Nostr & Multi-Protocol Alerting Bridge

OpenAlert is a decentralized alerting gateway designed to route critical system events across diverse transport layers. Originally conceived as a module for the py-phone-caller ecosystem, OpenAlert is architected as a standalone component that operates independently and integrates universally via standard alerting protocols.

1. Core Architecture

OpenAlert operates as a multi-protocol gateway, abstracting the transport layer of notifications to allow messages to flow fluidly between traditional IT infrastructure APIs and decentralized edge networks.

• Universal Downstream Compatibility: OpenAlert formats its outbound digital payloads using the industry-standard Prometheus Alertmanager JSON schema. This enables it to trigger py-phone-caller (which natively ingests Alertmanager webhooks) or seamlessly integrate with any other enterprise alerting and incident management system (e.g., Grafana, PagerDuty, or custom internal dashboards).
• Standalone Capable: OpenAlert's core daemon (openalertd) runs entirely on its own as a protocol translator—bridging local monitoring stacks to global networks—without requiring local telephony hardware.

2. Supported Protocols & Data Flow

OpenAlert is fundamentally bidirectional, acting as both a listener and a broadcaster across three primary transport layers:

REST, Nostr, and Alertmanager Interfaces

• Inbound (Receive): The gateway listens for incoming JSON payloads via standard REST webhooks (compatible with existing IT watchdogs). Simultaneously, it monitors the Nostr network via persistent WebSocket connections to a configured relay pool.
• Outbound (Send): Upon processing an incoming decentralized event (from Nostr or BitChat), the system standardizes the payload into a Prometheus Alertmanager webhook and POSTs it to a configured local or remote endpoint. Alternatively, when ingesting a local IT alert, it can cryptographically sign and broadcast the alert globally as a Nostr event.

BitChat Mesh Implementation

To guarantee event delivery when standard internet routing (TCP/IP) fails, OpenAlert natively implements the BitChat protocol.

• BitChat is a peer-to-peer messaging architecture utilizing Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) mesh networks for local, offline communication.
• By running the BitChat integration, OpenAlert nodes send and receive critical alerts over an ad-hoc local Bluetooth mesh network, bypassing centralized servers, ISPs, and cellular data networks.
• Messages transmitted over the BitChat mesh use the Noise Protocol Framework for end-to-end encryption, ensuring alerts remain secure while routing across peer devices.

3. Deployment Use Cases

• Universal Protocol Translator (Standalone): Ingesting Nostr/BitChat events and translating them into standard Alertmanager webhooks to trigger existing enterprise incident response stacks, or converting local REST monitoring alerts into Nostr broadcast events.
• Off-Grid Telephony Bridge: Catching offline BitChat mesh packets or Nostr events, securely decrypting the target recipient, and routing the Alertmanager payload into py-phone-caller to dial a physical Voice/SMS payload via a GSM modem.