Working with Rules
How to Create Rules in Widgelix Rule Engine
Overview
The Rule Engine in Widgelix allows you to define automated alerts and actions based on device data. Each rule follows an IF → IS → THEN logic: you define when a condition is met on a device, and what should happen as a result.
Step 1: Navigate to the Rule Engine
In the left sidebar, click Rule Engine. The Rule Engine list page shows all existing rules with their name, alert type, configured actions, and last execution time.
To create a new rule, click the + Create button in the top-right corner.
Step 2: Enter Basic Rule Information
The Create Rule form opens with the following fields at the top:
Rule Name (required)
Enter a descriptive name for the rule (e.g., Temperature Too High).
Alert Type (required)
Click the dropdown to choose the severity level of the alert. Three options are available:
Info
Informational alert (default)
Warning
Moderate severity
Danger
Critical severity
Custom Message (optional)
Enter a custom message to include in the alert notification. If left empty, a default message is used.
Pass Payload (optional checkbox)
Enable this to include the full raw device data payload in the alert notification.
Step 3: Configure Rule Behavior Settings
Below the basic fields is the Rule Behavior Settings section with three toggle options:
Enabled (default: ON)
Activates or deactivates the rule. Disabled rules will not be evaluated.
Trigger Once (default: OFF)
When enabled, the rule fires only once per condition match. It resets automatically when the condition becomes false again.
Execute Every – Rate Limiting (default: ON, 15 minutes)
Limits how frequently the rule can fire. Available intervals:
1 minute
5 minutes
15 minutes (default)
30 minutes
1 hour
1 day
Step 4: Add a Trigger Condition (IF / IS)
Below the Behavior Settings, click + Add Trigger to add a condition. This opens the Configure Condition panel on the right side of the screen.
The condition is split into two sections: IF Configuration and IS Configuration.
IF Configuration — What to Monitor
Device Type
Yes
Select the device type to monitor
Offline Alert
No
Check to trigger when a device goes offline. Data field and comparison are not required when this is checked.
Data Field
Yes
Select which data field to evaluate (e.g., temperature, humidity)
Device Selection Method
Yes
Choose Select from list to pick devices manually, or Select from map to select from a geographic view
Devices
Yes
Select one or more specific devices to monitor
IS Configuration — What Value to Check
Scroll down in the panel to reach the IS Configuration section.
Comparison Type — choose one of:
Compare with constant
Compare the device reading to a fixed number you enter
Compare with device measurement
Compare against another device's live reading
Geofence
Trigger based on geographic position (latitude/longitude boundary)
Comparison Operator — choose from:
Less Than
Less Than Or Equal
Equal (default)
Greater Than Or Equal
Greater Than
Not Equal
In Range
Out Of Range
Value — enter the numeric threshold that the data field is compared against.
Switching Threshold Range (new feature)
At the bottom of the IS Configuration section you will find the Switching threshold range toggle.
What it does
Normally, a condition fires every time the value crosses the trigger threshold. This can cause rapid on/off alert flickering when the value fluctuates near that threshold.
Switching threshold range solves this by adding a separate reset threshold. After the condition fires, the value must first satisfy the reset comparison before the condition is allowed to fire again.
Example: Trigger when
Temperature > 80°C. Reset whenTemperature < 75°C. Alerts stop flickering near 80°C because the value must drop below 75°C before the rule can fire again.
How to enable it
Toggle the switch from Disabled to Enabled. Two new required fields appear:
Reset comparison
Yes
The comparison operator used to evaluate the reset condition
Reset threshold
Yes
The numeric value the measurement must satisfy before the rule can fire again
Reset comparison options:
Less Than (default)
Less Than Or Equal
Equal
Greater Than Or Equal
Greater Than
Not Equal
Typical configuration pattern
Comparison Operator (trigger)
Greater Than
Value (trigger threshold)
80
Reset comparison
Less Than
Reset threshold
75
With this setup the rule fires when the reading goes above 80, and will not fire again until the reading drops below 75.
