Five rungs. One face for each.
Set a default priority on the topic. Override it per message with the Priority header. The phone behaves differently at each rung.
Every level says which one it is
Each level shows a word, a face, its own card, its own place in the list, and its own sound.
| Level | Face | Word on screen | Card | List position | Sound & vibration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| min | All clear | Hairline outline, ash fill | Standard chronological order | No sound, no vibration | |
| low | All clear | Subtle gray surface card | Standard chronological order | Silent lock screen banner | |
| default | Waiting / New | White paper card, standard elevation | Standard chronological order | Standard chime, respects quiet hours | |
| high | 1 warning | 2px orange outline, chevron chip | Lifts over the standard rows | Urgent chime, breaks quiet hours | |
| critical | CRITICAL | 30px tall chip, black card, shaking face | Pinned to top of every screen | Full siren, repeats every 30 s |
The rungs in detail
Explore exactly how your phone and desktop behave when each priority level arrives.
Min: history only
The message goes into your history. Your phone stays quiet: no banner, no sound.
Low: Silent notification
A banner on the lock screen and a line in your notification centre. No sound, no vibration.
Default: Standard notification
A normal notification chime and one vibration. It respects your mute switch and your quiet hours.
High: Lock screen prominence
A louder chime and a double vibration. High breaks through quiet hours and still respects your mute switch.
Critical: alarm and screen takeover
Plays an alarm at full volume and takes over the screen. It repeats every 30 seconds for up to 60 minutes, until you tap Acknowledge.
Specifying priority in your scripts
Send priority via HTTP headers, query parameters, or JSON request bodies.
# Set priority per message using the Priority header
curl -X POST https://api.critalarm.app/t/prod-db \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ca_live_7Hq2mN9xPz4wKd8" \
-H "Priority: critical" \
-H "Title: Primary database down" \
-d "Connection pool exhausted. 0 active connections remaining."
# Priority also accepts numeric levels 1 through 5
curl -X POST https://api.critalarm.app/t/nas-backup \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ca_live_7Hq2mN9xPz4wKd8" \
-H "Priority: 4" \
-H "Title: Backup finished with warnings" \
-d "rsync completed with 2 unreadable files."If you sleep through it
Escalation keeps going if nobody answers the first repeats.
Primary device repeats
The phone rings every 30 seconds at full volume and the screen shakes.
Secondary device paging
If nobody has acknowledged, it rings your tablet, your backup phone, or a teammate's device.
Automated telephone call
On Pro, and on a self-hosted server you wire up yourself, it calls your phone.
Set your ladder
Min and low stay quiet. Critical is the only rung that wakes you.