# Set up on-call

> Create an on-call rotation with members, a hand-over day and time, send alerts to whoever is on call, and cover a shift with an override.

Source: https://upfour.io/docs/set-up-on-call

Afterwards alerts reach whoever holds the pager, and up4 shows who that is now, who takes over next and who covers a holiday.

- **Who:** Any role except **Viewer**
- **Time:** About five minutes
- **What you need:** At least one member in your Company

To take turns you need two or more.

**In up4:** Alerting › On-call rotations · [Open in up4](https://app.upfour.io/on-call/schedules/new)

## Steps

### 1. [Name the rotation](https://upfour.io/docs/set-up-on-call#name)

Select **Create rotation** and enter a **Name**, for example _Weekend cover_.

[![](https://upfour.io/docs/images/walk/en/set-up-on-call-name.webp)](https://upfour.io/docs/images/walk/en/set-up-on-call-name.webp)

### 2. [Add the members](https://upfour.io/docs/set-up-on-call#members)

Under **Team members** select **Add team member...** for each person. **Choose colleagues to take turns being on-call. They will be rotated in the order listed below.**

The list offers the members of your Company. If a colleague is missing, invite them under [team and roles](https://upfour.io/docs/team-and-roles.md) first.

[![](https://upfour.io/docs/images/walk/en/set-up-on-call-members.webp)](https://upfour.io/docs/images/walk/en/set-up-on-call-members.webp)

### 3. [Set when the shift changes](https://upfour.io/docs/set-up-on-call#settings)

Under **Rotate** choose **Every day** or **Every week**. Set the **Handoff time** and the **Timezone** it is measured in.

A weekly rotation also needs a **Handoff day**: the shift changes on that weekday at the hand-over time. A daily rotation changes every day at that time. The first person in the list is on call until the first hand-over.

[![](https://upfour.io/docs/images/walk/en/set-up-on-call-settings.webp)](https://upfour.io/docs/images/walk/en/set-up-on-call-settings.webp)

### 4. [Check the preview and create the rotation](https://upfour.io/docs/set-up-on-call#create)

The **Preview** lists the members in order. If it reads right, select **Create rotation**.

[![](https://upfour.io/docs/images/walk/en/set-up-on-call-create.webp)](https://upfour.io/docs/images/walk/en/set-up-on-call-create.webp)

### 5. [Send alerts to whoever is on call](https://upfour.io/docs/set-up-on-call#route)

A rotation only alerts someone once an alert plan uses it. Open the plan under [build an alert plan](https://upfour.io/docs/build-an-alert-plan.md), select **Add rotation** in a step and pick the rotation. **A rotation reaches whoever is on call when the step fires, on their own alert channels.**

Own alert channels are the ones a person added themselves under **Alert channels**. Ask every member to add at least one, for example their own e-mail address or phone number.

[![](https://upfour.io/docs/images/walk/en/set-up-on-call-route.webp)](https://upfour.io/docs/images/walk/en/set-up-on-call-route.webp)

### 6. [Cover a shift](https://upfour.io/docs/set-up-on-call#override)

When someone is away, open the rotation and select **Cover a shift**. Under **Who covers** pick the person (anyone in your Company except viewers), set **From** and **Until**, add a **Reason (optional)** if you like and select **Save override**.

**In Weekend cover, this person holds the pager for the chosen time instead of the rotation. The rotation itself stays as it is.** To end a cover early, remove it with **Remove**.

[![](https://upfour.io/docs/images/walk/en/set-up-on-call-override.webp)](https://upfour.io/docs/images/walk/en/set-up-on-call-override.webp)

## How you know it worked

The on-call page names the person under **On call now** and who follows under **Next up**. A covered time is marked **· override**.

The same name appears on the **Alerting** overview under **On call right now**.

When you test the alert plan, the step lists the alert channel it reached and the person on call through the rotation.

## If something is off

The rotation will not save.

It needs a name and at least one member: **Please enter a rotation name.** **Please add at least one team member.**

The incident timeline says **Rotation Weekend cover reached nobody**.

Nobody was on call at that moment, or the person on call has no alert channel of their own. The step still alerted its other targets; with no other target the step failed. Add a member's own channel or a fallback channel to the step.

A rotation cannot be deleted.

An alert plan still uses it. Remove it from the plan's steps first.

The cover will not save.

**Choose who covers.** **The end has to be after the start.**

## What up4 does not do here

- A cover replaces the rotation for its whole time, whoever would have been on duty.
- A rotation reaches the person on call only on the alert channels they added themselves, not on channels a colleague added for them.
- The hand-over keeps its wall-clock time across daylight saving changes in the rotation's time zone.
- Rotations, members and covers belong to your Company. In agency mode you can assign a rotation to a **Client**.

[Per API POST /v1/oncall-schedules](https://upfour.io/docs/api/oncall-schedules#post_oncall_schedules)

| In the app | API field |
| --- | --- |
| Name | `name` |
| Team members · user ids in rotation order | `member_ids` |
| Rotation frequency · daily, weekly or custom | `rotation_type` |
| Handoff day | `handoff_day` |
| Handoff time | `handoff_time` |
| Timezone | `timezone` |

[Full reference](https://upfour.io/docs/api/oncall-schedules#post_oncall_schedules)

[Per API POST /v1/oncall-schedules/{scheduleID}/overrides](https://upfour.io/docs/api/oncall-schedules#post_oncall_schedules_scheduleID_overrides)

| In the app | API field |
| --- | --- |
| Who covers | `user_id` |
| From | `starts_at` |
| Until | `ends_at` |
| Reason (optional) | `reason` |

[Full reference](https://upfour.io/docs/api/oncall-schedules#post_oncall_schedules_scheduleID_overrides)