---
title: How to Set Up MongoDB Cluster Monitoring Alerts
description: Configure alert policies based on database cluster performance metrics.
product: Databases
url: https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/databases/mongodb/how-to/set-up-alerts/
last_updated: "2026-07-31"
---

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# How to Set Up MongoDB Cluster Monitoring Alerts

MongoDB is a source-available cross-platform document-oriented database program for high-volume storage. Classified as a NoSQL database program, MongoDB uses JSON-like documents with optional schemas.

You can set alert policies based on your [cluster performance metrics](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/databases/mongodb/how-to/monitor-databases/index.html.md). Alert policies notify you when a performance metric rises above or falls below a threshold you set, and again when a metric returns to within the threshold. You can receive notifications via email or Slack.

## Default Alert Policies

New managed database clusters are automatically provisioned with default alert policies for CPU, memory, and disk utilization that trigger at 90%. These alerts notify you via email when resource utilization reaches the threshold, allowing you time to investigate your application load or scale your cluster. You can [modify or remove the default alerts](#manage-alert-policies-and-triggered-alerts), or [create alert policies for existing clusters](#create-an-alert-policy) using the Control Panel or the [DigitalOcean API](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/api/reference/monitoring/index.html.md#monitoring_list_alertPolicy).

## Create an Alert Policy

To create an alert policy, go to the [**Databases page**](https://cloud.digitalocean.com/databases) and select the cluster you want to create an alert policy for. On the cluster’s **Overview** page, click the **Insights** tab, then click the **Manage Alert Policies** button.

In the **Manage alert policies** window, select the **Create alert policy** tab.

![Creating an alert policy](https://docs.digitalocean.com/screenshots/databases/alert-policy.db1e442b6e0b85259f7ae4aa7cd0a4976cf5cf38b0f22435c8826da3f812db45.png)

Under **Specify metric & set threshold**:

- Select the performance metric that you want alerts for: **Disk Utilization**, **15 Minute Load Average**, **CPU**, or **Memory Utilization**.
- Select **is above** or **is below**.
- Enter the threshold value (as a percentage) that triggers the alert.
- Select the time window that the metric is averaged over: **5min**, **10min**, **30min**, or **1hr**. The alert triggers if the averaged value exceeds the threshold for the full duration.

Under **Select Clusters or tags**, enter specific clusters or tags that you want the alert policy to apply to, or choose **All clusters**.

Under **Send alerts via**, choose at least one notification method. You can receive notifications via email (the email on your account and the email of any [team members](https://docs.digitalocean.com/platform/teams/index.html.md)) or [Slack](https://slack.com/).

Slack notifications require Slack authentication. Click **Connect Slack** to authenticate. Once you are authenticated, you can select any Slack team, direct message group, or individual members you have access to.

Under **Name and create alert policy**, enter a descriptive name, and then click **Create**.

It may take a few minutes for the alert policy to start evaluating data.

## Manage Alert Policies and Triggered Alerts

To manage an alert policy, go to the [**Databases page**](https://cloud.digitalocean.com/databases) and select the cluster that has the alert policy you want to update. On the cluster’s **Overview** page, click the **Insights** tab, then click the **Manage Alert Policies** button.

Select the **Existing alert policies** tab. If an alert is triggered, it appears in the **Triggered Alerts** section, while untriggered alerts appear under **Alert Policies**.

Click an alert policy’s **…** menu and select **Edit** to update the alert policy. You can also delete an alert policy from the **…** menu, which permanently removes the alert policy without confirmation.