Incident Lifecycle: Open → Acknowledged → Resolved

Incident Lifecycle: Open → Acknowledged → Resolved

Every incident in PulseAPI moves through three statuses: Open, Acknowledged, and Resolved. This article explains what each status means, who can change it, and what notifications are sent at each transition.

Status Overview

Open  →  Acknowledged  →  Resolved
Status Meaning Who Can Set It
Open Incident created; team has been notified but no one has acknowledged it Set automatically by PulseAPI
Acknowledged A team member is aware and working on it Owner, Admin, Member
Resolved Problem is fixed; incident is closed Owner, Admin, Member (or automatically by PulseAPI)

Open

An incident enters Open status the moment PulseAPI creates it. This happens when a check failure matches an active alert rule.

When an incident is created:

  • Notifications are sent to all channels assigned to the matching alert rule
  • The incident appears in your Incidents list and on the Dashboard under Active Incidents
  • The incident clock starts (used to calculate duration)

An open incident means no one on your team has yet acknowledged the problem.

Acknowledged

Acknowledged status signals that a team member is aware of the incident and actively investigating it. It does not mean the problem is fixed — it's a way to communicate to your team that someone is on it.

To acknowledge an incident:

  1. Open the incident from the Incidents list or the Dashboard.
  2. Click Acknowledge.

The incident status changes to Acknowledged and the acknowledgment timestamp is recorded. No additional notification is sent when an incident is acknowledged.

Note: Acknowledging an incident does not stop further checks on the affected monitor. PulseAPI continues checking the endpoint and will auto-resolve the incident when checks pass again.

Resolved

Resolved status means the incident is closed — the problem is fixed and the endpoint is healthy.

Auto-Resolution

PulseAPI resolves incidents automatically when a series of consecutive successful checks passes after a failure. The exact number of successful checks required is determined by your alert rule configuration.

Tip: If your incidents aren't auto-resolving, see Why Didn't My Incident Auto-Resolve?.

Manual Resolution

You can also resolve an incident manually:

  1. Open the incident.
  2. Click Resolve.
  3. Optionally, enter a Root Cause note explaining what happened.
  4. Click Confirm.

When an incident is resolved:

  • The resolution timestamp is recorded
  • Incident duration is calculated (started → resolved)
  • A resolution notification is sent to the channels assigned to the triggering rule

Reopening an Incident

Incidents cannot be manually reopened after resolution. If the same endpoint fails again after resolution, PulseAPI creates a new incident.

Related Articles

Still have questions? Contact support.

    • Related Articles

    • What Is an Incident?

      An incident is PulseAPI's record of a problem with one of your monitors. This article explains what triggers an incident, what information it contains, and how it relates to alert rules. What Creates an Incident Incidents are created automatically — ...

    • Viewing Incident History

      The Incidents page shows a full history of all incidents on your team — open, acknowledged, and resolved. This article explains how to navigate and filter the list. Opening the Incidents List In the left sidebar, click Incidents. Filtering Incidents ...

    • Acknowledging an Incident

      Acknowledging an incident tells your team that someone is aware of the problem and actively working on it. It moves the incident from Open to Acknowledged status. Prerequisites: You must be a team Owner, Admin, or Member to acknowledge incidents. ...

    • Resolving an Incident

      Resolving an incident closes it — the problem is fixed and the endpoint is healthy. Incidents can be resolved automatically by PulseAPI or manually by a team member. Prerequisites: You must be a team Owner, Admin, or Member to resolve incidents. ...

    • Key Concepts: Endpoints, Checks, Incidents, and Alerts

      This article explains the four core building blocks of PulseAPI and how they work together. Understanding these concepts makes every other part of the product easier to use. Endpoint (Monitor) An endpoint is a URL you want PulseAPI to watch. In ...