Send a test notification

Test Desktop, Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Discord and understand what the result proves.

Last checked 21 August 2026

Use a test notification before relying on a new channel. Tests check the current global destination without waiting for a monitored site to fail.

Send the test

  1. Open Notifications.
  2. For Desktop, set Desktop notifications to On.
  3. For a webhook, enter the complete URL in Slack webhook, Microsoft Teams webhook, or Discord webhook.
  4. Select Send test beside the channel.
  5. Wait for the button to change from Sending… and read the message shown by TechDash.
  6. Confirm the banner or message appears at the destination.

A successful action shows “Test notification sent.” The message body is “TechDash test notification.”

What a desktop test proves

The Desktop test asks the system to show a native notification. TechDash listens briefly for a failure:

  • If the system reports a failure during that window, TechDash shows the reported detail or “The notification could not be shown.”
  • If desktop notifications are unavailable, it shows “This computer cannot show desktop notifications.”
  • Otherwise, the test reports success.

A successful result does not guarantee that you saw a pop-up. macOS or Windows can accept the notification while hiding or delaying its banner because of Focus, Do Not Disturb, notification summaries, or per-app display settings. Check Notification Center or Action Center and confirm the banner yourself.

On macOS, if notifications fail after install, quit TechDash, reopen it, and allow TechDash in System Settings > Notifications.

What a webhook test proves

TechDash first checks the URL:

  • It must use HTTPS.
  • Slack must use hooks.slack.com.
  • Discord must use discord.com, discordapp.com, or a .discord.com subdomain.
  • Microsoft Teams must use a supported webhook.office.com, logic.azure.com, or api.powerplatform.com host.

It then sends a short test message with a fixed timeout. There is no retry.

TechDash does not check whether the remote service accepted the message. If the request reaches the server and completes without a network error, the UI can report “Test notification sent” even when the service rejected it. You must confirm the message appears in Slack, Teams, or Discord.

A visible message at the destination is the strongest confirmation that the URL, network, and platform worked together.

What tests bypass

A test is not associated with a monitored page or incident. It bypasses:

  • Advisory, Warning, and Critical policy
  • The page's Desktop, Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Discord toggle
  • Custom Check Notify settings
  • Notify when a check recovers
  • Ignored-check rules
  • New-failure and escalation detection

Therefore, a successful test does not prove that every incident will notify. If the test arrives but an incident does not, check the page toggle, severity or Custom Check policy, ignore rules, app state, and whether the incident was newly opened or escalated.

If the test fails or does not arrive

  • For Desktop, check operating-system permission and presentation settings.
  • For a rejected URL, copy the original complete webhook URL from the platform.
  • For a timeout or network error, check connectivity, firewall, proxy, and DNS.
  • If a webhook reports success but no message appears, verify the destination channel and recreate the webhook or workflow.
  • Keep webhook URLs private. Replace any URL that has been exposed.

Testing does not generate an incident, alter incident history, or test scheduled monitoring. It only exercises the selected global notification route.

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