Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about AlertD, organized by topic.

General Questions

What is AlertD?

AlertD is a conversational agent platform built for DevOps and SRE teams. It helps you understand your AWS infrastructure and SDLC signals through natural language queries. Instead of writing scripts or navigating complex dashboards, you simply ask questions in plain English and get structured, actionable answers.

Who is AlertD for?

AlertD is designed for:

DevOps Engineers - Optimize infrastructure and troubleshoot issues
SRE Teams - Monitor production uptime and investigate incidents
Cloud Architects - Analyze resource usage and plan capacity
FinOps Teams - Identify cost optimization opportunities
Security Teams - Audit compliance and investigate security posture

How does AlertD work?

AlertD uses a multi-agent architecture:

You ask a question in natural language
A routing agent (Flappy) selects the appropriate specialist agent
The specialist agent builds a custom execution plan
The plan queries AWS APIs and CloudWatch metrics
Results are formatted into tables and analyzed by AI
You see both structured data and natural language insights

What makes AlertD different from AWS Console or CLI?

AWS Console:

Requires navigating multiple service dashboards
Data is siloed by service
Manual correlation required

AWS CLI:

Requires remembering commands and syntax
Scripting needed for complex queries
No built-in analysis or insights

AlertD:

Natural language queries
Cross-service correlation
AI-powered analysis and recommendations
Transparent execution plans
Team collaboration

Is AlertD available now?

AlertD is currently in private beta with design partners. We’re working with select customers to refine the product before broader availability.

How much does AlertD cost?

During the design partner phase, AlertD is free of charge. Pricing will be announced before general availability.

What’s included in design partner phase:

Full platform access
All AWS services supported
Unlimited queries
Email support
Input on roadmap

Can I use AlertD with multiple AWS accounts?

Currently, AlertD connects to one AWS account per deployment. Multi-account and AWS Organizations support is on the roadmap for Q3 2026.

Workaround: You can deploy multiple AlertD instances (one per account) or create cross-account IAM roles manually.

Security & Privacy Questions

How does AlertD access my AWS account?

AlertD uses AWS’s recommended cross-account AssumeRole pattern:

You create an IAM role in your AWS account
The role has AWS’s managed ReadOnlyAccess policy
You configure a trust relationship allowing AlertD’s role to assume your role
AlertD uses ephemeral STS tokens (not permanent credentials)
Tokens expire after 1 hour and are refreshed as needed

What AlertD accesses:

Resource metadata (instance IDs, configurations, tags)
CloudWatch metrics (performance data)

What AlertD CANNOT access:

Data inside your resources (S3 file contents, database records)
Application logs or business data
SSH keys or credentials

What AWS permissions does AlertD need?

AlertD requires the AWS managed ReadOnlyAccess policy, which includes:

Read permissions across all AWS services
CloudWatch metric and alarm queries
Resource tagging information

What’s NOT included:

Write, modify, or delete permissions
Access to data stored in resources
IAM user creation or modification
Network configuration changes

Is my data secure?

Yes. AlertD implements multiple security layers:

In Transit:

All communication uses TLS 1.3 (256-bit encryption)
API calls between AlertD and AWS are encrypted
Web UI traffic is HTTPS only

At Rest:

Query results are encrypted in database
Session data is encrypted
Credentials stored in AWS Secrets Manager

Access Control:

Workspace isolation by email domain
No cross-tenant data access
Role-based access control (coming soon)

Compliance:

SOC 2 Type II (in progress)
GDPR compliant data handling
Regular security audits

Can AlertD modify my AWS resources?

No. AlertD has read-only access and cannot:

Create, modify, or delete resources
Change configurations or settings
Execute write operations
Stop, start, or terminate instances
Modify security groups or network settings

The IAM role you create uses the ReadOnlyAccess policy, which explicitly excludes all write permissions.

What if I want to revoke AlertD’s access?

