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Your First Alert

Now that you have a wallet set up, you're already receiving basic alerts! Let's verify your notification channels are working.

Good News: Alerts Work Automatically

Basic deposit and withdrawal alerts are enabled by default when you create a wallet. You just need to make sure you have a notification channel configured.

Understanding Vigil's Alert System

Vigil has two layers of configuration:

  1. Notification Channels - Where alerts are sent (Email, Webhook, Nostr)
  2. Notification Preferences (Optional) - Customize which events trigger notifications and when

Step 1: Set Up a Notification Channel

Email Notifications

If you registered with email, you're already set up for email notifications.

  1. Go to Settings → Notifications
  2. Verify your email is listed under Email Channels
  3. Ensure the channel is enabled

Webhook Notifications

For programmatic integration:

  1. Go to Settings → Notifications → Add Channel
  2. Select Webhook
  3. Enter your webhook URL
  4. Note the HMAC secret for signature verification
  5. Click Save

Learn about webhook integration →

Nostr Notifications

Receive encrypted DMs to your Nostr identity:

  1. Go to Settings → Notifications → Add Channel
  2. Select Nostr
  3. Enter your npub (Nostr public key)
  4. Select encryption method (NIP-04 or NIP-17)
  5. Click Save

Learn about Nostr notifications →

Step 2: Verify You're Receiving Alerts

What's Enabled by Default

Out of the box, you'll receive notifications for:

  • ✅ Deposit Detected - Incoming transaction seen in mempool
  • ✅ Withdrawal Detected - Outgoing transaction seen in mempool

These work immediately—no additional configuration needed!

Optional: Customize Notification Preferences

Want to fine-tune when alerts are sent?

  1. Go to Settings → Notifications → Preferences
  2. Customize which events should trigger notifications
  3. Set confirmation thresholds (e.g., notify at 1, 3, or 6 confirmations)
  4. Configure per-wallet preferences if needed

Most Users Don't Need Custom Preferences

The default settings work great for most users. You can always customize later if needed.

Step 3: Test Your Setup

Send a Test Transaction

The best way to verify your setup:

  1. Send a small amount to one of your monitored addresses
  2. Watch for the mempool detection notification
  3. Wait for confirmation and verify the confirmation notification

Using Testnet

If you haven't sent real funds yet:

  1. Create a testnet wallet in Vigil
  2. Get testnet coins from a faucet
  3. Send a transaction to test the notification flow

Alert Example

When a transaction is detected, you'll receive an alert like:

🔔 Deposit Detected

Wallet: My Hardware Wallet
Amount: 0.01234567 BTC
Address: bc1q...xyz
Status: Unconfirmed (mempool)
Transaction: abc123...

View transaction: https://mempool.space/tx/abc123...

What's Next?

Your wallet is now monitored 24/7 with automatic alerts. Consider:

Congratulations! Your Vigil setup is complete. You'll receive alerts automatically whenever your wallet has activity.