---
title: "Load alert group data | Grafana Cloud documentation"
description: "Load Grafana IRM alert group data into workflows as a resource, with automatic loading for alert group events and explicit declarations for any workflow."
---

# Load alert group data

> Note
> 
> Grafana Workflows is currently in [private preview](/docs/release-life-cycle/). Grafana Labs offers support on a best-effort basis, and breaking changes might occur prior to the feature being made generally available.

Alert group resources let workflows load full Grafana IRM alert group data and reference individual fields in step inputs. The engine fetches alert groups at the start of workflow execution, before any steps run.

There are two ways alert groups are loaded:

- **Automatically** for workflows triggered by alert group events
- **Explicitly** through the `resources.alertgroups` section of the workflow definition

## Automatic loading for alert group events

When a workflow triggers on an alert group event (any event matching `grafana_irm_app.alertgroup.*`), the engine automatically fetches the full alert group and makes it available under the key `event`:

YAML ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy

```yaml
spec:
  name: Respond to alert group
  startWhen:
    matchingRules:
      - eventNameRegex: "grafana_irm_app\\.alertgroup\\..*"
  steps:
    - id: notify
      type: slack.message.post
      inputs:
        channelID: "C0123456789"
        messageText: "Alert group ${resources.alertgroup.event.title} is ${resources.alertgroup.event.state}"
```

No configuration is required. The engine detects the alert group event, extracts the alert group ID from the event payload, and fetches the current alert group data from the Grafana OnCall API.

## Declare alert group resources explicitly

To load alert groups that are not part of the triggering event, declare them in the `resources.alertgroups` section. Each entry maps a reference name to an alert group URI using the `alertgroup://id/` scheme:

YAML ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy

```yaml
spec:
  resources:
    alertgroups:
      related: "alertgroup://id/IXXDXP5KHEGRY"
      current: "alertgroup://id/${inputs.alertGroupID}"
```

Values must use the `alertgroup://id/` URI prefix followed by the alert group ID. The `id/` path segment distinguishes ID lookups from future URI types. CEL expressions are supported in the path and are evaluated before the URI is parsed:

- **Literal URIs**: A constant alert group URI such as `"alertgroup://id/IXXDXP5KHEGRY"`.
- **CEL expressions in the URI**: Use `${expression}` in the path, for example `"alertgroup://id/${inputs.alertGroupID}"` to pull the ID from the triggering event data.

## Reference alert group fields in step inputs

Access alert group fields using `${resources.alertgroup.<key>.<field>}` syntax in step inputs:

YAML ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy

```yaml
steps:
  - id: post-summary
    type: slack.message.post
    inputs:
      channelID: "C0123456789"
      messageText: |
        Alert Group: ${resources.alertgroup.event.title}
        State: ${resources.alertgroup.event.state}
        Alerts: ${resources.alertgroup.event.alerts_count}
```

### Available fields

The alert group object contains fields from the Grafana OnCall API. Common fields include:

Expand table

| Field             | Type   | Description                                        |
|-------------------|--------|----------------------------------------------------|
| `id`              | string | The alert group identifier.                        |
| `title`           | string | The alert group title.                             |
| `state`           | string | Current state, for example `firing` or `resolved`. |
| `alerts_count`    | int    | Number of alerts in the group.                     |
| `created_at`      | string | When the alert group was created (RFC 3339).       |
| `resolved_at`     | string | When the alert group was resolved (RFC 3339).      |
| `acknowledged_at` | string | When the alert group was acknowledged (RFC 3339).  |
| `silenced_at`     | string | When the alert group was silenced (RFC 3339).      |

The exact fields available depend on the OnCall API response. Refer to the Grafana OnCall API documentation for the complete schema.

## Combine automatic and explicit resources

A workflow can use both automatic and explicit alert group resources. When a workflow triggers on an alert group event and also declares explicit resources, both are available. If an explicit entry uses the key `event`, it overrides the auto-loaded alert group:

YAML ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy

```yaml
spec:
  startWhen:
    matchingRules:
      - eventNameRegex: "grafana_irm_app\\.alertgroup\\.updated"
  resources:
    alertgroups:
      related: "alertgroup://id/IXXDXP5KHEGRY"
  steps:
    - id: compare
      type: transform
      inputs:
        template: "Event alert group: ${resources.alertgroup.event.title}, Related: ${resources.alertgroup.related.title}"
```

In this example, `resources.alertgroup.event` is auto-loaded from the triggering alert group event, and `resources.alertgroup.related` is loaded from the explicitly declared ID.

## Error handling

If any alert group fails to load (invalid ID, API unreachable, or authentication failure), the workflow fails immediately before any steps execute. This applies to both auto-loaded and explicitly declared alert groups.

## Next steps

- [Create workflows](/docs/grafana-cloud/alerting-and-irm/workflows/create-workflows)
- [Load incident data](/docs/grafana-cloud/alerting-and-irm/workflows/load-incident-data)
- [Use CEL expressions](/docs/grafana-cloud/alerting-and-irm/workflows/use-expressions)
- [Manage secrets](/docs/grafana-cloud/alerting-and-irm/workflows/manage-secrets)
- [Step types reference](/docs/grafana-cloud/alerting-and-irm/workflows/reference)