Templates in Echobell

Templates in Echobell allow you to create dynamic, context-rich notifications by incorporating variables into your notification titles and bodies. This powerful feature enables personalized and informative alerts that adapt based on the trigger data, transforming generic notifications into actionable intelligence.

Instead of receiving a generic "Alert triggered" message, templates let you create specific notifications like "Production server CPU at 95%" or "Build #142 failed in deploy stage" - providing immediate context without requiring additional investigation.

Basic Template Syntax

In Echobell templates, you can use variables by wrapping them in double curly braces:

{{variableName}}

When a channel is triggered, these variables are replaced with actual values passed through the trigger. For example, if your title template is You have received ${{amount}} and you trigger the channel with an amount value of 100, the resulting notification will display as You have received $100.

Advanced Template Expressions

Echobell templates support a variety of expressions for more complex scenarios:

• Accessing Object Properties

{{user.name}}
{{data["value"]}}

• Accessing Array Elements

{{items[0]}}

• Using Comparison Operators

{{status == "active"}}
{{age > 18}}

• Logical Operators

{{isSubscribed && !isPaused}}
{{isUrgent || isHighPriority}}

All standard operators are supported: ==, !=, <, >, <=, >=, &&, ||, and !.

Template Variables from Different Triggers

Webhook Triggers

When triggering via webhook, you can provide variables through:

1. Query string parameters:

   GET https://hook.echobell.one/t/your-channel-id?amount=100&status=complete

2. JSON body (for POST requests):

   POST https://hook.echobell.one/t/your-channel-id
   Content-Type: application/json
   
   {
     "amount": 100,
     "status": "complete",
     "user": {
       "name": "John",
       "id": 12345
     }
   }

3. Special variables:

   • externalLink: Provides a clickable link in notification records
   • bodyAsText: The plain text content of the request body if Content-Type is text/plain
   • header: Gives access to HTTP request headers (e.g., {{header["content-type"]}})

Email Triggers

When a channel is triggered via email, the following variables are automatically available:

• from: The sender's email address
• to: The recipient's email address
• subject: The email subject line
• text: The plain text content of the email
• html: The HTML content of the email

Template Use Cases

Conditional Content

You can use templates to show different content based on conditions:

Received {{amount > 1000 ? "large" : "standard"}} payment: ${{amount}}

Channel Conditions

In addition to using templates in notification content, you can set Conditions in channel advanced settings that determine whether notifications should be sent at all. These conditions use the same expression syntax (without the curly braces).

For example, to only send notifications for amounts greater than a threshold:

amount > 100

Link Templates

Configure a custom link template in channel advanced settings to create clickable links in notification records:

https://dashboard.example.com/orders/{{orderId}}

If no link template is set, the value of the externalLink variable will be used by default.

System Time Variables (UTC)

These variables are always available to templates (and conditions) and are computed in UTC:

• timezone: Always "UTC"
• now / iso: ISO‑8601 timestamp (e.g., 2025-05-06T12:34:56.789Z)
• epochMs, epochSeconds: Current time since Unix epoch (number)
• year, month (1–12), monthName
• dayOfMonth, dayOfWeek (0–6, Sunday = 0), dayOfWeekName
• hour (0–23), minute, second
• date (YYYY-MM-DD), time (HH:mm:ss)

Examples:

Sent at {{date}} {{time}} {{timezone}}
Today is {{dayOfWeekName}}, {{monthName}} {{dayOfMonth}}, {{year}}
Epoch: {{epochSeconds}}

Best Practices

Default Values

Consider providing default values for optional variables to ensure templates always render meaningfully:

{{username || "Anonymous User"}}
{{serverName || "Unknown Server"}}
{{errorCount || 0}} errors detected

This prevents empty or confusing notifications when optional variables aren't provided.

