1. Use Oracle Notifications service with applications
  2. Learn About Configuring ONS

Learn About Configuring ONS

Configuring ONS is accomplished with a few, straightforward steps.

  • Create the topic in the correct OCI compartment.
  • Create the appropriate subscription.
  • Ensure that the policies allow the permissions needed for accessing the notification topic.

See the Explore More section for links to the relevant documentation for these tasks.

Connect Slack to ONS

Connect Slack to ONS to demonstrate custom notifications from third-party applications.

Setting up Slack for our purposes requires administrative privileges, so setting up a personal, free-tier account is a good option. (The difference between free- and paid-tier Slack accounts is focused on the retention period of messages.) Once you've set up an account, create a channel (denoted by the leading hash on the name).

With the Slack workspace ready for an application, we can start configuring it for integration with OCI. Start by creating and configuring an app with a webhook API, from within the web control panel, which can be done from api.slack.com using the Create an app option. This provides two options: create an app from a manifest, and create an app from scratch. We want to create an app from scratch, because it allows us to name the app and the workspace (if you use multiple workspaces).

We need to set up the incoming webhook using the menu option provided. The webhook needs to be activated, and then the workspace needs a setting which will prompt you for a Slack channel. Once the scope is set, the webhook URL will be shown. If, on the app configuration view, the app is not showing as installed, then we need to install the app.

You can tailor the appearance of the messages going into Slack, with the options provided in the Slack UI.

Create ONS Messages from Custom Applications

With Slack fully configured, we can set up a subscription from within OCI.

The important information is the webhook URL entered into Slack while it was being configured.

With all the configuration complete on the Topic page, it will be possible to send a notification message directly to Slack to confirm all the connections are in place. It's recommended that the first message ONS will send is a URL verification request.

For subsequent notifications to be processed, this URL link needs to be clicked on. In doing so, a URL GET is sent back to OCI confirming the URL, and OCI will display a confirmation message in the browser. After this, all messages will be sent through.