Instant alerts
Push notifications when a host needs attention. What works today, and what does not yet.
In progress
Instant alerts are not finished. Today you can register your phone, enrol a host, and send yourself a test alert to prove the path works. The agent that would watch a host and send real alerts is not released yet, so no container alerts are sent. This page describes what is there and what is coming.
The idea
A small agent on your host will watch your containers and tell your phone when something needs attention: a container crashes or keeps restarting, a health check fails, the disk is nearly full, an image has an update, or a container recovers. The notification travels through a relay we run and Apple’s push service, and is encrypted on the host and decrypted on your phone, so the relay never learns which host or container it is about.
What works today
Turn it on. In Settings → Notifications, switch on Instant alerts. iOS asks for permission to send notifications. The status line reads “Registering this phone…” and then “On.”
Choose what you want. Six switches control what a host may tell you about. They are applied at the relay, so a change takes effect straight away, and the local switch only flips once the relay accepts it.
| Switch | Default | What it will cover |
|---|---|---|
| Crashes and restart loops | On | A container exited with an error, was killed for memory, or keeps restarting. |
| Unhealthy containers | On | A container’s health check is failing. |
| Low disk space | On | The host’s Docker storage is nearly full. |
| Image updates | Off | A daily digest of images with a newer version available. |
| Recovered | On | A container that had a problem is running again. |
| Host silent | On | A host stopped reporting in, or is back. |
Enrol a host. In Settings → Hosts, tap the bell beside a host, then switch on Alerts for this host. This creates the host on the relay and makes a key that only your phone and the host will hold. It shows “Enrolled · key stored on this phone.”
Send a test alert. In the same sheet tap Send test alert. The app plays the agent for one event, and a banner for “<host> · meshdeck-test” should arrive within a moment, decrypted on your phone. Tap it and the app opens on that host.
What does not work yet
- The agent that runs on your host and sends real events is not released.
- Until it is, nothing will send alerts about your containers.
Turning it off
- For one host: switch off Alerts for this host. The host is removed from the relay and its keys from your phone.
- For everything: switch off Instant alerts. Your phone’s record is deleted from the relay, along with any host that no longer has a phone attached.
- If iOS shows “Notifications are off for meshDeck”, turn them on in iOS Settings → Notifications → meshDeck.
Privacy
Alerts go through mdrelay.meshterm.com. The relay holds your push token, random identifiers and your preferences, and cannot read what an alert says. The Privacy Policy lists exactly what it holds and can see.
Something missing or wrong? Tell us.