Configuration

Comprehensive guide to configuring the Overwatch Chrome Extension for optimal performance and workflow integration.

Accessing Settings

Open Extension Settings:

Right-click the Overwatch extension icon in Chrome toolbar
Select “Options” or “Settings”
Or click extension icon → Settings gear icon
Settings page opens in new tab

General Settings

Connection Settings

Configure your Overwatch instance connection:

{
  "organization_url": "https://your-org.overwatch.com",
  "api_endpoint": "/api/v1",
  "websocket_endpoint": "/ws",
  "auto_connect": true,
  "session_timeout_minutes": 60
}

Configuration Options:

Setting	Description	Default
Organization URL	Your Overwatch instance URL	Required
Auto-Connect	Connect automatically on browser start	`true`
Session Timeout	Automatic session expiration (minutes)	`60`
API Endpoint	Backend API endpoint path	`/api/v1`
WebSocket Endpoint	Real-time connection endpoint	`/ws`

Interface Settings

Theme and Appearance:

Theme Options

Light Mode: Default theme for daytime use
Dark Mode: Reduced eye strain for low-light environments
Auto: Matches system theme settings
Platform Match: Matches monitoring platform theme

{
  "theme": "auto",
  "overlay_opacity": 0.95,
  "font_size": "medium"
}

Overlay Positioning

Top Right: Default position (recommended)
Bottom Right: Alternative position
Top Left: Left-aligned positioning
Bottom Left: Bottom-left position
Custom: Drag to position and save

{
  "default_position": "top-right",
  "remember_position": true,
  "avoid_blocking": true
}

Notification Settings

All: Show all notifications
Alerts Only: Only show critical alerts
Silent: Disable all notifications
Custom: Configure per platform

{
  "notification_level": "alerts_only",
  "sound_enabled": false,
  "badge_count": true
}

Privacy Settings

Data and Privacy Controls:

{
  "data_collection": {
    "error_reporting": true,
    "usage_analytics": false,
    "screenshot_capture": true,
    "local_storage_disabled": true
  },
  "privacy": {
    "anonymize_data": true,
    "encrypt_screenshots": true,
    "auto_delete_old_data": true,
    "data_retention_days": 7
  }
}

Privacy Options:

Error Reporting: Send anonymous error reports to developers
Usage Analytics: Help improve extension (no personal data)
Screenshot Capture: Allow screenshot capture for incidents
Auto-Delete: Automatically delete old cached data

Platform Integration Settings

Datadog Configuration

Settings:

{
  "datadog": {
    "enabled": true,
    "domains": ["app.datadoghq.com", "company.datadoghq.com"],
    "auto_extract": true,
    "extract_logs": true,
    "extract_metrics": true,
    "screenshot_on_alert": false,
    "notification_types": ["alerts", "metrics"]
  }
}

Configuration Options:

Setting	Description	Recommended
Enabled	Enable Datadog integration	`true`
Auto Extract	Automatically extract context	`true`
Extract Logs	Include log data in extraction	`true`
Extract Metrics	Include metric data	`true`
Screenshot on Alert	Auto-capture screenshots	`false`

New Relic Configuration

Settings:

{
  "newrelic": {
    "enabled": true,
    "domains": ["one.newrelic.com", "rpm.newrelic.com"],
    "auto_extract": true,
    "extract_traces": true,
    "extract_errors": true,
    "screenshot_on_error": true,
    "notification_types": ["errors", "performance"]
  }
}

Configuration Options:

Setting	Description	Recommended
Enabled	Enable New Relic integration	`true`
Extract Traces	Include distributed traces	`true`
Extract Errors	Include error details	`true`
Screenshot on Error	Auto-capture on errors	`true`

Grafana Configuration

Settings:

{
  "grafana": {
    "enabled": true,
    "domains": ["grafana.company.com", "*.grafana.net"],
    "auto_extract": true,
    "extract_panels": true,
    "extract_queries": true,
    "screenshot_on_alert": true,
    "notification_types": ["alerts", "annotations"]
  }
}

Configuration Options:

