Glossary

Short definitions of the terms used across the API reference.

Account key

Everything: read history, manage keys and devices, delete the account.

In Overview

Ack policy

On any, the first member to open their copy ends repeating (Urgent priority) for everyone. On all, each member keeps being alerted until they open their own.

In Channels and escalation: Sending to a channel

API key

Send notifications. Nothing else.

In Overview

Audit log

Who changed what, newest first.

In Plans, audit log and transfer: Audit log

Callback URL

An https URL Nowlark calls once, when this is first read or acknowledged.

In Send a notification: POST /v1/notify

Channel key

A channel key is an nlk_ key that can send to one channel and nothing else.

In Channels and escalation: Sending to a channel

Claiming

POST …/submissions/{id}/claim takes it: one person, once, in a single statement.

In Team forms

Company sign‑in

A team's owner connects their identity provider; employees then sign in to the console with the company account, join the team, and get a role from their provider's groups.

In Company sign‑in and SCIM: Company sign‑in (Okta and other OpenID Connect providers)

Console

The console is at /org, and it signs in with a passkey: there is no password anywhere in it.

In The web console

dedupe_key

Send the same value twice and only the first is delivered.

In Send a notification: POST /v1/notify

Destination

A destination adds somewhere else: a webhook the team runs (to open a ticket, post in chat, start a script) or an email address.

In Webhooks and email

Display name

What their teammates see of them is a display name they chose for that team and nothing else.

In Teams, roles and endpoints

Escalation

A channel can notify one group at once and others later, if nobody has opened the alert.

In Channels and escalation: Escalation

group_key

Notifications sharing this stack together on the phone.

In Send a notification: POST /v1/notify

Hard bounce

An address it says does not exist (an enhanced 5.1.x status, or 550, 551 or 553 with no enhanced status) is a hard bounce.

In Webhooks and email

Invite code

A person joins by redeeming an invite code with the account key they already have.

In Teams, roles and endpoints

Muted

muted: true: the user muted this source. Stored in history, not pushed.

In Send a notification: POST /v1/notify

Ownership transfer

Two steps, so a team is never dumped on someone: the owner offers, one of the team's other admins accepts.

In Plans, audit log and transfer: Ownership transfer

Provisioning (SCIM)

With provisioning on, the identity provider lists who belongs and the team follows.

In Company sign‑in and SCIM: Automatic provisioning (SCIM 2.0)

Receipt

GET /v1/receipts/{id} with an API key says what became of a notification the account sent.

In Receipts and callbacks

Repeat Until Opened

A priority 2 notification alerts again until it is opened on any device.

In Priority and repeat: Repeat Until Opened

replace_key

A later notification from the same source with the same replace_key takes this one's place.

In Send a notification: POST /v1/notify

Reply set

A fixed reply set the recipient taps on the notification.

In Send a notification: POST /v1/notify

Roles

member (receives), sender (may make channel keys), admin (people, channels, invites), owner (everything; the only one who changes roles or deletes the team).

In Teams, roles and endpoints

Scheduler tick

Delivered within one scheduler tick (15 seconds) after its time, never before.

In Scheduled sends: Scheduled sends

Source

The source is the name your phone shows for the sender, and each distinct name becomes its own row in the app's Sources tab.

In Sources: Choosing a source

Team

A team is a set of accounts that agreed to be one.

In Teams, roles and endpoints

Team form

The submission becomes an alert on one of the team's channels.

In Team forms

Thread

One send is one thread, delivered as one copy per channel member.

In Channels and escalation: Sending to a channel

Time-sensitive

Priority 1 and 2 use iOS's time-sensitive interruption level.

In Priority and repeat: Priority

Webhook template

POST /v1/hooks/{template} takes the body another tool already sends and renders it, so that tool needs no script.

In Webhook templates