You can revoke access at any time:

Immediate:

Delete the IAM role you created for AlertD
Access is immediately revoked
AlertD cannot query your AWS account

Temporary:

Modify the trust relationship to deny AssumeRole
AlertD cannot assume the role
Restore trust relationship to re-enable access

No vendor action required - you have complete control.

Where is my data stored?

AlertD infrastructure:

Hosted on your AWS account (same region as your deployment)
Data residency matches your chosen deployment region
No data crosses geographic boundaries

What’s stored:

Your queries and session history
Query results (cached for 24 hours)
Execution plans
Workspace metadata

What’s NOT stored:

AWS credentials or access keys
Sensitive resource data
Application logs or business data

Can AlertD employees see my data?

Standard operations: No

AlertD engineers do NOT have access to your data under normal operations. Workspace data is isolated and encrypted.

Support scenarios: Limited access with consent

If you request support and grant permission, AlertD engineers may:

View your query history to debug issues
Inspect execution plans to understand failures
Access anonymized metrics for troubleshooting

You will always be asked for explicit permission before any access.

GDPR:

Yes, AlertD processes data according to GDPR requirements
Data processing agreements available
Right to deletion honored

HIPAA:

Not yet HIPAA compliant
Do not use AlertD with PHI (Protected Health Information)
HIPAA compliance planned for 2026

SOC 2:

SOC 2 Type II audit in progress
Expected completion Q1 2026
Report available to enterprise customers

How often does AlertD access my AWS account?

Resource metadata:

Ingestion every 24 hours
Keeps inventory up to date

CloudWatch metrics:

On-demand queries when you ask questions
No continuous polling
Results cached for 5 minutes

API rate limits:

AlertD respects AWS API throttling limits
Queries are automatically rate-limited
No risk of exceeding quotas

Technical Questions

What browsers are supported?

Fully supported:

Chrome (latest 2 versions)
Firefox (latest 2 versions)
Safari (latest 2 versions)
Edge (latest 2 versions)

Minimum requirements:

JavaScript enabled
Cookies enabled
TLS 1.2 or higher

Can I use AlertD from my phone or tablet?

The AlertD web interface is responsive and works on mobile devices, but the experience is optimized for desktop/laptop screens.

Mobile limitations:

Tables may require horizontal scrolling
Execution plans are harder to inspect
Keyboard-heavy workflows are cumbersome

Recommended: Use desktop for primary work, mobile for quick checks.

Does AlertD have an API?

Not yet. API access is on the roadmap for Q3 2026.

Planned capabilities:

REST API for programmatic queries
Python SDK
Webhooks for alerts
CI/CD integration

Can I export query results?

Current:

Copy/paste from tables
Screenshot execution plans
Share session URLs with teammates

Coming soon:

CSV export
JSON export
PDF reports
Scheduled exports

What’s the query timeout?

Queries timeout after 2 minutes by default.

For longer queries:

Break into smaller scoped queries
Use region filters to reduce data volume
Contact support for timeout adjustments

Can AlertD handle large AWS environments?

Yes. AlertD is designed for scale:

Tested limits:

10,000+ EC2 instances
50,000+ S3 buckets
5,000+ RDS databases
Multi-region deployments

Performance tips:

Scope queries by region
Use specific filters
Avoid “show me everything” queries

Billing & Usage Questions

Do I pay for AWS API calls AlertD makes?

Yes. AWS API calls made by AlertD count against your AWS account’s usage and may incur costs.

Typical costs:

CloudWatch API calls: $0.01 per 1,000 requests
Most AWS service APIs: Free (list/describe operations)

Cost impact: Usually less than $10/month for typical usage

Getting Help

How do I get support?

Design partners:

Email: support@alertd.ai
Response time: Within 24 hours (business days)
Emergency support: Available on request

Future:

In-app chat support
Dedicated Slack channel
Premium support tiers

How do I report a bug?

Email: support@alertd.ai

Include:

Description of the issue
Steps to reproduce
Expected vs. actual behavior
Screenshots or error messages
Your workspace ID (found in settings)

How do I request a feature?