How to Set Up Alerts and Notifications in Retool

1// Example cron expressions for the Schedule trigger:
2// Every hour at :00:  0 * * * *
3// Daily at 8 AM UTC:  0 8 * * *
4// Weekdays at 9 AM:   0 9 * * 1-5
5// Every 30 minutes:   */30 * * * *
6
7// If using UTC time in cron, adjust for your timezone:
8// 8 AM Eastern (UTC-5) = 1 PM UTC = 0 13 * * *

1-- SQL Query block: checkLowInventory
2-- Returns items where stock_quantity < reorder_level
3SELECT
4  p.id,
5  p.name,
6  p.sku,
7  p.stock_quantity,
8  p.reorder_level
9FROM products p
10WHERE
11  p.stock_quantity < p.reorder_level
12  AND p.is_active = true
13ORDER BY (p.reorder_level - p.stock_quantity) DESC;

1// Condition block expression:
2// Check if any low-inventory items were found:
3{{ blocks.checkLowInventory.data.length > 0 }}
4
5// If TRUE → continue to alert notification
6// If FALSE → end workflow (no alert needed)
7
8// For numeric threshold checks:
9{{ blocks.getMetrics.data[0].error_rate > 0.05 }}
10// Alert only if error rate exceeds 5%

1// Email block configuration:
2// To: ops-team@yourcompany.com
3// Subject: ⚠ Low Inventory Alert - {{ new Date().toLocaleDateString() }}
4// Body (HTML):
5
6`<h2>Low Inventory Alert</h2>
7<p>${blocks.checkLowInventory.data.length} items are below reorder level:</p>
8<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
9  <tr><th>SKU</th><th>Name</th><th>Current Stock</th><th>Reorder Level</th></tr>
10  ${blocks.checkLowInventory.data.map(item =>
11    `<tr>
12      <td>${item.sku}</td>
13      <td>${item.name}</td>
14      <td style="color:red">${item.stock_quantity}</td>
15      <td>${item.reorder_level}</td>
16    </tr>`
17  ).join('')}
18</table>
19<p>Please reorder these items.</p>`

1// HTTP Request block configuration:
2// Method: POST
3// URL: {{ retoolContext.configVars.SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL }}
4// Body (JSON):
5
6{
7  "text": "⚠️ Low Inventory Alert",
8  "blocks": [
9    {
10      "type": "header",
11      "text": {
12        "type": "plain_text",
13        "text": "⚠️ Low Inventory Alert"
14      }
15    },
16    {
17      "type": "section",
18      "text": {
19        "type": "mrkdwn",
20        "text": "*{{ blocks.checkLowInventory.data.length }} items* are below reorder level:"
21      }
22    },
23    {
24      "type": "section",
25      "text": {
26        "type": "mrkdwn",
27        "text": "{{ blocks.checkLowInventory.data.map(i => `• *${i.name}* (SKU: ${i.sku}) — ${i.stock_quantity} remaining`).join('\n') }}"
28      }
29    }
30  ]
31}
32
33// Store SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL in:
34// Settings → Configuration Variables (mark as Secret)

1// In a Retool app, create a Resource Query:
2// Resource: Retool Workflows
3// Workflow: alert-workflow-name
4// Trigger endpoint: /trigger (or your webhook endpoint)
5
6// JS Query in the app:
7await triggerAlertWorkflow.trigger({
8  additionalScope: {
9    orderId: table1.selectedRow.id,
10    reason: reasonInput.value,
11    severity: severitySelect.value
12  }
13});
14
15utils.showNotification({
16  title: 'Alert sent',
17  description: 'The operations team has been notified.',
18  notificationType: 'success'
19});