Notifications Setup - Changedetection.io

Changedetection.io supports over 100 notification services through the powerful Apprise library. Configure notifications globally or per-watch with custom templates using Jinja2.

Supported Services

Changedetection.io supports:

Chat: Discord, Slack, Mattermost, Rocket.Chat, Telegram, Matrix
Email: SMTP, Gmail, Office365, Mailgun, SendGrid
Collaboration: Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, Flock, Gitter
Incident Management: PagerDuty, Opsgenie, VictorOps
Custom: Webhooks (JSON/XML), Syslog, MQTT
And 100+ more services

Apprise URL Syntax

Apprise uses URL-based configuration. Each service has a specific URL format.

Discord

string

Discord webhook notificationSteps to get webhook URL:

In Discord, go to Server Settings → Integrations → Webhooks
Click “New Webhook” or edit existing
Copy the webhook URL: https://discord.com/api/webhooks/{id}/{token}
Extract the ID and token, format as: discord://{id}/{token}

Example:

discord://1234567890/AbCdEfGhIjKlMnOpQrStUvWxYz

Slack

string

Slack webhook notificationSteps to get webhook URL:

Go to https://api.slack.com/apps
Create a new app or select existing
Enable “Incoming Webhooks”
Add webhook to workspace
Copy webhook URL: https://hooks.slack.com/services/T.../B.../X...
Extract tokens after /services/: slack://T.../B.../X...

Example:

slack://T1234567/B1234567/XXXXXXXXXXXX

Email (SMTP)

string

Email notification via SMTPFormat:

mailto://[user]:[password]@[hostname]:[port]?to=[recipient]

Example with Gmail:

mailto://myuser:mypassword@smtp.gmail.com:587?to=alerts@example.com

Example with Office365:

mailto://user:pass@smtp.office365.com:587?to=recipient@example.com

Office365

string

Office365 email using Microsoft Graph APIFormat:

o365://[TenantID]:[AccountEmail]/[ClientID]/[ClientSecret]/[TargetEmail]

Example:

o365://abc123:sender@company.com/client-id-here/secret-here/recipient@company.com

Microsoft Teams

string

Microsoft Teams webhook notificationSteps to get webhook URL:

In Teams, go to the channel where you want notifications
Click ”⋯” → “Connectors” → “Incoming Webhook”
Configure webhook and copy URL
Extract tokens from URL

Example:

msteams://TokenA/TokenB/TokenC/

Google Chat

string

Google Chat webhook notificationExample:

gchat://myworkspace/AIza...../token-here

string

Telegram bot notificationExample:

tgram://123456789:ABCdefGHIjklMNOpqrsTUVwxyz/-123456789

Rocket.Chat

string

Rocket.Chat webhook notificationExample:

rocket://myuser:mypass@chat.example.com/#alerts

Custom JSON Webhook

string

Custom JSON POST webhookExample:

json://api.example.com/webhook
jsons://api.example.com/secure-webhook

The notification data will be POSTed as JSON to your endpoint.

Syslog

string

Send notifications to local syslogExample:

syslog://
syslog://remote-server:514

Global vs Per-Watch Notifications

Global Notifications

Set default notification URLs that apply to all watches:

Go to Settings (gear icon)
Navigate to Notifications tab
Enter notification URLs (one per line)
Save settings

Example global configuration:

discord://1234567890/AbCdEfGhIjKlMnOpQrStUvWxYz
slack://T1234567/B1234567/XXXXXXXXXXXX
mailto://alerts:pass@smtp.gmail.com?to=team@example.com

Per-Watch Notifications

Override global settings for specific watches:

Edit a watch
Go to Notifications tab
Enter notification URLs (one per line)
Enable/disable specific notifications
Save watch

Per-watch notifications override global notifications. If a watch has notification URLs configured, global notifications will not be sent.

Tag-Based Notifications

Configure notifications at the tag level:

Go to Tags page
Edit a tag
Configure notification URLs
All watches with this tag inherit these notifications

Priority order:

Individual Watch Settings > Tag Settings > Global Settings

Notification Templates (Jinja2)

Customize notification content using Jinja2 templates with access to watch data, diffs, and timestamps.

