> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.costhawk.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Alerts & Anomalies

> Get notified about cost spikes and unusual activity

## Overview

CostHawk monitors your usage patterns and alerts you when something unusual happens - before you get a surprise bill.

## Alert Types

| Type                 | Description                                                  |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Budget Warning**   | Approaching a budget threshold (e.g., 80% of monthly budget) |
| **Budget Exceeded**  | Budget limit has been exceeded                               |
| **Cost Spike**       | Unusual increase in spending compared to baseline            |
| **Unusual Activity** | Anomalous usage patterns detected                            |
| **Error Spike**      | Sudden increase in API errors                                |
| **Rate Limit**       | Hitting provider rate limits                                 |

## Viewing Alerts

### Dashboard

The alerts page shows:

* All recent alerts with severity indicators
* Read/unread status
* Detailed information about each alert

### MCP Server

> "List my unread alerts"

> "Are there any cost anomalies?"

## Anomaly Detection

CostHawk compares your recent activity to your baseline usage patterns to detect:

* **Cost spikes** - Sudden increases in spending
* **Volume spikes** - Unusual number of API calls
* **Model changes** - Shift to more expensive models
* **Time anomalies** - Activity at unusual times

## Notification Channels

Get alerts delivered to:

* **Email** - Default for all accounts
* **Slack** - Via webhook integration
* **Discord** - Via webhook integration
* **Microsoft Teams** - Via webhook integration
* **PagerDuty** - For on-call escalation
* **Custom Webhooks** - Send to any URL

## Setting Up Webhooks

Via the dashboard or MCP server:

> "Create a Slack webhook for budget alerts at [https://hooks.slack.com/services/](https://hooks.slack.com/services/)..."

See [Webhooks](/features/webhooks) for detailed setup instructions.