Click Apply to save the condition, or Cancel to discard it.
The saved condition appears in the main form as a Statement showing the IF / IS logic:
You can add up to 10 conditions per rule using the + Add Condition button.
Step 5: Add an Action (THEN)
Below the conditions, in the THEN section, click + Add Action to define what happens when the rule fires.
The Select Action Type modal appears with the following options:
Send an email notification
Discord
Send a message to a Discord channel
Slack
Send a message to a Slack channel
Webhook
Call an external HTTP webhook URL
SMS
Send an SMS text message
Signl4
Send an alert via the SIGNL4 mobile alerting platform
Downlink
Send a downlink command back to a device
Event Only
Log the event only — no external notification (default)
Example: Email Action
After selecting Email, fill in:
Recipients — one or more email addresses
Subject — the email subject line
Message — the email body (supports dynamic placeholders for device data)
Click Add Action to confirm. You can add multiple actions to a single rule, and use ← Change Action Type at any time to switch to a different notification type.
Step 6: Configure the Schedule (optional)
The Schedule section at the bottom restricts when the rule is allowed to execute. By default it is set to Any time.
Click the Schedule card to open the Configure Schedule panel.
Any Day (No Restrictions)
When the Any day (no schedule restrictions) toggle is ON, the rule will execute at any time of day on any day of the week. This is the default setting.
Custom Schedule
Toggle Any day to OFF to reveal the weekly timeline grid, where you can define exactly which hours on which days the rule is permitted to run.
The timeline shows 24 hours (00–23) across the top and one row per day of the week. Each day has a checkbox on the left to enable or disable it, and a time range display on the right showing the currently selected hours.
Quick-setup buttons
Select All
Enables all days and selects the full 24-hour range for each
Clear All
Removes all selections and disables all days
Business Hours (9–18)
Applies a 09:00–18:00 range to every day of the week as a preset
Drawing a time range by dragging
Click the checkbox next to a day to enable it.
Click and drag left-to-right across the timeline row for that day to select the active hours. The selected range is highlighted in blue and the start/end times are shown on the right.
The timeline snaps to 30-minute intervals. Drag further right to extend the range, or drag left to shorten it.
Right-Click Context Menu on a Time Range
Once a time range has been drawn for a day, you can right-click on the time display (the HH:MM – HH:MM text on the right side of the row) to open a context menu with two options for fine-tuning the schedule.
Option 1 — Edit Time
Click Edit Time to open the Edit Time Range dialog, which lets you set the start and end times with exact minute precision instead of relying on drag snapping.
The dialog shows:
Edit schedule for [Day name] — confirms which day you are editing
Start Time — enter the start time in
HH:MM24-hour format (e.g.,08:15)End Time — enter the end time in
HH:MM24-hour format (e.g.,17:45)
Click OK to apply the changes to that day, or Cancel to discard.
Option 2 — Copy to All Days
Click Copy to All Days to instantly duplicate the current day's time range to all other days of the week. All days will be enabled and assigned the same start and end times.
This is useful when you want a uniform schedule across the entire week — configure Monday precisely using Edit Time, then use Copy to All Days to propagate it everywhere at once.
Per-Day Toggle (Precise Time Input)
On the right side of each day row, next to the time display, there is a small toggle switch. Enabling this toggle opens an inline precise time input for that day, allowing you to type start and end times directly without opening the context menu.
Click Apply to save the schedule and return to the rule editor.
Step 7: Save the Rule
Once everything is configured, click the Save Rule button at the bottom of the page.
If any required fields are missing (e.g., Device Type, Data Field, Devices, or Reset threshold when Switching threshold range is enabled), validation errors will appear in red on the affected fields. Resolve all errors before the rule can be saved.
Summary Checklist
Before saving, verify you have completed:
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