Setting	Description	Recommended
Enabled	Enable Grafana integration	`true`
Extract Panels	Include panel data	`true`
Extract Queries	Include PromQL/LogQL queries	`true`
Screenshot on Alert	Auto-capture on alerts	`true`

PagerDuty Configuration

Settings:

{
  "pagerduty": {
    "enabled": true,
    "domains": ["app.pagerduty.com"],
    "auto_sync": true,
    "extract_escalation_policy": true,
    "extract_timeline": true,
    "notification_types": ["incidents", "escalations"]
  }
}

Configuration Options:

Setting	Description	Recommended
Enabled	Enable PagerDuty integration	`true`
Auto Sync	Sync incidents automatically	`true`
Extract Escalation Policy	Include escalation data	`true`
Extract Timeline	Include incident timeline	`true`

Keyboard Shortcuts

Default Shortcuts

Global Shortcuts (work across all pages):

Action	Windows/Linux	macOS
Toggle Overlay	`Ctrl+Shift+O`	`Cmd+Shift+O`
Create Incident	`Ctrl+Shift+I`	`Cmd+Shift+I`
Search Procedures	`Ctrl+Shift+P`	`Cmd+Shift+P`
Capture Screenshot	`Ctrl+Shift+S`	`Cmd+Shift+S`
Copy Context	`Ctrl+Shift+C`	`Cmd+Shift+C`
Report Problem	`Ctrl+Shift+R`	`Cmd+Shift+R`

Overlay Shortcuts (when overlay is open):

Action	Shortcut	Description
Navigate Up	`↑` or `K`	Move selection up
Navigate Down	`↓` or `J`	Move selection down
Select	`Enter`	Select current item
Close Overlay	`Esc`	Close overlay
Help	`?`	Show keyboard shortcuts

Customizing Shortcuts

Change Keyboard Shortcuts:

Open Chrome → Settings → Extensions
Click hamburger menu (≡) → Keyboard shortcuts
Find “Overwatch” extension
Click pencil icon next to shortcut
Press new key combination
Click “OK” to save

Custom Configuration:

{
  "shortcuts": {
    "toggle_overlay": "Ctrl+Shift+O",
    "create_incident": "Ctrl+Shift+I",
    "search_procedures": "Ctrl+Shift+P",
    "capture_screenshot": "Ctrl+Shift+S",
    "copy_context": "Ctrl+Shift+C",
    "report_problem": "Ctrl+Shift+R"
  }
}

Automation Rules

Auto-Incident Creation

Configure Automatic Incident Creation:

{
  "automation_rules": [
    {
      "name": "Critical Alert Auto-Incident",
      "enabled": true,
      "condition": {
        "platform": "any",
        "severity": "critical",
        "duration": "> 5 minutes"
      },
      "action": {
        "create_incident": true,
        "assign_to": "on_call_engineer",
        "notify_team": true,
        "execute_procedure": null
      }
    }
  ]
}

Rule Components:

Component	Description	Options
Name	Rule identifier	Any descriptive name
Enabled	Enable/disable rule	`true` / `false`
Platform	Target platform	`any`, `datadog`, `newrelic`, `grafana`, `pagerduty`
Severity	Alert severity threshold	`critical`, `high`, `medium`, `low`
Duration	Time threshold	`> X minutes`

Actions Available:

Create Incident: Automatically create incident
Assign To: Auto-assign to user or role
Notify Team: Send team notifications
Execute Procedure: Run specific procedure

Error Rate Threshold

Example Rule: High Error Rate:

{
  "name": "Error Rate Threshold",
  "enabled": true,
  "condition": {
    "platform": "newrelic",
    "metric": "error_rate",
    "threshold": "> 5%",
    "duration": "> 2 minutes"
  },
  "action": {
    "create_incident": true,
    "execute_procedure": "error_rate_investigation",
    "escalate_after": "10 minutes",
    "notify_channels": ["#oncall", "#devops"]
  }
}

Performance Degradation

Example Rule: Slow Response Time:

{
  "name": "Performance Degradation",
  "enabled": true,
  "condition": {
    "platform": "datadog",
    "metric": "response_time",
    "threshold": "> 2000ms",
    "baseline_deviation": "> 200%"
  },
  "action": {
    "create_incident": true,
    "severity": "high",
    "capture_screenshot": true,
    "extract_full_context": true
  }
}