Available Template Variables

string

The URL being monitoredExample:

{{ watch_url }}

string

The title/name of the watchExample:

{{ watch_title }}

string

Unique identifier for the watchExample:

{{ watch_uuid }}

string

Tags assigned to the watch

string

Your changedetection.io instance URL (set via BASE_URL env variable)Example:

Edit: {{ base_url }}/edit/{{ watch_uuid }}

string

Diff showing changes (with +/- prefixes)Example:

{{ diff }}

With parameters:

{{ diff(lines=5) }}
{{ diff(added_only=true) }}
{{ diff(removed_only=true) }}
{{ diff(context=3) }}

string

Diff without +/- prefixes

string

Only added linesExample:

{{ diff_added(lines=10) }}

string

Only removed lines

string

Full diff including unchanged lines

string

Diff in unified patch format

string

Current version of the content

string

Previous version of the content

string

Timestamp when change was detectedExample:

{{ change_datetime }}
{{ change_datetime(format='%Y-%m-%d') }}
{{ change_datetime(format='%A') }}

string

Text that matched trigger filters

string

URL to preview the changes in changedetection.io

string

Direct URL to the diff view

string

Base64-encoded screenshot (if enabled)

Custom Notification Title

Edit the notification title in Settings → Notifications: Default title:

ChangeDetection.io Notification - {{ watch_url }}

Custom title examples:

🔔 {{ watch_title }} has changed!

Price Alert: {{ watch_title }}

{{ watch_tag }}: Change detected on {{ watch_url }}

Custom Notification Body

Edit the notification body in Settings → Notifications: Default body:

Changed: {{ watch_url }}

{{ diff }}

Custom body examples: Example 1: Compact format

URL: {{ watch_url }}
Changed: {{ change_datetime(format='%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') }}

Changes:
{{ diff(lines=10) }}

View: {{ preview_url }}

Example 2: Added lines only

🆕 New content detected on {{ watch_title }}

{{ diff_added_clean(lines=15) }}

Full details: {{ base_url }}/preview/{{ watch_uuid }}

Example 3: Rich formatting

**Website:** {{ watch_url }}
**Title:** {{ watch_title }}
**When:** {{ change_datetime }}
**Tags:** {{ watch_tag }}

## What changed:
{{ diff(lines=20, context=2) }}

[View full changes]({{ diff_url }})
[Edit watch]({{ base_url }}/edit/{{ watch_uuid }})

Example 4: Price monitoring

💰 Price update for {{ watch_title }}

Previous price: {{ prev_snapshot }}
Current price: {{ current_snapshot }}

{{ diff_clean }}

Check now: {{ watch_url }}

Conditional Notifications

Use Jinja2 conditionals for advanced logic:

{% if diff_added %}
🆕 New content added:
{{ diff_added(lines=5) }}
{% endif %}

{% if diff_removed %}
❌ Content removed:
{{ diff_removed(lines=5) }}
{% endif %}

{% if watch_tag == 'urgent' %}
🚨 URGENT: Immediate attention required
{% endif %}

Notification Formats

Changedetection.io supports multiple notification formats:

string

Format for notification contentValues:

text - Plain text (default)
markdown - Markdown formatting
html - HTML formatting

Set in Settings → Notifications → Format dropdown

Markdown Format

Use markdown for rich formatting:

## Change Detected: {{ watch_title }}

**URL:** {{ watch_url }}
**Time:** {{ change_datetime }}

### Changes:
{{ diff(lines=10) }}

[View Details]({{ preview_url }})

HTML Format

Use HTML for email notifications:

<h2>Change Detected</h2>
<p><strong>URL:</strong> <a href="{{ watch_url }}">{{ watch_title }}</a></p>
<p><strong>When:</strong> {{ change_datetime }}</p>
<h3>Changes:</h3>
<pre>{{ diff(lines=10) }}</pre>
<p><a href="{{ preview_url }}">View Full Details</a></p>

Muting Notifications

Mute Individual Watch

Edit watch
Go to Notifications tab
Check Mute notifications for this watch
Save

Mute All Notifications

Go to Settings
Enable Mute all notifications toggle
Save

The all_muted setting overrides all watch-level and tag-level notification settings.

Mute by Tag

Edit tag
Enable Mute notifications for tag
All watches with this tag will have notifications muted

Notification Screenshots

Include screenshots in notifications:

Edit watch
Go to Notifications tab
Enable Include screenshot in notification
Save

Screenshots require a browser-based fetcher (Playwright/Puppeteer) and increase notification size.

