Get Started with Echobell

Welcome to Echobell, the instant alert app that helps you stay on top of important notifications. This guide will walk you through setting up and using Echobell effectively.

What is Echobell?

Echobell is a powerful notification management tool that:

Handles webhooks and emails as triggers
Sends customized notifications to subscribers
Allows you to create and share notification channels
Keeps your notification data private on your device

Echobell Overview

Core Concepts

Before diving in, let's understand some key concepts:

Channels

A Channel is the core unit in Echobell for organizing and distributing notifications:

Each channel has a unique Name and Color for easy identification
Channels contain Notification Templates that determine what information is sent
Channels are triggered through webhooks or emails
You can create your own channels or subscribe to others

Triggers

A Trigger is what activates a channel to send notifications:

Webhook: A URL endpoint that, when called, activates the channel
Email: An email address linked to the channel that, when messaged, activates the channel

Notification Types

When subscribing to a channel, you can choose from different notification styles:

Normal: Standard app notification
Time Sensitive: High-priority notification that can break through focus modes
Calling: Call-like alert for the most urgent matters

Getting Started

1. Setting Up Your Account

Download Echobell from the App Store
Open the app and sign in with your email or sign in with Apple

Account Setup

2. Creating Your First Channel

From the main view, tap the button on the bottom right corner to navigate to the Channels view
Tap the + button to create a new channel
Enter a name for your channel (e.g., "Server Alerts")
Select a color to identify your channel
Configure your notification templates:
- Title template: What appears as the notification headline
- Body template: The detailed content of the notification
Optionally, toggle whether to subscribe the channel to yourself
Choose a Notification Type for your channel (Normal, Time Sensitive, or Calling)
Save your new channel

Create Channel

Once your channel is created, there are two ways to trigger notifications: via webhooks or emails. Tap the channel you just created to access its settings. In the channel settings, you can find the Triggers section.

Channel Settings

Webhook Trigger

Tap the webhook button to copy the generated webhook URL
Integrate this URL into your systems (e.g., server monitoring, CI/CD pipeline)
When the URL is called, your channel will be triggered

You can provide variables to your notification templates in two ways:

# Example webhook call with query parameters
curl -X GET "https://hook.echobell.one/t/your-unique-id?server=production&status=critical&message=CPU%20usage%20at%2095%25"
 
# OR with JSON body
curl -X POST https://hook.echobell.one/t/your-unique-id \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"server": "production", "status": "critical", "message": "CPU usage at 95%"}'

These variables will be used to populate your notification templates. For example, if your title template is {{server}} - {{status}}, it would render as "production - critical".

Special Variables:

externalLink: If you include this variable, it will be displayed as a clickable link in the notification records

Email Trigger

Tap the email button to copy the generated email address for your channel
When an email is sent to this address, your channel will be triggered

With email triggers, Echobell automatically extracts these variables from the email:

from: The sender's email address
to: The recipient's email address (your channel's email)
subject: The email subject line
text: The plain text content of the email
html: The HTML content of the email

You can use these variables in your templates, such as {{subject}} or {{text}}.

4. Customizing Notification Templates

Templates use variables that are filled from the trigger data:

In your channel settings, go to Notification Templates
For the title template, you might use: {{server}} - {{status}}
For the body template, you could use: {{message}} Detected at {{timestamp}}
Variables are enclosed in double curly braces: {{variable_name}}
Test your template with sample data

5. Subscribing to Channels

You can share the subscription link of your channels to others
Or you can use subscription links shared by others to subscribe to the channels
Tap Subscribe on the channels view
Enter the subscription link
Choose your preferred Notification Type:
- Normal for standard alerts
- Time Sensitive for important alerts
- Calling for critical situations
Confirm your subscription

App Settings

You can customize how Echobell handles notifications through these settings:

Repeat Voice Content: When using call notifications, this setting will make the notification content repeat
Retry Failed Call: Automatically retry call notifications that failed due to Focus Mode or other reasons

Privacy and Data Storage

Echobell prioritizes your privacy:

Only user accounts, channels, and subscription data are stored on our servers
Notification content and history are stored locally on your device
Your alert data never leaves your control

Next Steps

Now that you've set up your first channel:

Explore advanced template options
Share your channels with team members
Set up notification schedules and quiet hours

For more detailed information on each feature, check out our Feature Guides section.

Need help? Visit our Support Center or email [email protected].

Get started