You can configure an MDrivenServer Slack webhook to notify everyone using a shared development database when a model update evolves that database.

Why notify the team when the database evolves?

MDrivenServer receives model updates from MDriven Designer and can create or evolve the database used by the application. When several developers use the same development MDrivenServer, one developer can evolve the shared database while another developer still has an older local model.

Running the application with that older model can produce model-to-database mismatch errors. A Slack notification makes the database change visible immediately, so each developer knows to update their local code before testing again.

A useful team convention is to treat the notification as an instruction to:

1. Merge or pull the latest code from Git.
2. Rebuild the application.
3. Start testing only after the local model matches the evolved development database.

For example, a notification such as Evolve dev tells developers that the shared development database has changed and that they must update their working copy.

Prerequisites

• A Slack channel where the development team receives environment-change notifications.
• Permission to create or use an incoming webhook for that Slack channel.
• Access to the MDrivenServer administration interface for each development server you want to monitor.

This integration is intended for shared development environments. Configure the webhook URL only on the MDrivenServers whose database-evolution events your team needs to follow.

Create the Slack webhook

1. In Slack, create an incoming webhook integration for the channel that should receive the notifications.
2. Copy the webhook URL that Slack provides.
3. Keep this URL private. It allows messages to be posted to the associated Slack channel.

The MDrivenServer uses this URL to send JSON through a REST request to Slack.

Configure the MDrivenServer

1. Open the MDrivenServer administration interface for the development environment.
2. If the application runs in MDriven Turnkey, open https://<yourturnkeyurl>/__MDrivenServer.
3. Locate the Slack webhook setting in the MDrivenServer configuration.
4. Paste the Slack incoming-webhook URL.
5. Save the configuration.
6. Repeat the configuration for every shared development MDrivenServer that should post notifications.

After configuration, an evolution of the tracked development system posts a notification to the selected Slack channel.

Use the notification in your development workflow

When Slack reports that the development database has evolved:

1. Stop testing against the shared environment if your local model has not been updated.
2. Get the latest model and application code from Git.
3. Rebuild your application.
4. Run the application again against the shared MDrivenServer.

Do not treat the notification as a request to manually change the database. The purpose is to ensure that every developer uses the same current model as the shared database.

Troubleshooting

If expected Slack messages do not arrive:

• Confirm that the webhook URL was copied from the intended Slack channel and saved on the intended MDrivenServer.
• Confirm that the database evolution occurred on that configured server, rather than on another local or shared environment.
• Review the MDrivenServer log for server-side errors. For direct log locations and access options, see Documentation:Turnkey and MDrivenServer logs.
• Confirm that team members use the MDrivenServer URL for the shared development environment.

See also

• Documentation:MDriven Server User/Web interface
• HowTos:Configure and Maintain MDriven Server
• Training:MDrivenServer Summarized
• Documentation:MDrivenServer log
• Documentation:Turnkey and MDrivenServer logs

Notify a Slack channel about development database evolution

You can notify developers in a Slack channel when a shared development database is evolved; this setup is for teams that use a common MDrivenServer during development.

Notify a Slack channel about development database evolution

A Slack webhook is a URL created in Slack that MDrivenServer uses with REST to write JSON. Configure it on each MDrivenServer whose development database evolution you want to track.

When developers run an old model against an evolved shared development database, they can receive mismatch errors. Use the Slack message as a team signal to get the current code before testing.

Set up the webhook

1. In Slack, create a webhook for the channel that should receive development database-evolution notifications.
2. Copy the webhook URL that Slack provides.
3. Open the MDrivenServer that you want to track. In a Turnkey installation, open <turnkeyurl>/__MDrivenServer.
4. Set the copied Slack webhook URL in the MDrivenServer Slack webhook configuration.
5. Repeat the configuration for every MDrivenServer that should send the notification.

Use the notification in the development workflow

Agree on the action that follows each notification. For example, use the message Evolve dev as the signal that the shared development database has changed.

1. A developer evolves the shared development database.
2. MDrivenServer sends the notification to the configured Slack channel.
3. Other developers merge the new code from Git.
4. Other developers rebuild before they test against the evolved database.

Verify the setup

After the next planned evolution of the development database, check the configured Slack channel for the notification. If no message arrives, confirm that the webhook URL was set on the MDrivenServer that evolved the database and that the URL belongs to the intended Slack channel.

Scope

This integration documents Slack notifications for development database evolution. It does not define a general MDriven webhook mechanism for business events or arbitrary external systems.

See also

• Documentation:Integration
• Documentation:Turnkey and MDrivenServer logs