Testing Notifications

Test Global Notifications

Go to Settings → Notifications
Click Send test notification
Check your notification service for the test message

Test Watch Notifications

Edit watch
Go to Notifications tab
Click Send test notification
Verify notification received

Troubleshooting

Notifications Not Sending

Check notification URLs: Verify the Apprise URL format is correct
Test connectivity: Ensure changedetection.io can reach the notification service
Check logs: Look for errors in Docker logs: docker logs changedetection
Verify watch isn’t muted: Check watch and global mute settings

Template Errors

If Jinja2 templates fail:

Syntax errors: Check for missing }}, %}, or quotes
Undefined variables: Ensure template variables exist (e.g., watch_title may be empty)
Test with simple template: Start with {{ watch_url }} and add complexity

Discord/Slack Not Receiving

Webhook permissions: Verify webhook has permission to post
Rate limits: Check if you’re hitting API rate limits
URL format: Double-check Discord/Slack webhook URL format

Email Notifications Failing

SMTP settings: Verify hostname, port, username, password
Authentication: Use app-specific passwords for Gmail
TLS/SSL: Try different ports (587 for STARTTLS, 465 for SSL)
NO_PROXY: Add email server to NO_PROXY environment variable

Best Practices

Test notifications before deploying watches
Use templates to reduce notification fatigue
Set NO_PROXY to exclude notification services from proxy routing
Use per-watch notifications for critical watches
Limit diff size in templates with diff(lines=10)
Monitor notification count to avoid overwhelming channels
Use tags to organize notification routing

Example Configurations

Multi-Channel Setup

# Critical alerts to PagerDuty and Teams
pagerduty://integration-key-here
msteams://TokenA/TokenB/TokenC/

# All changes to Discord
discord://1234567890/AbCdEfGhIjKlMnOpQrStUvWxYz

# Daily digest via email
mailto://alerts:pass@smtp.gmail.com?to=team@example.com

Custom Webhook with Template

Notification URL:

json://api.example.com/changedetection-webhook

Notification Body:

{
  "event": "page_changed",
  "url": "{{ watch_url }}",
  "title": "{{ watch_title }}",
  "timestamp": "{{ change_datetime(format='%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ') }}",
  "diff_summary": "{{ diff(lines=3) }}",
  "view_url": "{{ preview_url }}"
}

Environment Variables - Configure BASE_URL for notification links
Proxy Setup - Set NO_PROXY for notification services
Apprise Documentation - Full list of supported services

​Supported Services

​Apprise URL Syntax

​Discord

​Slack

​Email (SMTP)

​Office365

​Microsoft Teams

​Google Chat

​Telegram

​Rocket.Chat

​Custom JSON Webhook

​Syslog

​Global vs Per-Watch Notifications

​Global Notifications

​Per-Watch Notifications

​Tag-Based Notifications

​Notification Templates (Jinja2)

​Available Template Variables

​Custom Notification Title

​Custom Notification Body

​Conditional Notifications

​Notification Formats

​Markdown Format

​HTML Format

​Muting Notifications

​Mute Individual Watch

​Mute All Notifications

​Mute by Tag

​Notification Screenshots

​Testing Notifications

​Test Global Notifications

​Test Watch Notifications

​Troubleshooting

​Notifications Not Sending

​Template Errors

​Discord/Slack Not Receiving

​Email Notifications Failing

​Best Practices

​Example Configurations

​Multi-Channel Setup

​Custom Webhook with Template

​Related Documentation

Supported Services

Apprise URL Syntax

Discord

Slack

Email (SMTP)

Office365

Microsoft Teams

Google Chat

Telegram

Rocket.Chat

Custom JSON Webhook

Syslog

Global vs Per-Watch Notifications

Global Notifications

Per-Watch Notifications

Tag-Based Notifications

Notification Templates (Jinja2)

Available Template Variables

Custom Notification Title

Custom Notification Body

Conditional Notifications

Notification Formats

Markdown Format

HTML Format

Muting Notifications

Mute Individual Watch

Mute All Notifications

Mute by Tag

Notification Screenshots

Testing Notifications

Test Global Notifications

Test Watch Notifications

Troubleshooting

Notifications Not Sending

Template Errors

Discord/Slack Not Receiving

Email Notifications Failing

Best Practices

Example Configurations

Multi-Channel Setup

Custom Webhook with Template

Related Documentation