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Hello <@U088WCP3B4P> :wave:, We’re using Elementar...
# ask-elementary-ai
s
Hello @kapa.ai 👋, We’re using Elementary’s Slack alerts feature to notify our business stakeholders about data warnings. Sending warning notifications to a specific Slack channel works as expected, except that the description field is not displaying. According to the documentation, descriptions should be included in the alerts, but they are not appearing in the Slack messages (please see the first screenshot I’ve attached). I’ve added the description in the 
.yml
file exactly as outlined in your documentation, and I can confirm that the description is present in the 
elementary.dbt_tests
table (see the third screenshot). I’ve also attached the CLI command I’m running on my side in Airflow.
Copy code
arguments=[
            "edr",
            "monitor",
            "--filters",
            "statuses:warn",
            "--filters",
            "owners:@anne.sturtzer",
            "--slack-channel-name",
            "project-alert-notifications",
            "--suppression-interval",
            "0",
        ],
Could you let me know if this issue with descriptions not displaying in alerts is a known problem? If not, would you be able to help us troubleshoot? Thank you! 🙂
k
Sorry @Simge Chetin, it looks like your question contains files, which I cannot process. Please reformulate your question without including any files.
s
Hello @kapa.ai 👋, We’re using Elementary’s Slack alerts feature to notify our business stakeholders about data warnings. Sending warning notifications to a specific Slack channel works as expected, except that the description field is not displaying. According to the documentation, descriptions should be included in the alerts, but they are not appearing in the Slack messages (please see the first screenshot I’ve attached). I’ve added the description in the 
.yml
file exactly as outlined in your documentation, and I can confirm that the description is present in the 
elementary.dbt_tests
table. .yml format is defined below:
Copy code
version: 2

models:
  - name: stg_zuora__account
    description: '{{ doc("src_zuora__account") }}'
    meta:
      owner: "@anne.sturtzer"
    columns:
      - name: zuora_company_id
        description: '{{ doc("stg_zuora__account__zuora_company_id") }}'
        data_tests:
          - dbt_constraints.primary_key
      - name: company_id
        description: '{{ doc("stg_back_office__companies__company_id") }}'
        data_tests:
          - unique:
              config:
                severity: warn
                meta:
                  description: >
                    This test ensures that company_id is unique or not null.
I’ve also attached the CLI command I’m running on my side in Airflow.
Copy code
arguments=[
            "edr",
            "monitor",
            "--filters",
            "statuses:warn",
            "--filters",
            "owners:@anne.sturtzer",
            "--slack-channel-name",
            "project-alert-notifications",
            "--suppression-interval",
            "0",
        ],
Could you let me know if this issue with descriptions not displaying in alerts is a known problem? If not, would you be able to help us troubleshoot? Thank you! 🙂
k
A message from kapa.ai
Hello! 👋 Based on your description and the configuration you provided, you are correctly adding the description field in the test’s meta block in your 
.yml
file, and you confirmed it appears in the 
elementary.dbt_tests
table. However, the description is not showing up in your Slack alerts. Here are some key points and troubleshooting steps based on the knowledge sources: 1. Grouped Alerts Do Not Show Descriptions If you are using the 
slack_group_alerts_by: table
configuration (or similar grouping), descriptions and other custom fields will not appear in the Slack alert. Grouped alerts have a strict, aggregated format and do not support custom fields like description. To ensure descriptions appear, make sure you are not grouping alerts by table or any other method. Removing the grouping configuration should revert alerts to the default, where descriptions are included for each failure. If you have previously set 
slack_group_alerts_by: table
, try removing it and rerunning your commands. Note that sometimes, after removing the grouping, you may need to clear any cached configurations or rerun dbt/Elementary commands to see the change reflected in alerts [Grouped alerts and custom fields](https://slack.com/archives/C02CTC89LAX/p1689573667390299). 2. Alert Fields Configuration If you are using the 
alert_fields
meta property, only the fields you specify will be included in the alert. If you set 
alert_fields: ["description", "owners", "tags", "subscribers"]
, only those fields will appear. If you omit 
description
from this list, it will not be shown. By default, all fields are included unless you specify otherwise [Alert fields documentation](https://docs.elementary-data.com/oss/guides/alerts/alerts-configuration#alerts-distribution). 3. Correct Placement of Description The description should be placed under the 
meta
block of the test, as you have done. There is no indication from the knowledge sources that your YAML structure is incorrect. 4. Known Issues and Versioning There have been reports that descriptions are only picked up if they are defined in the test’s 
meta
dictionary, not as a top-level 
description
property. Your configuration matches this requirement. If you are using an older version of Elementary, consider upgrading both the CLI and the dbt package to the latest version, as some issues have been fixed in recent releases [Description in meta block](https://slack.com/archives/C02CTC89LAX/p1698150269410739). 5. dbt Docs Blocks Not Supported If you are using dbt docs blocks (e.g., 
{{ doc("...") }}
) for descriptions, note that these are not currently supported for test descriptions in Elementary alerts. The description must be a plain string in the meta block [Docs blocks not supported](https://slack.com/archives/C02CTC89LAX/p1682047471671549). Summary of Troubleshooting Steps: - Ensure you are not using grouped alerts (
slack_group_alerts_by: table
). - If using 
alert_fields
, make sure 
description
is included. - Confirm the description is in the test’s 
meta
block as a plain string. - Upgrade to the latest version of Elementary CLI and dbt package. - Avoid using dbt docs blocks for test descriptions. If you have checked all the above and the issue persists, it may be a bug or a version-specific issue. In that case, please provide your Elementary and dbt versions, and consider opening a support ticket or GitHub issue with your configuration details. Let me know if you need further assistance!
s
@kapa.ai I don’t use 
slack_group_alerts_by: table
configuration and we don’t specify any fields for Alert Fields Configuration. I am also not using dbt docs blocks (e.g., 
{{ doc("...") }}
) for descriptions. So what could be the root cause about not retrieving description?
k
A message from kapa.ai
Thank you for clarifying that you are not using 
slack_group_alerts_by: table
, are not specifying 
alert_fields
, and are not using dbt docs blocks for descriptions. Based on the knowledge sources, here are the most relevant points and what is known: - Elementary should include the description in alerts by default if it is set in the test’s 
meta
block as a plain string, and you are not using grouped alerts or restricting fields via 
alert_fields
[Alert fields documentation](https://docs.elementary-data.com/oss/guides/alerts/alerts-configuration#alerts-distribution). - There have been user reports where the description is present in the 
elementary.dbt_tests
table but still does not appear in Slack alerts. In those cases, the Elementary team confirmed that the description is only picked up from the test’s 
meta
dictionary, not from other locations, and that the YAML structure must be correct [Description in meta block](https://slack.com/archives/C02CTC89LAX/p1698150269410739). - If all of the above is correct and you are still not seeing the description, there is no explicit root cause documented in the knowledge sources for this scenario. Some users have reported this as a potential bug or version-specific issue, and the recommended next step was to ensure both the CLI and the dbt package are up to date, and if the issue persists, to reach out to support or open a GitHub issue with configuration details [Description in meta block](https://slack.com/archives/C02CTC89LAX/p1698150269410739). In summary: If you have confirmed that your configuration matches the documented requirements and you are still not seeing descriptions in your Slack alerts, the knowledge sources do not provide a definitive root cause for this issue. It may be a bug or a version-specific problem. The best next step is to ensure you are on the latest versions and, if the problem persists, contact support or open a GitHub issue with your configuration and version details. If you have any additional context (such as your Elementary and dbt versions), sharing that with support may help resolve the issue faster.
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