---
title: Notifiers overview
description: Who gets pinged when an agent needs you. Seven notifiers ship; pick one or stack several.
---

Notifiers deliver AO events — session stuck, PR opened, review requested, CI failed — to wherever you actually pay attention.

<PluginGrid>
  <PluginCard name="Dashboard" logo="web" href="/docs/plugins/notifiers/dashboard" description="Retained notifications inside the AO dashboard." />
  <PluginCard name="Desktop" logo="apple" href="/docs/plugins/notifiers/desktop" description="Native macOS/Linux notifications. No-op on Windows." />
  <PluginCard name="Discord" logo="discord" href="/docs/plugins/notifiers/discord" description="Discord webhook with rich embeds." />
  <PluginCard name="Slack" logo="slack" href="/docs/plugins/notifiers/slack" description="Slack incoming webhook." />
  <PluginCard name="Webhook" logo="webhook" href="/docs/plugins/notifiers/webhook" description="Generic HTTP POST. Retries + exponential backoff." />
  <PluginCard name="Composio" logo="composio" href="/docs/plugins/notifiers/composio" description="Route through Composio — Slack, Discord, or Gmail." />
  <PluginCard name="OpenClaw" logo="openclaw" href="/docs/plugins/notifiers/openclaw" description="Local OpenClaw gateway for personal alerts." />
</PluginGrid>

## Stacking notifiers

Notifier config is a map. Add as many named notifiers as you want, then route
priorities with `notificationRouting`:

```yaml
notifiers:
  desktop:
    plugin: desktop
  discord:
    plugin: discord
    webhookUrl: ${DISCORD_URL}
  slack:
    plugin: slack
    webhookUrl: ${SLACK_URL}

notificationRouting:
  urgent: [desktop, discord, slack]
  action: [discord, slack]
  warning: [slack]
  info: []
```

Setup commands can write this routing for you with `--routing-preset
urgent-only`, `urgent-action`, or `all`. AO does not dedupe across channels, so
route only the priorities each destination should receive.

## Testing

```bash
ao notify test --to slack --template basic
ao notify test --route urgent
ao notify test --all --dry-run
```

Use `--to` for one target, `--route` for a priority route, or `--all` for every
configured/default/routed notifier. Without `--dry-run`, real providers receive
a real test message.

## What gets notified

| Event | When |
|---|---|
| `session.spawned` | `ao spawn` succeeds |
| `session.working` | Agent is actively editing code |
| `pr.opened` | Agent pushed a branch and opened a PR |
| `ci.failed` | Required check fails |
| `review.requested` | Reviewer asks for changes |
| `session.mergeable` | CI green, no blockers |
| `session.merged` | PR merged |
| `session.blocked` | Agent is stuck — you need to intervene |

You can tune which events fire via [`reactions` config](/docs/configuration).