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3 Ways Your AI Agent Can Alert You: Push, Telegram, and WalletConnect Notifications

#ai #selfhosted #security #tutorial

When your AI agent manages real funds, you need to know what it's doing — especially when something goes wrong. Most wallet infrastructure forces you to choose between basic email notifications or no alerts at all, leaving you flying blind when your agent trades thousands of dollars.

Setting up proper notifications for self-hosted AI agents shouldn't require building your own alert system from scratch. You want immediate notifications when your agent executes large trades, gets blocked by policies, or encounters errors — without depending on third-party services that could go down or compromise your privacy.

Why Real-Time Notifications Matter for AI Agents

AI trading agents can execute hundreds of transactions per hour across multiple DeFi protocols. Unlike human traders who actively monitor their positions, agents operate autonomously. Without proper alerts, you might discover a failed arbitrage opportunity or policy violation hours too late.

The stakes are particularly high for self-hosted setups. You've chosen to run your own infrastructure for privacy and control — but that means you're also responsible for monitoring. No external service will alert you if your agent burns through your daily spending limit or gets stuck on a failed transaction.

The Three-Channel Approach with WAIaaS

WAIaaS provides three notification channels that work together to keep you informed without overwhelming you. Each channel serves different use cases and urgency levels.

1. Push Notifications (Instant Mobile Alerts)

Push notifications deliver instant alerts to your phone through the WAIaaS push-relay service. This channel is perfect for high-priority events that need immediate attention.

First, configure the push notification channel:

waiaas notification setup --type push
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The daemon automatically sends push notifications for:

  • Policy violations (when transactions get denied or delayed)
  • Large transactions that exceed your notify thresholds
  • Failed transactions that require intervention
  • System errors or connection issues

Push notifications include transaction details, amounts, and direct links to approve or cancel pending operations. The push-relay service runs alongside your main daemon container:

services:
  daemon:
    image: ghcr.io/minhoyoo-iotrust/waiaas:latest
    # ... main daemon config

  push-relay:
    image: ghcr.io/minhoyoo-iotrust/waiaas-push-relay:latest
    container_name: waiaas-push-relay
    environment:
      - WAIAAS_DAEMON_URL=http://daemon:3100
    restart: unless-stopped
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2. Telegram Bot (Rich Messaging + Approval Actions)

Telegram notifications provide richer context than push notifications, including transaction previews, market data, and interactive approval buttons. This channel excels at handling delayed transactions that need owner approval.

Set up the Telegram channel:

waiaas notification setup --type telegram --bot-token <your-bot-token>
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When your agent triggers a policy that requires approval, Telegram shows:

  • Complete transaction details and USD values
  • Current token prices and slippage estimates
  • Approve/Deny buttons for one-tap responses
  • Link to view the transaction in the admin UI

For example, if your agent attempts a $2,000 DeFi position that exceeds your delay threshold:

🚨 Transaction Requires Approval

Agent: trading-agent-v2
Action: Deposit to Aave v3
Amount: 2,000 USDC → aUSDC
Current APY: 3.2%

⏰ Auto-deny in: 14:32
[✅ Approve] [❌ Deny] [🔗 Details]
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3. WalletConnect (Secure Transaction Signing)

WalletConnect notifications appear directly in your mobile wallet app, providing the highest security level for transaction approvals. This channel is essential for high-value transactions or sensitive operations.

Connect your wallet for approvals:

curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:3100/v1/walletconnect/connect \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Master-Password: <your-password>" \
  -d '{"walletId": "<wallet-uuid>"}'
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When your agent needs approval for a large trade, WalletConnect shows the raw transaction data in your wallet app. You can review the exact contract calls, gas estimates, and destination addresses before signing. This provides the same security guarantees as manually executing the transaction yourself.

Configuring Notification Triggers

WAIaaS notifications are driven by your policy configuration. The policy engine determines when to send alerts based on transaction amounts, security tiers, and custom rules.

Create a spending limit policy with notification tiers:

curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:3100/v1/policies \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Master-Password: <your-password>" \
  -d '{
    "walletId": "<wallet-uuid>",
    "type": "SPENDING_LIMIT",
    "rules": {
      "instant_max_usd": 100,
      "notify_max_usd": 500,
      "delay_max_usd": 2000,
      "delay_seconds": 900
    }
  }'
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This configuration creates four notification behaviors:

  • $0-100: Execute instantly, no notification (INSTANT tier)
  • $101-500: Execute instantly, send notification (NOTIFY tier)
  • $501-2000: Delay 15 minutes, send notification with cancel option (DELAY tier)
  • $2001+: Block transaction, require explicit approval (APPROVAL tier)

Multi-Channel Notification Flow

The three channels work together to provide layered alerts. Here's what happens when your agent attempts a $1,500 Jupiter swap:

  1. Policy Check: Spending limit policy assigns DELAY tier (15-minute delay)
  2. Push Notification: Instant alert on your phone with basic transaction details
  3. Telegram Message: Rich notification with market data and cancel button
  4. 15-Minute Window: You can cancel via any channel if the trade looks wrong
  5. Auto-Execute: If no cancellation, transaction proceeds automatically

For transactions requiring approval (over $2,000), WalletConnect joins the flow:

  1. Push + Telegram: Initial alerts that approval is needed
  2. WalletConnect: Secure signing request in your wallet app
  3. No Auto-Execute: Transaction waits indefinitely until you approve or deny

Quick Start: Set Up All Three Channels

Step 1: Deploy WAIaaS with notification services

git clone https://github.com/minhoyoo-iotrust/WAIaaS.git
cd WAIaaS
docker compose up -d
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Step 2: Configure your notification channels

# Set up push notifications
waiaas notification setup --type push

# Set up Telegram (get bot token from @BotFather)
waiaas notification setup --type telegram --bot-token <your-token>

# Connect WalletConnect
waiaas owner connect
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Step 3: Create spending limit policies

waiaas quickset --mode mainnet  # Creates wallets + basic policies
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Step 4: Test notifications with a small transaction

# This will trigger a NOTIFY-tier alert
curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:3100/v1/transactions/send \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <your-session-token>" \
  -d '{"type": "TRANSFER", "to": "<test-address>", "amount": "0.01"}'
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Step 5: Monitor your notifications and adjust policy thresholds based on your agent's trading patterns

What's Next

With all three notification channels configured, you have complete visibility into your agent's activities without sacrificing the autonomy that makes AI agents valuable. You'll know immediately when something needs attention, while routine operations continue uninterrupted.

Ready to set up bulletproof notifications for your AI agent? Check out the WAIaaS repository for complete setup instructions, or visit waiaas.ai to learn more about self-hosted AI agent infrastructure.

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