Setting Up Cloudwatch Alarm Notifications

by aws188af2f810ceNo license2.8K starsListed Oct 8, 2026Updated Oct 8, 2026Repository updated today

Sets up notification channels for CloudWatch alarms using SNS topics and subscriptions. Always use this skill when configuring alarm notifications — it creates encrypted SNS topics, configures topic policies for CloudWatch access, sets up email/SMS/webhook subscriptions, and links alarms to notification actions with proper security controls.

Instructions onlyDevOps & Cloud

AI-generated overview

Sets up Amazon CloudWatch alarm notification channels using encrypted SNS topics, subscriptions and alarm actions.

What it does: Provides domain guidance for configuring CloudWatch alarm notifications through Amazon SNS. It covers creating encrypted SNS topics, configuring topic policies so CloudWatch can publish, setting up email, SMS and webhook subscriptions, and linking alarms to notification actions. It also gives troubleshooting steps for missing email or SMS notifications and alarms that do not trigger notifications.
When to use it: Use it when configuring notification channels for CloudWatch alarms, such as adding email, SMS or webhook delivery. It is also useful when diagnosing why an alarm is not sending notifications.
Requirements: AWS account with permissions for CloudWatch and SNS, plus the AWS CLI for the verification commands. Email subscriptions require confirmation, and SMS requires an E.164 phone number and regional support. Instructions only; no scripts are shipped.

Setting Up CloudWatch Alarm Notifications

Overview

Domain expertise for configuring Amazon CloudWatch alarm notification channels using Amazon SNS topics and subscriptions. Covers creating encrypted SNS topics, setting up subscriptions for email, SMS, and webhook endpoints, configuring topic policies for CloudWatch access, and linking alarms to notification actions.

Set up alarm notifications

To configure notification channels for a CloudWatch alarm, follow the procedure exactly. See CloudWatch alarm notification setup procedure [blocked].

Troubleshooting

Email notifications not received

Verify the email subscription was confirmed. Use aws sns list-subscriptions-by-topic to check that the subscription status is "Confirmed" rather than "PendingConfirmation".

SMS notifications failing

Ensure the phone number is in E.164 format (e.g., +12345678901) and that SMS is supported in your AWS region.

Alarm not triggering notifications

Verify the alarm has the correct SNS topic ARN in its AlarmActions using aws cloudwatch describe-alarms, and ensure ActionsEnabled is set to true.

Source and attribution

Source:aws/agent-toolkit-for-awsinskills/specialized-skills/operations-skills/setting-up-cloudwatch-alarm-notificationsat commit188af2f

License: No license

Content belongs to its original authors. SourceWeft indexes it from a public repository.

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Setting Up Cloudwatch Alarm Notifications

Setting Up CloudWatch Alarm Notifications

Overview

Set up alarm notifications

Troubleshooting

Email notifications not received

SMS notifications failing

Alarm not triggering notifications

Source and attribution

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