How do I reliably notice that a backup failed?
Have the backup software send its messages to PagerDeck, via the email inbox or with curl from the script. One rule turns failures into the high level and repeats them until someone acknowledges. A second rule silences success messages. A backup that never runs does not report anything. For that you also need a push monitor that raises an alert when the heartbeat stops.
Rules for this use case
Failures loud and repeated
Everything from the backup source at error or above becomes the high level and repeats every 30 minutes, at most four times, until someone acknowledges.
{ "enabled": true, "stop": false, "when": { "source": [ "backup" ], "severity_at_least": "error" }, "then": { "level": "high", "repeat": { "every": "30m", "until": "ack", "max": 4 } } }Silence success
Messages with success, completed or erfolgreich in the title land quietly in the history. Put this rule near the top of the chain. stop prevents a later rule from making them loud again.
{ "enabled": true, "stop": true, "when": { "source": [ "backup" ], "match": { "title": "/success|completed|erfolgreich/i" } }, "then": { "level": "silent" } }Catch missed runs
PagerDeck does not notice when a message fails to arrive. A push monitor in Uptime Kuma expects a call after every successful run and reports to PagerDeck via its webhook when the call does not come.
/usr/local/bin/backup.sh && \ curl -fsS "https://kuma.example.com/api/push/PUSH_TOKEN?status=up&msg=OK" >/dev/null
Where the limits are
- Silent success messages also count toward your allowance. With many jobs, it is better to turn them off in the backup software.
- PagerDeck does not check whether a backup can be restored. That remains a regular manual test.
- Android devices do not get push today.
Frequently asked questions
- Which backup programs work?
- Anything that sends an email or runs a script after the job, for example Synology Hyper Backup through DSM notifications, Veeam, restic, Borg or your own rsync scripts.
- Why not just read the emails in my inbox?
- Because the one failure email gets lost among twenty success emails. PagerDeck silences the successes and only lets the failure ring until someone acknowledges.
- Can different jobs have different volumes?
- Yes. Create a separate source for each important job, or check the job name in the title with a pattern.
Read next
- Email to push for devices that only send email
NAS, UPS, backup software: every source gets its own address. The email becomes an alert that runs through your rules.
- Monitor cron jobs and shell scripts with push
A wrapper script checks the exit code. If something goes wrong, the last output reaches you as an alert.
- Homelab alerts in one place, with rules for the night
Uptime Kuma, Home Assistant, NAS and backups report to PagerDeck. You decide once what wakes you at night.
- Uptime Kuma notifications to your iPhone
Uptime Kuma reports an outage via webhook. PagerDeck uses your rules to decide whether your phone rings.
No backup failure goes unnoticed
Create a source, two rules, one push monitor. 14 days, no payment method needed.
Last reviewed: October 2026. PagerDeck, a product of Gonzi Tech UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
Product and company names mentioned are trademarks of their respective owners. PagerDeck is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by them. Details in the imprint.