> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.onepatch.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Monitor email alerts

> Turn alert emails from another system into OnePatch investigations.

OnePatch can monitor alerts from any system that sends email. The agent creates an address for each monitor; incoming messages become telemetry it can query alongside your traces, metrics, and logs.

## Set up

Tell the agent which source to watch and what should count as an alarm:

```text theme={null}
Create an unarmed email monitor for our CloudWatch checkout alarms.
Give me an address to subscribe to the SNS topic. Treat ALARM messages
as alerts, ignore subscription confirmations, and recognize OK messages
as recovery.
```

The agent returns an address and creates the monitor. Add the address as a recipient in the source system, or forward its alerts there. If the source sends a subscription confirmation, ask the agent to check for it and help complete the subscription.

Send a test alert, then ask:

```text theme={null}
Did the test email arrive, and did the checkout monitor recognize it?
```

An **armed** monitor opens an incident when its condition fires. Ask the agent to arm it when you want automatic investigation, or leave it unarmed to record firings only. See [Monitors and dashboards](/monitors-and-dashboards#arming-a-monitor).

## Change or stop it

Ask the agent to change which messages trigger the monitor, retrieve its address, or revoke the address. Mail sent to a revoked address is dropped.