# Create notification templates
<a name="v9-alerting-create-templates"></a>

****  
This documentation topic is designed for Grafana workspaces that support **Grafana version 9.x**.  
For Grafana workspaces that support Grafana version 12.x, see [Working in Grafana version 12](using-grafana-v12.md).  
For Grafana workspaces that support Grafana version 10.x, see [Working in Grafana version 10](using-grafana-v10.md).  
For Grafana workspaces that support Grafana version 8.x, see [Working in Grafana version 8](using-grafana-v8.md).

Create reusable notification templates to send to your contact points.

You can add one or more templates to your notification template.

Your notification template name must be unique. You cannot have two templates with the same name in the same notification template or in different notification templates. Avoid defining templates with the same name as default templates, such as: `__subject`, `__text_values_list`, `__text_alert_list`, `default.title` and `default.message`.

In the Contact points tab, you can see a list of your notification templates.

## Creating notification templates
<a name="v9-alerting-creating-templates"></a>

**To create a notification template**

1. Click **Add template**.

1. Choose a name for the notification template, such as `email.subject`.

1. Write the content of the template in the content field.

   For example:

   ```
   {{ if .Alerts.Firing -}}
      {{ len .Alerts.Firing }} firing alerts
      {{ end }}
      {{ if .Alerts.Resolved -}}
      {{ len .Alerts.Resolved }} resolved alerts
      {{ end }}
   ```

1. Click Save.

   `{{ define "email.subject" }}` (where `email.subject` is the name of your template) and `{{ end }}` is automatically added to the start and end of the content.

**To create a notification template that contains more than one template:**

1. Click **Add Template**.

1. Enter a name for the overall notification template. For example, `email`.

1. Write each template in the Content field, including `{{ define "name-of-template" }}` and `{{ end }}` at the start and end of each template. You can use descriptive names for each of the templates in the notification template, for example, `email.subject` or `email.message`. In this case, do not reuse the name of the notification template you entered above.

   The following sections show detailed examples for templates you might create.

1. Click Save.

## Creating a template for the subject of an email
<a name="v9-alerting-create-template-subject"></a>

Create a template for the subject of an email that contains the number of firing and resolved alerts, as in this example:

```
1 firing alerts, 0 resolved alerts
```

**To create a template for the subject of an email**

1. Create a template called `email.subject` with the following content:

   ```
   {{ define "email.subject" }}
   {{ len .Alerts.Firing }} firing alerts, {{ len .Alerts.Resolved }} resolved alerts
   {{ end }}
   ```

1. Use the template when creating your contact point integration by putting it into the **Subject** field with the `template` keyword.

   ```
   {{ template "email.subject" . }}
   ```

## Creating a template for the message of an email
<a name="v9-alerting-create-template-message"></a>

Create a template for the message of an email that contains a summary of all firing and resolved alerts, as in this example:

```
There are 2 firing alerts, and 1 resolved alerts

Firing alerts:

- alertname=Test 1 grafana_folder=GrafanaCloud has value(s) B=1
- alertname=Test 2 grafana_folder=GrafanaCloud has value(s) B=2

Resolved alerts:

- alertname=Test 3 grafana_folder=GrafanaCloud has value(s) B=0
```

**To create a template for the message of an email**

1. Create a notification template called `email` with two templates in the content: `email.message_alert` and `email.message`.

   The `email.message_alert` template is used to print the labels and values for each firing and resolved alert while the `email.message` template contains the structure of the email.

   ```
   {{- define "email.message_alert" -}}
   {{- range .Labels.SortedPairs }}{{ .Name }}={{ .Value }} {{ end }} has value(s)
   {{- range $k, $v := .Values }} {{ $k }}={{ $v }}{{ end }}
   {{- end -}}
   
   {{ define "email.message" }}
   There are {{ len .Alerts.Firing }} firing alerts, and {{ len .Alerts.Resolved }} resolved alerts
   
   {{ if .Alerts.Firing -}}
   Firing alerts:
   {{- range .Alerts.Firing }}
   - {{ template "email.message_alert" . }}
   {{- end }}
   {{- end }}
   
   {{ if .Alerts.Resolved -}}
   Resolved alerts:
   {{- range .Alerts.Resolved }}
   - {{ template "email.message_alert" . }}
   {{- end }}
   {{- end }}
   
   {{ end }}
   ```

1. Use the template when creating your contact point integration by putting it into the **Text Body** field with the `template` keyword.