Advanced Configuration

Custom Data Extraction

Define Custom Extractors:

{
  "custom_extractors": [
    {
      "name": "Custom Metrics Extractor",
      "platform": "grafana",
      "selector": ".panel-container",
      "extract": {
        "panel_title": ".panel-title",
        "current_value": ".singlestat-panel-value",
        "threshold": ".threshold-indicator"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Error Message Extractor",
      "platform": "newrelic",
      "selector": ".error-details",
      "extract": {
        "error_class": ".error-class",
        "error_message": ".error-message",
        "stack_trace": ".stack-trace"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Extractor Fields:

Name: Extractor identifier
Platform: Target monitoring platform
Selector: CSS selector for container
Extract: Map of field names to selectors

Organization-Wide Settings

Administrator Configuration (backend):

{
  "extension_config": {
    "allowed_domains": [
      "app.datadoghq.com",
      "one.newrelic.com",
      "grafana.company.com"
    ],
    "auto_incident_creation": {
      "enabled": true,
      "severity_threshold": "medium",
      "require_approval": false
    },
    "data_extraction": {
      "max_log_lines": 100,
      "max_metric_points": 1000,
      "screenshot_max_size": "2MB"
    },
    "security": {
      "require_authentication": true,
      "session_timeout_minutes": 60,
      "allowed_origins": ["https://monitoring.company.com"]
    }
  }
}

Administrator Controls:

Allowed Domains: Whitelist monitoring platforms
Auto-Incident Settings: Organization defaults
Data Limits: Extraction size limits
Security Policies: Authentication and session rules

Debug Mode

Enable Debug Mode:

Open extension settings
Navigate to “Advanced” section
Enable “Debug Mode”
Set log level (INFO, DEBUG, TRACE)
Open browser developer console (F12)
Look for “Overwatch Extension” logs

Debug Configuration:

{
  "debug": {
    "enabled": true,
    "log_level": "DEBUG",
    "console_logging": true,
    "network_logging": true,
    "performance_profiling": false
  }
}

Debug Log Example:

{
  "timestamp": "2025-10-15T10:30:00Z",
  "level": "DEBUG",
  "component": "context_extractor",
  "message": "Attempting to extract Datadog alert context",
  "data": {
    "url": "https://app.datadoghq.com/monitors/...",
    "selectors_found": 12,
    "extraction_success": true,
    "extracted_fields": ["alert_name", "severity", "status", "metrics"]
  }
}

Configuration Best Practices

Performance Optimization

Enable Only Used Platforms: Disable unused integrations to reduce overhead
Limit Screenshot Capture: Only enable for critical platforms
Configure Reasonable Limits: Set appropriate data extraction limits
Use Auto-Delete: Enable automatic cleanup of old data

Security Best Practices

Verify Organization URL: Always use HTTPS
Enable Session Timeout: Set appropriate timeout (30-60 minutes)
Review Permissions: Regularly review granted permissions
Enable Error Reporting: Help improve security with anonymous reports

Workflow Optimization

Customize Keyboard Shortcuts: Set shortcuts for frequent actions
Configure Automation Rules: Reduce manual work with smart rules
Set Default Position: Position overlay to avoid blocking critical data
Enable Auto-Connect: Automatically connect on browser start

Export and Import Settings

Export Configuration

Export Your Settings:

Open extension settings
Click “Advanced” → “Export Settings”
Choose export format (JSON)
Save file to secure location
Settings exported with timestamp

Import Configuration

Import Saved Settings:

Open extension settings
Click “Advanced” → “Import Settings”
Select settings JSON file
Review changes before applying
Click “Import” to apply
Restart extension if prompted

Next Steps

Now that configuration is complete:

Platform Guides → - Platform-specific usage
On-Demand Reporting → - Report problems directly
Workflows → - Common usage workflows
Troubleshooting → - Resolve configuration issues

Need Help?

If you have configuration questions, contact support@overwatch-observability.com.

Related Documentation:

Installation - Extension installation guide
Troubleshooting - Common configuration issues
User Guide - Platform usage guide