How to Get API Outage Alerts in Slack via RSS

When a critical API goes down, every second counts. Your team needs to know immediately — not when someone checks an email or remembers to visit a status page. That's where API outage alerts in Slack become essential.

Why You Need API Outage Alerts in Slack

Team visibility: When API status updates land directly in your team's Slack channels, everyone stays in the loop. Developers, support staff, and managers all see the same information at the same time, eliminating the "I didn't know it was down" problem.

Faster incident response: Slack notifications mean your team can respond to API outages in real-time. Instead of discovering an issue through customer complaints, you'll know about Stripe payment failures, GitHub integration problems, or AWS service disruptions the moment they're reported.

Centralized communication: By routing all API status alerts to Slack, you create a single source of truth. Your team can discuss the impact, coordinate responses, and track resolution — all in one thread.

The good news? Setting up API status Slack notifications via RSS is straightforward. Here are three methods, from simplest to most advanced.

Method 1: Slack's Built-in /feed Command

Slack includes a native RSS integration that requires zero third-party apps. It's the fastest way to get RSS to Slack working.

Step-by-step:

1. Open the Slack channel where you want API outage alerts to appear (create a dedicated #api-status channel if needed)
2. Type the following command:

   /feed subscribe https://apistatuscheck.com/feed.xml
   

3. Press Enter. Slack will confirm the subscription and start posting updates to that channel.

What you'll see: When Slack detects new items in the RSS feed, it automatically posts them as messages. Each API outage alert will appear with the service name, status change, and timestamp.

Screenshot description: A Slack channel showing the /feed subscribe command being typed, followed by a confirmation message "Successfully subscribed to https://apistatuscheck.com/feed.xml"

Managing feeds:

• To see all active feeds: /feed list
• To remove a feed: /feed remove https://apistatuscheck.com/feed.xml

Limitations: Slack's built-in RSS support is basic. You get raw feed updates with minimal formatting control. For many teams, that's perfectly fine — but if you need customization, keep reading.

Method 2: Slack RSS App from the App Directory

For more control over how API status alerts appear, install a dedicated RSS app from Slack's App Directory.

Step-by-step:

1. In Slack, click your workspace name → Settings & administration → Manage apps
2. Search for "RSS" in the App Directory
3. Choose an RSS app (popular options: RSS by Slack, RSS Feed Reader, or Zapier RSS)
4. Click Add to Slack and authorize the app
5. Configure the feed URL: https://apistatuscheck.com/feed.xml
6. Select the target channel and customize posting frequency, formatting, and filters

Screenshot description: The Slack App Directory showing RSS app options, with the configuration screen displaying fields for feed URL, channel selection, and posting preferences

Why choose this method: RSS apps typically offer:

• Custom posting schedules (immediate vs. batched)
• Filtering by keywords (only post when "outage" or "degraded" appears)
• Richer formatting with custom templates
• Multiple feeds in a single app

Method 3: Zapier or Make Automation for More Control

For advanced workflows — like enriching alerts with custom data, triggering other actions, or combining multiple sources — use automation platforms.

Using Zapier:

1. Create a new Zap with RSS by Zapier as the trigger
2. Set Trigger: "New Item in Feed"
3. Enter the RSS feed URL: https://apistatuscheck.com/feed.xml
4. Set Action: "Send Channel Message" (Slack)
5. Customize the message template with feed data (title, description, link)
6. Add conditional logic: only post if the status contains "outage" or "degraded"

Using Make (formerly Integromat):

1. Create a new scenario
2. Add an RSS module → "Watch RSS feed items"
3. Connect a Slack module → "Create a Message"
4. Map feed fields to Slack message fields
5. Add filters or routers to handle different alert types differently

Screenshot description: A Zapier workflow showing RSS trigger connected to Slack action, with custom message formatting using feed variables like {{title}} and {{description}}

Pro use case: Send critical outages to #incidents, minor issues to #api-monitoring, and maintenance notices to #planned-downtime — all from one feed.

API Status Check's Per-Service RSS Feeds

API Status Check makes targeted monitoring easy with per-service RSS feeds. Instead of subscribing to all API status updates, monitor only the services you depend on.

Feed URL patterns:

• Main feed (all services): https://apistatuscheck.com/feed.xml
• Per-service feeds: https://apistatuscheck.com/feed/{slug}

Examples:

• GitHub: https://apistatuscheck.com/feed/github
• Stripe: https://apistatuscheck.com/feed/stripe
• AWS: https://apistatuscheck.com/feed/aws
• OpenAI: https://apistatuscheck.com/feed/openai
• Twilio: https://apistatuscheck.com/feed/twilio

How to use service-specific feeds:

If your app depends on Stripe for payments and Twilio for SMS, create two separate Slack channels:

• #stripe-status subscribed to https://apistatuscheck.com/feed/stripe
• #twilio-status subscribed to https://apistatuscheck.com/feed/twilio

This keeps alerts focused and prevents notification fatigue. Your payments team watches Stripe, your communications team watches Twilio.

Pro Tips for API Outage Alerts in Slack

1. Create dedicated channels per service Don't dump all API status alerts into #general. Create focused channels like #stripe-status, #aws-status, or #third-party-apis. Tag the relevant team members so they get notified.

2. Combine RSS with webhooks For services offering both RSS and webhooks, use webhooks for real-time critical alerts and RSS as a backup. API Status Check provides both — webhooks deliver instant notifications while RSS ensures nothing gets missed.

3. Set up alert keywords Configure your RSS app or automation to highlight messages containing "outage," "degraded," or "incident." Use Slack's @channel or @here mentions for critical issues.

4. Archive and review Use Slack's search to review historical outages. When planning architecture changes, search #api-status to identify patterns: "How often does this API go down?"

5. Link to your incident response Pin your incident response runbook to the #api-status channel. When an outage alert appears, your team knows exactly what to do next.

Bonus: Discord Users Can Do the Same

If your team uses Discord instead of Slack, you can achieve the same setup using Discord RSS bots. Popular options include:

• RSS Bot (top-rated Discord RSS bot)
• YAGPDB (Yet Another General Purpose Discord Bot)
• MonitoRSS

The process is similar: add the bot to your server, configure the feed URL, select a channel, and customize formatting. API Status Check's RSS feeds work with any RSS reader or bot.

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Get Started Today

Setting up API outage alerts in Slack takes less than five minutes, but the payoff is huge: faster incident detection, better team coordination, and fewer customer-facing surprises.

Quick start:

1. Decide which APIs to monitor
2. Create a dedicated Slack channel (e.g., #api-status)
3. Use the /feed subscribe command with your chosen feed URL
4. Customize with apps or automation as needed

Start with API Status Check's main feed at https://apistatuscheck.com/feed.xml, then add per-service feeds as you identify your critical dependencies.

Your future self — and your on-call team — will thank you.