---
title: Set up Kibana Universal Alerting
description: License, connector, data, and space requirements, plus how to turn on optional features or opt out of the system.
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/9019/explore-analyze/alerting/esql/setup
products:
- Elastic Cloud Serverless
- Elastic Documentation
- Kibana
applies_to:
- Elastic Cloud Serverless: Generally available
- Elastic Stack: Planned
---
# Set up Kibana Universal Alerting
Kibana Universal Alerting is on by default. Check that you have what you need to create rules, then turn on any optional features you want.
If you tried Kibana Universal Alerting while it was experimental in Elastic Stack 9.5, upgrade to 9.6 or later. The system changed a lot before it became generally available, and these docs cover only the generally available version.
## Before you begin
- **Data to query**: Rules can only find conditions in data that's already in Elasticsearch. [Ingest your data](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/9019/manage-data/ingest) before you create rules.
- **A space to work in**: Rules, [action policies](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/9019/explore-analyze/alerting/esql/action-policies/about-action-policies), and the privileges that control them belong to a single space. [Create or switch spaces](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/9019/deploy-manage/manage-spaces) if you need to.
- **A connector, if you want notifications**: [Workflows](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/9019/explore-analyze/alerting/esql/workflows-alerting) send notifications through [connectors](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/9019/deploy-manage/manage-connectors), such as Slack, email, or PagerDuty.
- **An Enterprise license, if you want notifications on Elastic Stack**: Compare subscriptions for [Elastic Cloud](https://www.elastic.co/subscriptions/cloud) and [self-managed](https://www.elastic.co/subscriptions) deployments.
## Adjust Kibana Universal Alerting settings
Three advanced settings change how Kibana Universal Alerting works. A space setting applies only to the space where you change it. A global setting applies to every space.
| Setting | Scope | Default | Use it to |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------|---------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| **Universal Alerting: Experimental Features** (`alerting:v2:experimentalFeatures`) | Space | Off | [Try experimental features](#alerting-setup-experimental-features) |
| **Classic Alerting: Show Classic Alerts table** (`alerting:v1:showV1ObservabilityAlertsTable`) | Space | Off | [Keep the Observability Alerts page](#alerting-setup-v1-alerts-page) |
| **Universal Alerting** (`alerting:v2:enabled`) | Global | On | [Opt out of Kibana Universal Alerting](#alerting-setup-turn-off) |
### Try experimental features in a space
- Elastic Cloud Serverless: Experimental
- Elastic Stack: Planned
Experimental features are new Kibana Universal Alerting capabilities that are still in development. They can change or be removed in a future release, so avoid relying on them in production.
To turn them on:
1. Switch to the space where you want the features.
2. Go to the **Advanced Settings** page using the navigation menu or the [global search field](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/9019/explore-analyze/find-and-organize/find-apps-and-objects).
3. On the **Space Settings** tab, turn on **Universal Alerting: Experimental Features**.
4. Select **Save changes**, then reload Kibana.
### Keep the Observability Alerts page for Kibana Classic Alerting
- Serverless Observability projects: Generally available
- Elastic Stack: Planned
With Kibana Universal Alerting on, a new **Alerts** page that shows alerts from both systems replaces the Observability **Alerts** page, which shows only Kibana Classic Alerting alerts. You can find the new page in the **Alerting** menu. To keep the old page as well, turn on the **Classic Alerting: Show Classic Alerts table** setting. The old page then appears as **Alerts (Classic)** in the **Alerting** menu.
To show the **Alerts (Classic)** page:
1. Switch to the space where you want the page.
2. Go to the **Advanced Settings** page using the navigation menu or the [global search field](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/9019/explore-analyze/find-and-organize/find-apps-and-objects).
3. On the **Space Settings** tab, turn on **Classic Alerting: Show Classic Alerts table**.
4. Select **Save changes**, then reload Kibana.
### Opt out of Kibana Universal Alerting
To turn off Kibana Universal Alerting in every space:
1. Go to the **Advanced Settings** page using the navigation menu or the [global search field](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/9019/explore-analyze/find-and-organize/find-apps-and-objects).
2. On the **Global Settings** tab, turn off [**Universal Alerting**](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/kibana/tree/main/reference/advanced-settings#alerting-v2-enabled).
3. Select **Save changes**, then reload Kibana.
This hides the UI and turns off the APIs. Your rules, action policies, and alert history stay in place, and the setting stays off after upgrades.
Rules and action policies keep running after you turn off the setting. To stop them:
- Elastic Cloud Serverless: Generally available [Contact Elastic support](/elastic/docs-content/pull/9019/troubleshoot#contact-us).
- Elastic Stack: Planned Set `xpack.alerting_v2.enabled: false` in [`kibana.yml`](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/9019/deploy-manage/stack-settings), then restart Kibana.
## Next steps
[Create your first rule](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/9019/explore-analyze/alerting/esql/get-started/create-your-first-rule) to try Kibana Universal Alerting with sample data.