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After completing this topic, you can create a Rule that automatically detects a problem in your telemetry.
New to Detect and Review? Read the Overview to understand how Rules, Reports, Annotations, and Campaigns work together before proceeding.

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When to use this workflow

Use this workflow when you want Sift to flag a specific condition in your telemetry data every time a Run is evaluated. For example, flagging when a channel exceeds a threshold, drops below a minimum, or a log message contains a known error string. Rules are reusable. Once created, a Rule can be applied to any Run and included in Report Templates so your team does not need to reconfigure detection logic from scratch.

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Before you begin

  • You have at least one Asset and at least one Channel ingested into Sift. See Channels and Assets.
  • Optional: You have an existing Run to use for previewing the Rule before saving it.

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Complete the workflow

This walkthrough uses a concrete example: flagging when a channel called motor_temp exceeds 120 degrees.

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Step 1: Create a new Rule

  1. In Sift, the Rules tab.
  2. Click New Rule.
  3. In Rule name, enter a name. For example, Motor temp over threshold.
  4. Optional: In Rule description, enter a description.
  5. In Asset name, enter or select the Asset that contains the channel you want to monitor.
  6. Optional: In Asset tag name, enter a tag name to apply this Rule to all Assets with that tag rather than a single Asset.

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Step 2: Select input channels

In the Input Channels list, select the channel(s) your Rule expression will reference. For this example, select motor_temp. Sift assigns each selected Channel a shorthand variable in selection order: the first Channel becomes $1, the second $2, and so on. You use these variables in the expression in the next step. You can select both raw telemetry channels and Calculated Channels.

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Step 3: Write the expression

In the Expression box, enter a CEL expression that evaluates to true when the condition you want to flag is met. Reference input Channels using their assigned shorthand variables. For this example, motor_temp was selected first, so it is $1: 
$1 > 120
When this expression evaluates to true during a Run, Sift creates an Annotation at that point in time. Keep the expression focused on a single logical condition. Expression resources:

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Step 4: Preview the Rule against a Run

Before saving, preview the Rule against existing telemetry to confirm it behaves as expected.
  1. In Rule preview, click Select Run.
  2. In the Runs table, select one or more Runs that contain the channel you are monitoring.
  3. Click Preview N Runs. Sift evaluates the expression against the selected Runs and shows the Annotations that would be generated, without saving them.
  4. Review the output to confirm the expression fires when and only when you expect it to.

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Step 5: Decide between Internal and External mode

Before publishing, decide whether this Rule should be Internal or External:
  • Internal Rules are visible in the Rules tab, can be edited and versioned over time, and are the right choice for ongoing telemetry monitoring.
  • External Rules are created via the API for ad hoc or CI/CD use, are not visible in the UI, and cannot be edited after creation.
For most use cases, use an Internal Rule. For CI/CD pipeline integration, see Internal vs. External Rules.

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Step 6: Save and publish the Rule

  1. Click Save.
  2. Optional: In Version notes, enter a note describing this version.
  3. Click Publish.
Sift saves the Rule as version 1. Every subsequent edit creates a new immutable version, preserving the full change history.

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Verify the result

After publishing:
  • The Rule appears in the Rules tab with the Asset and Channels you configured.
  • You can click the Rule to view its expression, version history, and preview output.
  • The Rule is now available to select when generating a Report or building a Report Template.

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Next steps

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Reference