How to Set Up Discord Webhooks for SSL Certificate Alerts

If your team lives in Discord, why not get your SSL alerts there too? Setting up a Discord webhook takes just a few minutes, and once it's done, you'll receive beautifully formatted certificate expiration alerts right in your server.

What's a Discord Webhook?

A webhook is essentially a URL that accepts incoming messages from external services. When GuardSSL detects that one of your certificates is about to expire, it sends a notification to your webhook URL, which then posts it to your chosen Discord channel.

Unlike bots that require OAuth flows and permissions management, webhooks are dead simple—just create one, grab the URL, and you're good to go.

What You'll Need

• A Discord server where you have Manage Webhooks permission
• A channel where you want alerts to appear
• About 3 minutes of your time

Step 1: Open Server Settings

First, open Discord and navigate to the server where you want to receive SSL alerts.

1. Click the server name in the upper-left corner
2. Select Server Settings from the dropdown menu

If you don't see "Server Settings," you might not have the necessary permissions. Ask a server admin to either give you the Manage Webhooks permission or create the webhook for you.

Step 2: Navigate to Integrations

In the left sidebar of Server Settings, look for Integrations and click on it.

You'll see a section called "Webhooks." If you haven't created any webhooks yet, it might show "No webhooks yet."

Step 3: Create a New Webhook

Click the Create Webhook button (or View Webhooks → New Webhook if you have existing ones).

Now configure your webhook:

Name

Give it something descriptive like "SSL Monitor" or "GuardSSL Alerts." This name will appear as the sender of webhook messages, though GuardSSL may override this with its own bot name.

Channel

Select the channel where you want alerts to appear. Consider using:

• A dedicated #alerts or #notifications channel
• Your #devops or #infrastructure channel
• A private channel for sensitive security notifications

Icon (Optional)

You can upload a custom avatar for the webhook. This appears next to messages sent through this webhook.

Step 4: Copy the Webhook URL

Once you've configured your webhook, click the Copy Webhook URL button.

Your URL will look something like this:

https://discord.com/api/webhooks/1234567890123456789/abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz...

Keep this URL safe—anyone with access to it can post messages to your channel.

Step 5: Configure in GuardSSL

Head over to your GuardSSL dashboard:

1. Navigate to Settings → Notification Settings
2. Find the Discord card and click Setup Channel
3. Paste your webhook URL in the Webhook URL field
4. (Optional) Enter a custom Bot Name if you want to override the default
5. Click Save

Hit Test Connection to verify everything works. You should see a test message appear in your Discord channel within seconds.

What the Alerts Look Like

GuardSSL sends Discord messages as rich embeds, including:

• Domain name that's expiring
• Days remaining until expiration
• Color-coded severity (green = safe, yellow = warning, red = critical)
• Timestamp of when the alert was generated

These aren't plain text dumps—they're nicely formatted cards that are easy to scan at a glance.

Managing Your Webhook

Changing the Channel

If you need to move alerts to a different channel:

1. Go back to Server Settings → Integrations → Webhooks
2. Click on your webhook
3. Change the channel in the dropdown
4. Click Save Changes

You don't need to update anything in GuardSSL—the same URL works for the new channel.

Deleting the Webhook

If you want to stop receiving alerts in Discord:

1. Go to Server Settings → Integrations → Webhooks
2. Click on the webhook you want to remove
3. Click Delete Webhook

This immediately invalidates the URL. GuardSSL will fail to send notifications (which it will handle gracefully).

Security Considerations

Your webhook URL is a secret. Here's how to keep it safe:

• Never share it publicly — don't post it in public channels or commit it to public repos
• Use private channels for sensitive infrastructure alerts
• Rotate the webhook if you suspect it's compromised (delete and create a new one)
• Limit access — create webhooks only for channels that need them

Troubleshooting

Messages not appearing?

• Double-check the webhook URL for typos or extra spaces
• Verify the channel still exists and hasn't been deleted
• Make sure the webhook hasn't been removed from the server

Getting rate limited?

Discord has fairly generous rate limits for webhooks, but if you're monitoring many domains, you might occasionally hit them. GuardSSL handles rate limits gracefully by retrying, but if you're seeing delays, consider:

• Reducing check frequency
• Using a different notification channel for batching

Webhook URL stopped working?

The most common cause is that someone deleted the webhook. Create a new one and update the URL in GuardSSL.

Wrapping Up

That's all there is to it! With Discord webhooks, your SSL alerts arrive exactly where your team already hangs out. No more checking dashboards or digging through emails—just timely notifications right in your server.

Ready to set up more channels? Check out our guides for Slack, Telegram, and Feishu.

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Not monitoring any domains yet? Add your first domain and start getting alerts before your certificates expire.