Skip to main content

GitHub Slack Notifications

Get notified in Slack when important things happen on your GitHub repositories — PR reviews, CI failures, @mentions, push commits, and more. Notifications are delivered as direct messages from the Bike4Mind bot.

What You'll Get​

Pull Request Notifications​

NotificationWhen It TriggersWho Gets Notified
PR OpenedA new pull request is openedRequested reviewers
Review RequestedYour review is requested on a PRThe requested reviewer
PR ApprovedYour pull request is approvedPR author
Changes RequestedA reviewer requests changes on your PRPR author
PR MergedYour pull request is mergedPR author
PR Review CommentSomeone comments on your PR's codePR author, @mentioned users

CI/CD Notifications​

NotificationWhen It TriggersWho Gets Notified
CI FailedA GitHub Actions workflow failsThe person who triggered it
CI PassedA GitHub Actions workflow succeeds (opt-in)The person who triggered it

Code & Issue Notifications​

NotificationWhen It TriggersWho Gets Notified
Push CommitsCommits pushed to protected branches (main, master, develop, release/*)Subscribers (except the pusher)
Issue OpenedA new issue is openedAssignees + subscribers (except the author)
Issue ClosedAn issue is closedIssue author (if closed by someone else)
Issue AssignedYou're assigned to an issueThe assignee
@MentionsSomeone @mentions you in a commentThe mentioned user
Push Notifications are Opt-In

Push commit notifications must be explicitly enabled in your subscription events filter to avoid notification overload from high-activity repos.

For Organization Admins​

Organization admins configure a single webhook URL that covers the entire team. Team members then subscribe individually.

Step 1: Create the Organization Webhook​

  1. Go to your Organization page in Bike4Mind
  2. Click the Webhooks tab
  3. Click Create Webhook
  4. You'll see:
    • Webhook URL — Copy this to add to GitHub
    • Secret — Shown once when created. Copy and save it securely.
Save Your Secret

The webhook secret is only displayed once when created. If you lose it, you'll need to rotate (regenerate) it from the Webhooks tab.

Step 2: Add the Webhook to GitHub​

Add the webhook at the GitHub organization level for automatic coverage of all repositories:

  1. Go to your GitHub organization Settings → Webhooks → Add webhook
  2. Configure the webhook:
    • Payload URL: Paste the webhook URL from Step 1
    • Content type: Select application/json
    • Secret: Paste the secret from Step 1
  3. Under Which events would you like to trigger this webhook?, select Let me select individual events and check:
    • Pull requests — PR opened, merged
    • Pull request reviews — Approvals, changes requested
    • Pull request review comments — Code review comments
    • Issues — Issue opened, closed, assigned
    • Issue comments — @mentions in issue comments
    • Pushes — Commits pushed to branches
    • Workflow runs — CI/CD pass/fail notifications
  4. Click Add webhook

GitHub will send a ping event. A green checkmark indicates success.

Organization vs Repository Webhooks
  • Organization-level webhook (recommended): Covers all current and future repos automatically
  • Repository-level webhook: Only covers that specific repo

For organization webhooks, go to: github.com/orgs/YOUR-ORG/settings/hooks

Step 3: Verify the Webhook​

After adding the webhook to GitHub:

  1. Return to your Bike4Mind Organization → Webhooks tab
  2. Look for the Last Delivery timestamp to confirm events are being received
  3. Try creating a test PR or pushing a commit to verify notifications flow through

Managing the Webhook​

Rotating the Secret​

If you need to regenerate the webhook secret (e.g., if it was exposed):

  1. Go to Organization → Webhooks tab
  2. Click Rotate Secret
  3. Copy the new secret and update it in GitHub's webhook settings

Disabling the Webhook​

Toggle the Enabled switch off to temporarily stop all webhook processing without deleting the configuration.

For Team Members (Subscribers)​

Each team member opts in to receive notifications by subscribing to the organization webhook.

Step 1: Connect Your Slack Account​

  1. Go to Settings → Integrations → Slack Integration
  2. Enter your Slack Member ID and save
Finding Your Slack Member ID

In Slack, click your profile picture → Profile → click the three dots (more actions) → Copy member ID.

Step 2: Set Your GitHub Username​

  1. Go to Settings → Integrations → GitHub Integration
  2. Enter your GitHub username exactly as it appears on GitHub (case-insensitive)
  3. Save

This maps your GitHub activity to your Slack account. Without this, notifications can't find you.

Step 3: Subscribe to the Organization​

  1. Go to Settings → Integrations → GitHub Webhook Subscriptions
  2. Click Subscribe to Organization
  3. Select your organization from the dropdown
  4. Click Subscribe

Your subscription defaults to all repos and all events except push notifications (which are opt-in).

