Configure Apache Superset Alerts: 2026 Guide

Apache Superset alerts automatically notify your team when conditions are met: threshold exceeded, anomaly, error. Coupled with scheduled reports, they transform Superset from a visualization tool into a proactive monitoring tool. This guide details the configuration in 2026.

1. Alerts vs scheduled reports

Type	Trigger	Use case
Alert	True SQL condition	Anomalies, exceeded thresholds
Report	Schedule (cron)	Periodic reporting

If you want an instance with pre-configured alerts and reports, TVL Managed Superset includes Celery + workers + headless Chrome by default.

2. Prerequisites

• Active Celery worker + beat (cf. Celery async);
• Feature flags ALERT_REPORTS = True enabled;
• SMTP configured (email) and/or Slack token;
• Headless Chrome installed in the worker for dashboard screenshots.

3. superset_config.py configuration

FEATURE_FLAGS = {"ALERT_REPORTS": True}

ALERT_REPORTS_NOTIFICATION_DRY_RUN = False
ALERT_REPORTS_WORKING_TIME_OUT_KILL = True
ALERT_REPORTS_WORKING_TIME_OUT_LAG = 600

WEBDRIVER_BASEURL = "https://superset.example.com/"
WEBDRIVER_BASEURL_USER_FRIENDLY = "https://superset.example.com/"
WEBDRIVER_TYPE = "chrome"
WEBDRIVER_OPTION_ARGS = ["--headless", "--no-sandbox", "--disable-gpu"]

# SMTP
SMTP_HOST = "smtp.example.com"
SMTP_PORT = 587
SMTP_STARTTLS = True
SMTP_USER = "alerts@example.com"
SMTP_PASSWORD = os.environ["SMTP_PASSWORD"]
SMTP_MAIL_FROM = "alerts@example.com"

# Slack
SLACK_API_TOKEN = os.environ.get("SLACK_API_TOKEN")

4. Create an alert

1. UI → Settings → Alerts & Reports → + Alert;
2. Owners and Notification method (email / Slack);
3. Database and SQL query:

   SELECT COUNT(*) FROM orders
   WHERE created_at > NOW() - INTERVAL '1 hour'
     AND status = 'failed';

4. Trigger condition: > 10 (triggers if more than 10 failed orders in the last hour);
5. Schedule: Crontab */5 * * * * (every 5 minutes);
6. Working timeout, grace period, dashboard to include (optional);
7. Save.

5. Create a scheduled report

1. UI → Settings → Alerts & Reports → + Report;
2. Dashboard or Chart to send;
3. Schedule: 0 8 * * MON (every Monday at 8 am);
4. Format: PNG, PDF or CSV;
5. Notification: email or Slack;
6. Save.

This configuration is applied by default on TVL Managed Superset, which follows community best practices.

6. Typical use cases

• Business anomalies: churn spike, sudden daily revenue drop;
• Ops: HTTP error rate > 1%, p95 latency > 5s;
• Marketing: ROAS below threshold, abnormal daily spend;
• Weekly reporting: board dashboard sent every Monday morning;
• Compliance: monthly audit trail.

7. Advanced Slack notification

To send to a Slack channel with attachment: create a Slack App, scope chat:write and files:write, install in the workspace. Paste the bot token in SLACK_API_TOKEN. In the alert, choose Slack as method and indicate the channel (#alerts-data).

8. Avoid alert fatigue

• Adjusted thresholds: too low = constant alerts ignored;
• Grace period: avoid cascading triggers;
• Criticality level: route warnings to email, criticals to pager/Slack;
• Snooze possible in case of maintenance;
• Quarterly review of alerts: delete those that never triggered.

9. Common pitfalls

• Missing Chrome in worker: empty PNG reports;
• SMTP not configured: total silence, check Celery logs;
• Time zone offset between cron and user: reports sent at the wrong time;
• Incorrect WEBDRIVER_BASEURL: blank screenshots;
• Long SQL alert: Celery timeout, never triggered.

10. Conclusion

Apache Superset alerts transform your dashboards into a proactive monitoring system. Properly configured, they free up time by avoiding daily manual consultation and notify the right people at the right time.

Want the benefits of Apache Superset without the friction of installation and maintenance? Deploy your instance in 3 clicks with TVL Managed Superset, hosted in Europe (OVHcloud, Roubaix, France).

For more: scheduled reports, Slack integration, Celery async.