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Alert thresholds depend on the nature of your applications. Some queries may have arbitrary tolerance thresholds. Building an efficient monitoring platform takes time. 😉

Prometheus self-monitoring Prometheus Alert Rules

28 Prometheus alerting rules for Prometheus self-monitoring. These rules cover critical and warning conditions — copy and paste the YAML into your Prometheus configuration.

1.1. Prometheus self-monitoring (28 rules) 

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/samber/awesome-prometheus-alerts/refs/heads/master/dist/rules/prometheus-self-monitoring/embedded-exporter.yml
warning

1.1.1. Prometheus job missing

A Prometheus job has disappeared 

- alert: PrometheusJobMissing
  expr: absent(up{job="prometheus"})
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: warning
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus job missing (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "A Prometheus job has disappeared\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
critical

1.1.2. Prometheus target missing

A Prometheus target has disappeared. An exporter might be crashed. 

  # Only fire if at least one target in the job is still up.
  # If all targets are down, PrometheusJobMissing or PrometheusAllTargetsMissing will fire instead.
- alert: PrometheusTargetMissing
  expr: up == 0 unless on(job) (sum by (job) (up) == 0)
  for: 1m
  labels:
    severity: critical
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus target missing (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "A Prometheus target has disappeared. An exporter might be crashed.\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
critical

1.1.3. Prometheus all targets missing

A Prometheus job does not have living target anymore. 

- alert: PrometheusAllTargetsMissing
  expr: sum by (job) (up) == 0
  for: 1m
  labels:
    severity: critical
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus all targets missing (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "A Prometheus job does not have living target anymore.\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
critical

1.1.4. Prometheus target missing with warmup time

Allow a job time to start up (10 minutes) before alerting that it's down. 

- alert: PrometheusTargetMissingWithWarmupTime
  expr: sum by (instance, job) ((up == 0) * on (instance) group_left(__name__) (node_time_seconds - node_boot_time_seconds > 600))
  for: 1m
  labels:
    severity: critical
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus target missing with warmup time (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Allow a job time to start up (10 minutes) before alerting that it's down.\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
warning

1.1.5. Prometheus configuration reload failure

Prometheus configuration reload error 

- alert: PrometheusConfigurationReloadFailure
  expr: prometheus_config_last_reload_successful != 1
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: warning
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus configuration reload failure (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus configuration reload error\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
warning

1.1.6. Prometheus too many restarts

Prometheus has restarted more than twice in the last 15 minutes. It might be crashlooping. 

- alert: PrometheusTooManyRestarts
  expr: changes(process_start_time_seconds{job=~"prometheus|pushgateway|alertmanager"}[15m]) > 2
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: warning
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus too many restarts (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus has restarted more than twice in the last 15 minutes. It might be crashlooping.\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
warning

1.1.7. Prometheus AlertManager job missing

A Prometheus AlertManager job has disappeared 

- alert: PrometheusAlertManagerJobMissing
  expr: absent(up{job="alertmanager"})
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: warning
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus AlertManager job missing (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "A Prometheus AlertManager job has disappeared\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
warning

1.1.8. Prometheus AlertManager configuration reload failure

AlertManager configuration reload error 

- alert: PrometheusAlertManagerConfigurationReloadFailure
  expr: alertmanager_config_last_reload_successful != 1
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: warning
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus AlertManager configuration reload failure (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "AlertManager configuration reload error\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
warning

1.1.9. Prometheus AlertManager config not synced

Configurations of AlertManager cluster instances are out of sync 

- alert: PrometheusAlertManagerConfigNotSynced
  expr: count(count_values("config_hash", alertmanager_config_hash)) > 1
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: warning
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus AlertManager config not synced (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Configurations of AlertManager cluster instances are out of sync\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
critical

1.1.10. Prometheus AlertManager E2E dead man switch

Prometheus DeadManSwitch is an always-firing alert. It's used as an end-to-end test of Prometheus through the Alertmanager. 

- alert: PrometheusAlertManagerE2EDeadManSwitch
  expr: vector(1)
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: critical
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus AlertManager E2E dead man switch (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus DeadManSwitch is an always-firing alert. It's used as an end-to-end test of Prometheus through the Alertmanager.\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
critical

1.1.11. Prometheus not connected to alertmanager

Prometheus cannot connect the alertmanager 

- alert: PrometheusNotConnectedToAlertmanager
  expr: prometheus_notifications_alertmanagers_discovered < 1
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: critical
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus not connected to alertmanager (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus cannot connect the alertmanager\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
critical

1.1.12. Prometheus rule evaluation failures

Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} rule evaluation failures, leading to potentially ignored alerts. 

- alert: PrometheusRuleEvaluationFailures
  expr: increase(prometheus_rule_evaluation_failures_total[3m]) > 0
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: critical
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus rule evaluation failures (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} rule evaluation failures, leading to potentially ignored alerts.\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
critical

1.1.13. Prometheus template text expansion failures

Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} template text expansion failures 

- alert: PrometheusTemplateTextExpansionFailures
  expr: increase(prometheus_template_text_expansion_failures_total[3m]) > 0
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: critical
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus template text expansion failures (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} template text expansion failures\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
warning

1.1.14. Prometheus rule evaluation slow

Prometheus rule evaluation took more time than the scheduled interval. It indicates a slower storage backend access or too complex query. 