   ```
   {{ template "email.message" . }}
   ```

## Creating a template for the title of a Slack message
<a name="v9-alerting-create-template-slack-title"></a>

Create a template for the title of a Slack message that contains the number of firing and resolved alerts, as in the following example:

```
1 firing alerts, 0 resolved alerts
```

**To create a template for the title of a Slack message**

1. Create a template called `slack.title` with the following content:

   ```
   {{ define "slack.title" }}
   {{ len .Alerts.Firing }} firing alerts, {{ len .Alerts.Resolved }} resolved alerts
   {{ end }}
   ```

1. Use the template when creating your contact point integration by putting it into the **Title** field with the `template` keyword.

   ```
   {{ template "slack.title" . }}
   ```

## Creating a template for the content of a Slack message
<a name="v9-alerting-create-template-slack-message"></a>

Create a template for the content of a Slack message that contains a description of all firing and resolved alerts, including their labels, annotations, and Dashboard URL:

```
1 firing alerts:

[firing] Test1
Labels:
- alertname: Test1
- grafana_folder: GrafanaCloud
Annotations:
- description: This is a test alert
Go to dashboard: https://example.com/d/dlhdLqF4z?orgId=1

1 resolved alerts:

[firing] Test2
Labels:
- alertname: Test2
- grafana_folder: GrafanaCloud
Annotations:
- description: This is another test alert
Go to dashboard: https://example.com/d/dlhdLqF4z?orgId=1
```

**To create a template for the content of a Slack message**

1. Create a template called `slack` with two templates in the content: `slack.print_alert` and `slack.message`.

   The `slack.print_alert` template is used to print the labels, annotations, and DashboardURL while the `slack.message` template contains the structure of the notification.

   ```
   {{ define "slack.print_alert" -}}
   [{{.Status}}] {{ .Labels.alertname }}
   Labels:
   {{ range .Labels.SortedPairs -}}
   - {{ .Name }}: {{ .Value }}
   {{ end -}}
   {{ if .Annotations -}}
   Annotations:
   {{ range .Annotations.SortedPairs -}}
   - {{ .Name }}: {{ .Value }}
   {{ end -}}
   {{ end -}}
   {{ if .DashboardURL -}}
     Go to dashboard: {{ .DashboardURL }}
   {{- end }}
   {{- end }}
   
   {{ define "slack.message" -}}
   {{ if .Alerts.Firing -}}
   {{ len .Alerts.Firing }} firing alerts:
   {{ range .Alerts.Firing }}
   {{ template "slack.print_alert" . }}
   {{ end -}}
   {{ end }}
   {{ if .Alerts.Resolved -}}
   {{ len .Alerts.Resolved }} resolved alerts:
   {{ range .Alerts.Resolved }}
   {{ template "slack.print_alert" .}}
   {{ end -}}
   {{ end }}
   {{- end }}
   ```

1. Use the template when creating your contact point integration by putting it into the **Text Body** field with the `template` keyword.

   ```
   {{ template "slack.message" . }}
   ```

## Template both email and Slack with shared templates
<a name="v9-alerting-create-shared-templates"></a>

Instead of creating separate notification templates for each contact point, such as email and Slack, you can share the same template.

For example, if you want to send an email with this subject and Slack message with this title `1 firing alerts, 0 resolved alerts`, you can create a shared template.

**To create a shared template**

1. Create a template called `common.subject_title` with the following content:

   ```
   {{ define "common.subject_title" }}
   {{ len .Alerts.Firing }} firing alerts, {{ len .Alerts.Resolved }} resolved alerts
   {{ end }}
   ```

1. For email, run the template from the subject field in your email contact point integration:

   ```
   {{ template "common.subject_title" . }}
   ```

1. For Slack, run the template from the title field in your Slack contact point integration:

   ```
   {{ template "common.subject_title" . }}
   ```

## Using notification templates
<a name="v9-alerting-use-notification-templates"></a>

Use templates in contact points to customize your notifications.

**To use a template when creating a contact point**

1. From the **Alerting** menu, choose **Contact points** to see a list of existing contact points.

1. Choose **Add contact point**. Alternately, you can edit an existing contact point by choosing the **Edit** icon (pen) next to the contact point you wish to edit.

1. Enter the templates you wish to use in one or more field, such as **Message** or **Subject**. To enter a template, use the form `{{ template "template_name" . }}`, replacing *template\$1name* with the name of the template you want to use.

1. Click **Save contact point**.