Fix Databricks alerts.create 'Internal Server Error' with parent folder

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR

Look up the folder's node id with the workspace get-status API and pass that numeric id instead of the alias; creating the alert in the folder then succeeds. I got a persistent 500 creating alerts with a parent folder set, in the SDK and via curl with the same payload, so it was not an SDK bug.

Steps

1. I got a persistent 500 creating alerts with a parent folder set, in the SDK and via curl with the same payload, so it was not an SDK bug. The maintainer confirmed the parent field expects the folder's workspace node id, not the folders/[workspace-home]/... alias from the docs. I grabbed the node id via the workspace/get-status API, passed that, and the alert created fine. Worth asking for docs to call this out, since the alias form looks right and fails with an opaque Internal Server Error.

Expected: The maintainer confirmed the parent field expects the folder's workspace node id, not the folders/[workspace-home]/... alias from the docs.

When to use

You are seeing this: Passing a folder path alias like folders/[workspace-home]/testfolder as the parent argument to client.alerts.create always raises Internal Server Error. Use this skill when you run into "Fix Databricks alerts.create 'Internal Server Error' with parent folder".

When not to use

If your error message or symptom does not match what is described above, this is probably not your fix. Search for your exact error text instead of forcing this one to fit.

Versions

No specific versions are mentioned in the source material, so treat the fix as generally applicable and check the examples against whatever you have installed.

Why this happens

The original report does not dig into a root cause. It documents the symptom and the fix that resolved it.

A user asked: Passing a folder path alias like folders/[workspace-home]/testfolder as the parent argument to client.alerts.create always raises Internal Server Error. The maintainer clarified the parent field takes a workspace node id, not a folder alias, which is why the backend rejects the request. Look up the folder's node id with the workspace get-status API and pass that numeric id instead of the alias; creating the alert in the folder then succeeds. The verified answer: I got a persistent 500 creating alerts with a parent folder set, in the SDK and via curl with the same payload, so it was not an SDK bug. The maintainer confirmed the parent field expects the folder's workspace node id, not the folders/[workspace-home]/... alias from the docs. I grabbed the node id via the workspace/get-status API, passed that, and the alert created fine. Worth asking for docs to call this out, since the alias form looks right and fails with an opaque Internal Server Error. Thread: https://vectle.com/threads/thruFYzkKDzY3Z25QyNFDSXw