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This document explains how to configure notifications when a
log-based metric matches criteria that you specify. These instructions,
which guide you through creating an alerting policy and configuring
notification channels, are for the Google Cloud console. You can also create
alerting policies by using the
Cloud Monitoring API
and by using the Google Cloud CLI command
gcloud alpha monitoring policies.
Alerting policies that monitor log-based metrics can't extract data from
log entries. If you want a notification to extract data from a log entry,
then create a log-based alert.
Before you begin
Verify that your Identity and Access Management role includes the permissions required to
create and view log-based metrics, and to create alerting policies.
For details, see
Log-based metric permissions.
Configure the notification channels that you want to use to receive any
notifications. For information about these steps, see
Create and manage notification channels.
Create an alerting policy on a counter metric
An alerting policy describes a set of conditions that you want to monitor.
When you create an alerting policy, you must also specify its conditions: what
is monitored and when to send notifications. Notifications
include information about the incident, and they include buttons that let
you view relevant logs and incident details:
To create an alerting policy that compares the value of a
log-based counter metric to a threshold, do the following:
In the Google Cloud console, go to the Log-based Metrics page:
If you use the search bar to find this page, then select the result whose subheading is
Logging.
Find the metric that you want to monitor,
click more_vertMore,
and then select Create alert from metric.
Verify that the Select a metric field lists a
metric.type and a resource.type. If necessary,
add a resource.type clause.
For example, the following filter specifics a metric and a resource:
metric.type="logging.googleapis.com/byte_count"
AND resource.type="gce_instance"
In the Rolling window menu, we recommend that you select a value that
is at least 10 minutes. In particular, this value should
be large enough to make sure that multiple log entries that match your
filter are counted.
For example, if a log-based metric counts "heartbeat" log entries,
which are expected every N minutes, then set the value of the
Rolling window menu to 2N minutes or 10 minutes,
whichever is larger.
Click Next, select Threshold.
Enter a Threshold value, and optionally, configure the
Alert trigger and Threshold position fields.
Optional: Update the Retest window and use the
Advanced Options fields to configure how the alerting policy
handles missing data. Typically, the default setting is appropriate.
Click Next, click Notification channels, and then select the
notification channels that you want to use for the alerting policy.
Optional: In the Documentation section, enter any information that
you want included in notifications. Typically, the information includes
information about how to respond to the notification.
Don't include label extraction from log entries in your documentation.
Alerting policies that monitor a log-based metric can't extract data from
log entries.
In the Name the alert policy field,
enter a name for the alerting policy.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-29 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Configure notifications for log-based metrics\n\nThis document explains how to configure notifications when a\nlog-based metric matches criteria that you specify. These instructions,\nwhich guide you through creating an alerting policy and configuring\nnotification channels, are for the Google Cloud console. You can also create\nalerting policies by using the\n[Cloud Monitoring API](/monitoring/alerts/using-alerting-api)\nand by using the Google Cloud CLI command\n[`gcloud alpha monitoring policies`](/sdk/gcloud/reference/alpha/monitoring/policies).\n\nAlerting policies that monitor log-based metrics can't extract data from\nlog entries. If you want a notification to extract data from a log entry,\nthen [create a log-based alert](/logging/docs/alerting/log-based-alerts).\n\nBefore you begin\n----------------\n\n1. Verify that your Identity and Access Management role includes the permissions required to\n create and view log-based metrics, and to create alerting policies.\n For details, see\n [Log-based metric permissions](/logging/docs/access-control#metrics-permissions).\n\n2. Verify that you are familiar with log-based metrics. For more information,\n see [Overview of log-based metrics](/logging/docs/logs-based-metrics).\n\n3. Configure the notification channels that you want to use to receive any\n notifications. For information about these steps, see\n [Create and manage notification channels](/monitoring/support/notification-options).\n\nCreate an alerting policy on a counter metric\n---------------------------------------------\n\nAn alerting policy describes a set of conditions that you want to monitor.\nWhen you create an alerting policy, you must also specify its conditions: what\nis monitored and when to send notifications. Notifications\ninclude information about the incident, and they include buttons that let\nyou view relevant logs and incident details:\n\nTo create an alerting policy that compares the value of a\nlog-based counter metric to a threshold, do the following:\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the **Log-based Metrics** page:\n\n [Go to **Log-based Metrics**](https://console.cloud.google.com/logs/metrics)\n\n \u003cbr /\u003e\n\n If you use the search bar to find this page, then select the result whose subheading is\n **Logging**.\n2. Find the metric that you want to monitor,\n click *more_vert* **More** ,\n and then select **Create alert from metric**.\n\n3. Verify that the **Select a metric** field lists a\n `metric.type` and a `resource.type`. If necessary,\n add a `resource.type` clause.\n\n For example, the following filter specifics a metric and a resource: \n\n metric.type=\"logging.googleapis.com/byte_count\"\n AND resource.type=\"gce_instance\"\n\n4. In the **Rolling window** menu, we recommend that you select a value that\n is at least 10 minutes. In particular, this value should\n be large enough to make sure that multiple log entries that match your\n filter are counted.\n\n For example, if a log-based metric counts \"heartbeat\" log entries,\n which are expected every `N` minutes, then set the value of the\n **Rolling window** menu to `2N` minutes or 10 minutes,\n whichever is larger.\n | **Note:** Log-based metric data can have gaps and those gaps can result in false notifications. Increasing the value of the **Rolling window** menu can reduce the risk of false notifications. For more information, see [Troubleshoot: Metric is missing logs data](/logging/docs/logs-based-metrics/troubleshooting#slow-startup).\n5. Click **Next** , select **Threshold**.\n\n6. Enter a **Threshold value** , and optionally, configure the\n **Alert trigger** and **Threshold position** fields.\n\n7. Optional: Update the **Retest window** and use the\n **Advanced Options** fields to configure how the alerting policy\n handles missing data. Typically, the default setting is appropriate.\n\n8. Click **Next** , click **Notification channels**, and then select the\n notification channels that you want to use for the alerting policy.\n\n9. Optional: In the **Documentation** section, enter any information that\n you want included in notifications. Typically, the information includes\n information about how to respond to the notification.\n\n Don't include label extraction from log entries in your documentation.\n Alerting policies that monitor a log-based metric can't extract data from\n log entries.\n10. In the **Name the alert policy** field,\n enter a name for the alerting policy.\n\n11. Click **Create policy**.\n\nTroubleshooting\n---------------\n\nIf you encounter issues, then see\n[Troubleshoot log-based metrics](/logging/docs/logs-based-metrics/troubleshooting).\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n- For more information about alerting policies, see the following documents:\n\n - [Introduction to alerting](/monitoring/alerts)\n - [Managing alerting policies](/monitoring/alerts/using-alerting-api)\n- To chart your log-based metric, see\n [View your log-based metrics](/logging/docs/logs-based-metrics/view_your_log_based_metrics).\n\n- For information about how to monitor Cloud Logging and Cloud Monitoring\n usage and receive notifications you when you approach the threshold for\n billing, see [Monitor and optimize Google Cloud Observability costs](/stackdriver/docs/observability/pricing-optimize-and-monitor)."]]