---
title: "How evaluation works | Grafana Labs"
description: "How evaluation groups schedule the checks, and the states a rule moves through from Normal to Recovering."
---

> For a curated documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). For the complete documentation index, see [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt).

## How evaluation works

The following diagram shows how an alert moves through states.

[Diagram of alert states from Normal through Pending, Alerting, and Recovering](lifecycle.svg "Diagram of alert states from Normal through Pending, Alerting, and Recovering")

| State      | Condition is:                                   |
|------------|-------------------------------------------------|
| Normal     | Not met                                         |
| Pending    | Met, pending period has not elapsed             |
| Alerting   | Met past the pending period. Notification sent. |
| Recovering | No longer met, keep firing for period active    |

For more details on alert states and how they function, refer to [View the state and health of alert rules](/docs/grafana/latest/alerting/monitor-status/view-alert-state/).

## How checking works

During **evaluation**, Grafana checks your alert rule at regular intervals. Three settings control when the rule fires:

- **Evaluation group:** Sets how often Grafana checks the alert rules in it. You create one (or reuse an existing one), and give it a name and an interval. That way related rules can share the same schedule, for example a group of related rules checked once a minute.
- **Pending period:** How long the condition must persist before the alert fires.
- **Keep firing for:** How long the alert stays firing after the condition resolves.