- alert: PrometheusRuleEvaluationSlow
  expr: prometheus_rule_group_last_duration_seconds > prometheus_rule_group_interval_seconds
  for: 5m
  labels:
    severity: warning
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus rule evaluation slow (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus rule evaluation took more time than the scheduled interval. It indicates a slower storage backend access or too complex query.\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
warning

1.1.15. Prometheus notifications backlog

The Prometheus notification queue has not been empty for 10 minutes 

- alert: PrometheusNotificationsBacklog
  expr: min_over_time(prometheus_notifications_queue_length[10m]) > 0
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: warning
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus notifications backlog (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "The Prometheus notification queue has not been empty for 10 minutes\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
critical

1.1.16. Prometheus AlertManager notification failing

Alertmanager is failing sending notifications ({{ $value }} notifications/s) 

- alert: PrometheusAlertManagerNotificationFailing
  expr: rate(alertmanager_notifications_failed_total[3m]) > 0.05
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: critical
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus AlertManager notification failing (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Alertmanager is failing sending notifications ({{ $value }} notifications/s)\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
critical

1.1.17. Prometheus target empty

Prometheus has no target in service discovery 

- alert: PrometheusTargetEmpty
  expr: prometheus_sd_discovered_targets == 0
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: critical
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus target empty (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus has no target in service discovery\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
warning

1.1.18. Prometheus target scraping slow

Prometheus is scraping exporters slowly since it exceeded the requested interval time. Your Prometheus server is under-provisioned. 

- alert: PrometheusTargetScrapingSlow
  expr: prometheus_target_interval_length_seconds{quantile="0.9"} / on (interval, instance, job) prometheus_target_interval_length_seconds{quantile="0.5"} > 1.05
  for: 5m
  labels:
    severity: warning
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus target scraping slow (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus is scraping exporters slowly since it exceeded the requested interval time. Your Prometheus server is under-provisioned.\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
warning

1.1.19. Prometheus large scrape

Prometheus has many scrapes that exceed the sample limit ({{ $value }} scrapes) 

- alert: PrometheusLargeScrape
  expr: increase(prometheus_target_scrapes_exceeded_sample_limit_total[10m]) > 10
  for: 5m
  labels:
    severity: warning
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus large scrape (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus has many scrapes that exceed the sample limit ({{ $value }} scrapes)\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
warning

1.1.20. Prometheus target scrape duplicate

Prometheus has many samples rejected due to duplicate timestamps but different values ({{ $value }} samples) 

- alert: PrometheusTargetScrapeDuplicate
  expr: increase(prometheus_target_scrapes_sample_duplicate_timestamp_total[5m]) > 3
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: warning
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus target scrape duplicate (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus has many samples rejected due to duplicate timestamps but different values ({{ $value }} samples)\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
critical

1.1.21. Prometheus TSDB checkpoint creation failures

Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} checkpoint creation failures 

- alert: PrometheusTSDBCheckpointCreationFailures
  expr: increase(prometheus_tsdb_checkpoint_creations_failed_total[1m]) > 0
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: critical
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus TSDB checkpoint creation failures (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} checkpoint creation failures\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
critical

1.1.22. Prometheus TSDB checkpoint deletion failures

Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} checkpoint deletion failures 

- alert: PrometheusTSDBCheckpointDeletionFailures
  expr: increase(prometheus_tsdb_checkpoint_deletions_failed_total[1m]) > 0
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: critical
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus TSDB checkpoint deletion failures (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} checkpoint deletion failures\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
critical

1.1.23. Prometheus TSDB compactions failed

Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} TSDB compactions failures 

- alert: PrometheusTSDBCompactionsFailed
  expr: increase(prometheus_tsdb_compactions_failed_total[1m]) > 0
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: critical
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus TSDB compactions failed (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} TSDB compactions failures\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
critical

1.1.24. Prometheus TSDB head truncations failed

Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} TSDB head truncation failures 

- alert: PrometheusTSDBHeadTruncationsFailed
  expr: increase(prometheus_tsdb_head_truncations_failed_total[1m]) > 0
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: critical
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus TSDB head truncations failed (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} TSDB head truncation failures\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
critical

1.1.25. Prometheus TSDB reload failures

Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} TSDB reload failures 

- alert: PrometheusTSDBReloadFailures
  expr: increase(prometheus_tsdb_reloads_failures_total[1m]) > 0
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: critical
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus TSDB reload failures (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} TSDB reload failures\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
critical

1.1.26. Prometheus TSDB WAL corruptions

Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} TSDB WAL corruptions 

- alert: PrometheusTSDBWALCorruptions
  expr: increase(prometheus_tsdb_wal_corruptions_total[1m]) > 0
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: critical
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus TSDB WAL corruptions (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} TSDB WAL corruptions\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
critical

1.1.27. Prometheus TSDB WAL truncations failed

Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} TSDB WAL truncation failures 

- alert: PrometheusTSDBWALTruncationsFailed
  expr: increase(prometheus_tsdb_wal_truncations_failed_total[1m]) > 0
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: critical
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus TSDB WAL truncations failed (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "Prometheus encountered {{ $value }} TSDB WAL truncation failures\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"
warning

1.1.28. Prometheus timeseries cardinality

The "{{ $labels.name }}" timeseries cardinality is getting very high: {{ $value }} 

- alert: PrometheusTimeseriesCardinality
  expr: label_replace(count by(__name__) ({__name__=~".+"}), "name", "$1", "__name__", "(.+)") > 10000
  for: 0m
  labels:
    severity: warning
  annotations:
    summary: Prometheus timeseries cardinality (instance {{ $labels.instance }})
    description: "The \"{{ $labels.name }}\" timeseries cardinality is getting very high: {{ $value }}\n  VALUE = {{ $value }}\n  LABELS = {{ $labels }}"

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