Informative Templates

Include key information in your templates to make notifications actionable without requiring additional context:

Good Examples:

Title: {{service}} {{status}} on {{environment}}
Body: {{errorMessage}} at {{timestamp}}
Action required: {{recommendedAction}}

Avoid:

Title: Alert
Body: Check logs

Keep Templates Concise

Notifications display best when titles and bodies are clear and to the point:

• Titles: 3-8 words ideal, max 20 words
• Bodies: 1-3 sentences ideal, avoid walls of text
• Priority: Put most important information first

iOS notification constraints:

• Title: ~40 characters visible in collapsed view
• Body: ~60 characters in collapsed view, more when expanded

Use Consistent Naming

Maintain consistent variable naming across your channels:

• Use clear, descriptive names: server_name not sn
• Follow a convention: snake_case, camelCase, or kebab-case
• Be consistent across related channels
• Document expected variables for team members

Test Thoroughly

Test your templates with different variable combinations to ensure they render as expected:

1. Test with all variables present
2. Test with optional variables missing
3. Test with special characters and Unicode
4. Test with very long values
5. Test with empty strings
6. Test with numbers, booleans, arrays, and objects

Structure for Readability

Use formatting to make notification content easy to scan:

🚨 Alert: {{alertName}}
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Server: {{server}}
Metric: {{metric}}  
Value: {{value}}
Time: {{time}}
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Details: {{message}}

Or use simple labels:

Server: {{server}}
CPU Usage: {{cpu}}%
Memory: {{memory}}%
Status: {{status}}

Leverage Expressions

Use expressions to make notifications more intelligent:

Title: {{severity == "critical" ? "🚨 CRITICAL" : "⚠️ Warning"}} - {{service}}
Body: {{metric}} is {{value > threshold ? "above" : "at"}} {{value}}

Consider Time Zones

Remember that system time variables are in UTC. Document this or convert in your templates:

Alert triggered at {{time}} UTC
Triggered: {{date}} {{time}} (UTC)

Common Patterns and Examples

Server Monitoring

Title: {{hostname}} - {{metric}} Alert
Body: {{metric}} on {{hostname}} is at {{value}}{{unit}}
Threshold: {{threshold}}{{unit}}
Time: {{date}} {{time}}

CI/CD Pipelines

Title: {{repository}} - Build {{status}}
Body: Build #{{buildNumber}} {{status}} in {{duration}}s
Branch: {{branch}}
Commit: {{commit_message}}
Author: {{author}}

E-commerce

Title: New Order #{{orderNumber}}
Body: Customer: {{customerName}}
Items: {{itemCount}} items
Total: ${{totalAmount}}
Shipping: {{shippingAddress}}

Error Tracking

Title: {{errorType}} in {{service}}
Body: {{errorMessage}}
File: {{filename}}:{{lineNumber}}
User: {{userId}}
Environment: {{environment}}

Advanced Features

Link Templates

Configure a custom link template in channel advanced settings to create clickable links in notification records:

https://dashboard.example.com/orders/{{orderId}}
https://grafana.example.com/d/{{dashboardId}}
https://github.com/{{repo}}/actions/runs/{{runId}}

If no link template is set, the value of the externalLink variable will be used by default. This is useful for providing quick access to relevant dashboards, logs, or documentation directly from the notification.

Conditional Content in Templates

You can use ternary operators to show different content based on conditions:

Status: {{isOnline ? "✅ Online" : "❌ Offline"}}
Priority: {{severity > 5 ? "HIGH" : "NORMAL"}}
Message: {{count > 1 ? count + " errors detected" : "1 error detected"}}

This allows a single template to adapt to different scenarios without needing multiple channels.

Channel Conditions

In addition to using templates in notification content, you can set Conditions in channel advanced settings that determine whether notifications should be sent at all. These conditions use the same expression syntax (without the curly braces).

For example, to only send notifications for amounts greater than a threshold:

amount > 100
status == "critical"
temperature > 30 && location == "datacenter"

This prevents alert fatigue by filtering out non-critical events before notifications are sent. Learn more in our Conditions guide.

Related Documentation

• Webhook Integration - Learn how to pass variables via webhooks
• Email Triggers - Variables available from email triggers
• Conditions - Filter notifications with conditional expressions
• Getting Started - Set up your first channel with templates

Troubleshooting

Template not rendering variables:

• Check variable names match exactly (case-sensitive)
• Verify variables are being passed in webhook/email trigger
• Test with simple variables first, then add complexity

Variables showing as empty:

• Confirm the variable exists in the trigger data
• Check for typos in variable names
• Verify JSON structure for nested properties

Expression errors:

• Validate syntax with simple expressions first
• Ensure operators are properly spaced
• Check that property access uses correct syntax

Need help? Visit our Support Center or contact echobell@weelone.com.

Templates are a powerful way to create dynamic, informative notifications that give users exactly the information they need, when they need it. Start with simple variable substitution, then gradually add expressions and conditional logic to create sophisticated notification systems.