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README rewritten from scratch so a newcomer can follow it (closes #154, closes #155)
The old README opened with project history and one list of a hundred
settings. The new one leads with what smallwebwaf is, what it protects
against, how to build and deploy it, what happens to a request, the
settings most deployments touch, how to check it works, the entrypoints,
the rationale and the design, as REPO_POLICIES.md requires. The reference
lists, every setting, the rule file format, the endpoints, the request
log's fields, the alert events, the metrics, the state files, the image
and the gitea notes, move to files under docs/, each linked from the
README, with SPEC.md as the one place for behaviour. Every statement was
checked against the code on next.

Model: fable-5-1
2026-10-22 22:29:53 +00:00

131 lines
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Markdown

# Alerts
The alert events, the JSON object the webhook gets, and the messages Slack and
ntfy get. "Alerting" in [`SPEC.md`](../SPEC.md) says when an alert is sent, held
back or dropped.
## Events
- `ban`: a ban `smallwebwaf` made.
- `permanent_ban`: a permanent ban it made, or an existing ban made permanent by
a request.
- `waf_block`: the Core Rule Set scored a request at or over the threshold. The
request was refused unless the alert's `detail` gives `mode`: `detect` or
`observe`.
- `anomaly`: a count over an anomaly threshold.
- `reputation_hit`: a request from a client on a blocklist, the CrowdSec
decision list or a DNS blocklist, or with an AbuseIPDB score that is a hit.
One alert per source.
- `source_failure`: one of:
- GeoJS failing;
- a list that cannot be fetched;
- a DNS blocklist or AbuseIPDB failing or refusing a query;
- the day's AbuseIPDB checks used up.
- `file_error`: one of:
- a rule file or state file edit with an error;
- a state file that cannot be written;
- a replacement lookup database that cannot be read.
- `summary`: the hourly summary of alerts held back.
## The JSON object
This is the alert for a ban for a broken rate limit, shown indented; it is sent
on one line:
```json
{
"instance": "fsn1app1/gitea",
"time": "2026-10-06T12:00:00.123461Z",
"event": "ban",
"client": "203.0.113.9",
"netblock": "203.0.113.9/32",
"asn": "",
"as_name": "",
"country": "",
"reason": "requests per minute over the limit of 1000",
"detail": {
"ban_expires": "2026-10-06T13:00:00.123Z",
"cause": "limit",
"notes": {
"asn": "",
"as_name": "",
"country": "",
"kind": "requests",
"limit": 1000,
"window": "minute",
"count": 1001,
"request": {
"time": "2026-10-06T12:00:00.123456789Z",
"method": "GET",
"host": "app.example",
"path": "/owner/repo/commits/branch/main?page=812",
"status": 403,
"user_agent": "scraper/1.0"
},
"requests": 5210,
"refused": 0,
"earlier_bans": {
"limit": 0,
"attack": 0,
"admin": 0,
"crowdsec": 0
}
}
},
"suppressed_repeats": 0
}
```
- `instance`: `SWWAF_INSTANCE_NAME`. `time`: when the alert was raised. `event`:
one of the events above.
- `client`: the address whose request raised the alert. Empty for
`source_failure` and `file_error`.
- `netblock`: empty for `source_failure` and `file_error`; otherwise one of:
- the ban's netblock;
- the netblock an anomaly counted;
- for the other events, the client as rate limiting counts it: an IPv4
address as a /32, or an IPv6 group.
- `asn`, `as_name` and `country`: the client's, as known when the alert was
raised. They are empty when GeoJS had not answered yet.
- `reason`: a short sentence, such as
`requests per minute over the limit of 1000` or `listed by a blocklist`.
- `detail`: what is particular to the event:
- for a ban, its `cause`, `ban_expires` and `notes` (the notes are listed
under `bans.json` in [`state-files.md`](state-files.md));
- for an anomaly, the `scope`, `window`, `kind`, `count` and `threshold`;
- for a reputation hit, the `source` and, for AbuseIPDB, the `score`;
- for a Core Rule Set match, the `rule_ids`, `score`, `method` and `path`;
- for a source failure, the `source` and `error`;
- for a file error, the `file` and `error`;
- `mode`, when the request was not refused: `detect` or `observe`.
- `suppressed_repeats`: how many repeats the cooldown held back before this
alert.
## Slack and ntfy
Slack and ntfy get a message with a title and a text. The title is the instance
and the event, such as `fsn1app1/gitea: ban`. The text is the `reason`, then one
line for each of these that the alert has:
- the client, the netblock and the country;
- the file, the source, the error and the mode from `detail`;
- the suppressed repeats, if any.
Slack gets the title in bold and the text below it, with `&`, `<` and `>`
escaped. ntfy gets the text as the message, with these headers:
- `Title`: the title;
- `Authorization`: the token, as `Bearer <token>`, while
`SWWAF_ALERT_NTFY_TOKEN` is set;
- `Priority` and `Tags`: by event, as listed below.
The priority and tag by event:
- `ban`: priority `default`, tag `no_entry`.
- `permanent_ban`: priority `high`, tag `no_entry`.
- `waf_block`: priority `default`, tag `shield`.
- `anomaly`: priority `high`, tag `chart_with_upwards_trend`.
- `reputation_hit`: priority `low`, tag `label`.
- `source_failure` and `file_error`: priority `high`, tag `warning`.
- `summary`: priority `default`, tag `bar_chart`.