The FarmBot API supports the creation of Alert records. When created, the alert will propagate to the Message Center of all users who have logged in within the last 7 months. This is especially useful when creating system-wide announcements, such as end-of-life dates and changelog updates.

new bulletin screenshot

An example alert

Creating an alert

Run the following command:

$ heroku run rake broadcast:to_all --app=farmbot-staging

Then fill in the following information. Fields that are preceded by (optional) may be skipped via the enter key.

=== (optional) Enter `type`
info
=== (optional) Enter href
http://farm.bot
=== (optional) Enter href label
This is the href label
=== Enter title
This is the alert title
=== Enter content
This is the alert's content.
You can have multiple lines of alert content.
When you are done typing in content, just type three “at symbols” on a new line.
The button below links to the href.

When you are done entering content, just type three @ symbols on a new line:

@@@

The above information will yield the following alert in the message center, with the button linking to http://farm.bot.

bulletin example screenshot

Alert types

The following alert types are available, which will determine what icon is shown in the top-left of the message.

  • info -
  • success -
  • warn -

Important information

Creating an Alert could take a significant amount of time to finish due to the nature of the auto sync system. Consider increasing the dyno count of the server if this is a concern.