Database alerts that don't spam: dedup keys, backtests and shadow mode

Description and use

RowFire reduces spam alerts by providing database‑level deduplication, accurate backtesting, and a safe shadow mode for incremental deployment.

Problem

Teams need automated alerts from database events but existing solutions spam duplicate notifications and lack proper deduplication, testing, and safe deployment.

Outcome

RowFire reduces duplicate alerts by enforcing deduplication at the database level, provides accurate backtesting to prevent over‑notification, and offers a safe shadow mode for incremental deployment, leading to more reliable and less spammy alerting.

Workflow

• 1. Define a SQL trigger that selects relevant rows and declares clock and key columns.
• 2. Write a rule specifying trigger, frequency (e.g., once per week per key), and action.
• 3. RowFire polls the trigger, inserts into a fire table using ON CONFLICT to deduplicate.
• 4. If insert succeeds, RowFire renders a message template and calls the configured API.
• 5. Before live, run a backtest over the last N days to estimate message volume and spot query errors.
• 6. Deploy the rule in shadow mode to record requests without sending.
• 7. Promote to live once shadow logs look correct; editing a live rule reverts to shadow.
• 8. Use the global stop switch to halt all polling if needed.

Evidence

Racing 16 workers at the same row: SELECT‑then‑INSERT lets 16 of them send. ON CONFLICT lets 1.

Source

A backtest has a limit worth stating plainly: it evaluates rows as they are now.

Source