Step 4: Configure Your Notification Preferences​

In Settings → Integrations → GitHub Integration, toggle which notifications you want:

Pull Request Events:

  • PR Opened — When someone opens a PR and requests your review
  • Review Requested — When your review is specifically requested
  • PR Approved — When your PR gets approved
  • Changes Requested — When a reviewer requests changes on your PR
  • PR Merged — When your PR is merged
  • PR Review Comment — When someone comments on your PR's code

CI/CD Events:

  • CI Failed — When a workflow run fails for your push
  • CI Passed — When a workflow run succeeds (disabled by default — can be noisy)

Code & Issue Events:

  • Push Commits — When commits are pushed to protected branches (opt-in)
  • Issue Opened — When someone opens an issue in a repo you're subscribed to
  • Issue Closed — When an issue you created is closed
  • Issue Assigned — When you're assigned to an issue
  • @Mentions — When someone @mentions your GitHub username

Understanding Your Delivery History​

Each subscription has a delivery history showing all webhook events. Access it by clicking the history icon next to your subscription.

Delivery Statuses​

StatusMeaning
SuccessYou were a notification target and received a Slack message
SkippedYou weren't a notification target for this event (see below)
FailedDelivery attempted but failed (Slack error, rate limit, etc.)
PendingDelivery is queued and will be attempted shortly

Why Events Show "Skipped"​

"Skipped" is normal and expected. It means the event was processed, but you weren't the intended recipient. Common reasons:

Event TypeWhy You See "Skipped"
PR OpenedYou weren't a requested reviewer
PR Approved/ChangesYou're not the PR author
CI Failed/PassedYou didn't trigger the workflow
Push CommitsYou were the pusher (no self-notification)
Issue EventsYou're not the author, assignee, or mentioned
PR Review CommentYou're not the PR author and weren't @mentioned

Self-notification prevention: You won't receive notifications for your own actions. If you open a PR, approve a review, or push commits, you already know — so no notification is sent.

Example Scenario​

You subscribe to an organization. A coworker opens a PR requesting your review:

  1. Your coworker (PR author) → Sees "skipped" for the pull_request.opened event (authors don't get notified for their own PRs)
  2. You (requested reviewer) → See "success" and receive a Slack DM

Managing Your Subscription​

Pausing Notifications​

Temporarily pause notifications without unsubscribing:

  1. Go to Settings → Integrations → GitHub Webhook Subscriptions
  2. Toggle the Enabled switch off for your subscription

Filtering Events​

You can limit which event types you receive. In your subscription settings, select specific events instead of "all events."

Unsubscribing​

  1. Go to Settings → Integrations → GitHub Webhook Subscriptions
  2. Click the delete icon next to your subscription
  3. Confirm

Auto-Disable (Circuit Breaker)​

If notifications fail to deliver 10 times consecutively (e.g., Slack connection issues), your subscription is automatically disabled. You'll see an "Auto-disabled" status with a Re-enable button once the issue is resolved.

Troubleshooting​

Not Receiving Notifications​

Check these in order:

  1. Org webhook enabled? Organization page → Webhooks tab → Enabled toggle must be ON
  2. Subscription enabled? Settings → Integrations → Webhook Subscriptions → Enabled toggle must be ON
  3. GitHub username correct? Settings → Integrations → GitHub Integration → Must match your GitHub username exactly
  4. Notification toggles on? Same section → Toggle must be ON for the event type you expect
  5. Slack connected? Settings → Integrations → Slack Integration → Slack Member ID must be set
  6. Are you the target? Check delivery history — "skipped" means you weren't the intended recipient

All Events Show "Skipped"​

This usually means one of:

  • GitHub username mismatch — Your configured username doesn't match how GitHub identifies you in webhooks
  • Self-notification — You're seeing events you triggered yourself
  • Not a notification target — The events are for other team members (PR reviews for different PRs, etc.)

Rate Limited​

There's a limit of 100 notifications per user per day to prevent spam from high-activity repos. The counter resets at midnight. If you're hitting this limit, consider:

  • Disabling noisy notifications (CI Passed, Push Commits)
  • Filtering to specific repositories

Webhook Secret Mismatch​

If GitHub shows delivery failures with "signature mismatch":

  1. Verify the secret in GitHub matches the one in Bike4Mind
  2. If lost, rotate the secret in Bike4Mind and update GitHub

FAQ​

Q: Can I get notifications from multiple organizations?

Yes. Subscribe to each organization separately in the Webhook Subscriptions section.

Q: Who can see the webhook secret?

Only organization admins and managers. The secret is encrypted at rest and masked in the UI.

Q: Why don't I get notified when I open my own PR?

By design. Self-notification is disabled because you already know about actions you performed.

Q: Can I choose which repos I get notifications for?

Your subscription defaults to all repos. Repository filtering will be available in a future update.

Q: What branches trigger push notifications?

Only protected branches: main, master, develop, and release/* patterns. Feature branches are excluded to reduce noise.

Q: Why are CI events "skipped" when CI passed?

Check if you have CI Passed enabled in your notification preferences. It's disabled by default because successful CI runs are frequent and can be noisy.