---
title: Working with custom signals
summary: null
url: >-
https://www.fastly.com/documentation/guides/next-gen-waf/signals/working-with-custom-signals
---
Custom signals are labels that describe request properties that you find important to track. The conditions for attaching a custom signal to a request are defined by [request rules](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/guides/next-gen-waf/rules/working-with-request-rules/) that use the **[Add signal](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/guides/next-gen-waf/rules/about-rules/#add-signal)** action. When paired with a request rule, custom signals can help increase visibility into:
- **what is being attacked**. Tag requests with specific paths (e.g., `/admin` or `/api`) to understand where bad actors are attempting to exploit your application.
- **where attacks originated**. Tag requests based on their source, such as specific regions, countries, or Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs). You can then create additional rules based on this information. For example, you could create a rule to block all requests from specific countries and Tor networks.
- **known actors**. Tag requests from known actors. You can then apply a positive security posture and allow traffic from the trusted sources (e.g., known vendors, Let's Encrypt, mobile data site verification, and penetration testers on internal security teams).
- **what happens after requests are allowed**. Tag allowed requests that exhibit notable response behaviors (e.g., a 404 HTTP response code or a `no JSON results` error). This additional information can better highlight attack patterns, especially when seen with or without attack signals.
The [Requests page](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/guides/next-gen-waf/monitoring/monitoring-requests/#accessing-the-requests-page) lists a [representative sample](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/guides/next-gen-waf/data-storage-and-privacy/about-data-storage-and-privacy/#storage-categories) of requests that have been tagged with custom signals.
## Limitations and considerations
When working with signals, keep the following things in mind:
- Custom signals are not included with the [Essential platform](https://docs.fastly.com/products/fastly-next-gen-waf#feature-availability).
- Corp (account) signals can only be created, edited, and deleted by [owners](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/guides/next-gen-waf/account-info/using-user-roles-and-permissions/) ([superusers](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/guides/account-info/user-and-account-management/about-user-roles-and-permissions)).
- Signals are limited to 200 per corp (account) plus 200 per site (workspace).
## Creating custom signals
Custom signals can be created at the corp (also known as account) or site (also known as workspace) level. Corp (account) signals can be used in rules on every site (workspace). Site (workspace) signals can only be used in rules for one site (workspace).
### Creating signals used by all sites (workspaces)
Corp-level (account-level) signals can be used in rules on every site (workspaces) in your account. To create a corp-level (account-level) signal, complete the following steps:
### Next Gen Waf Control Panel
1. Log in to the [Next-Gen WAF control panel](https://dashboard.signalsciences.net).
2. From the **Corp Rules** menu, select **Corp Signals**.
3. Click **Add corp signal**.
4. In the **Signal name** field, enter the name of the custom signal.
5. _(Optional)_ In the **Description (optional)** field, enter a description for the custom signal.
6. Click **Create corp signal**.
7. _(Optional)_ Create a [request rule](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/guides/next-gen-waf/rules/working-with-request-rules/) that uses the **[Add signal](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/guides/next-gen-waf/rules/about-rules/#add-signal)** action to define when the WAF should tag requests with the new signal. If you do not create a rule, the signal will never be used.
### Fastly Control Panel
1. Log in to the [Fastly control panel](https://manage.fastly.com).
2. Go to **Security** > **Next-Gen WAF** > [**Signals**](https://manage.fastly.com/security/ngwaf/signals).
3. From the workspaces bar, click the menu 
to the right of the workspace name and select your account name.
4. Click **Add account signal**.
5. In the **Signal name** field, enter the name of the custom signal.
6. _(Optional)_ In the **Description (optional)** field, enter a description for the custom signal.
7. Click **Create custom signal**.
8. _(Optional)_ Create a [request rule](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/guides/next-gen-waf/rules/working-with-request-rules/) that uses the **[Add signal](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/guides/next-gen-waf/rules/about-rules/#add-signal)** action to define when the WAF should tag requests with the new signal. If you do not create a rule, the signal will never be used.
### Creating signals used by one site (workspace)
Site-level (workspace-level) signals can only be used in rules for one site (workspace). To create a site-level (workspace-level) signal, complete the following steps:
### Next Gen Waf Control Panel
1. Log in to the [Next-Gen WAF control panel](https://dashboard.signalsciences.net).
2. From the **Sites** menu, select a site if you have more than one site.
3. From the **Rules** menu, select **Site Signals**.
4. Click **Add site signal**.
5. In the **Signal name** field, enter the name of the custom signal.
6. _(Optional)_ In the **Description (optional)** field, enter a description for the custom signal.
7. Click **Create site signal**.
8. _(Optional)_ Create a [request rule](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/guides/next-gen-waf/rules/working-with-request-rules/) that uses the **[Add signal](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/guides/next-gen-waf/rules/about-rules/#add-signal)** action to define when the WAF should tag requests with the new signal. If you do not create a rule, the signal will never be used.
### Fastly Control Panel
To create a custom signal, complete the following steps:
1. Log in to the [Fastly control panel](https://manage.fastly.com).
2. Go to **Security** > **Next-Gen WAF** > [**Signals**](https://manage.fastly.com/security/ngwaf/signals).
3. From the workspaces bar, click the menu to the right of the workspace name and select a workspace.
4. Select the **Custom** tab.
5. Click **Add custom signal**.
6. In the **Signal name** field, enter the name of the custom signal.
7. _(Optional)_ In the **Description (optional)** field, enter a description for the custom signal.
8. Click **Create custom signal**.
9. _(Optional)_ Create a [request rule](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/guides/next-gen-waf/rules/working-with-request-rules/) that uses the **[Add signal](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/guides/next-gen-waf/rules/about-rules/#add-signal)** action to define when the WAF should tag requests with the new signal. If you do not create a rule, the signal will never be used.
## Updating signals
You can update a custom signal to revise the description of the signal.
### Updating signals used by all sites (workspaces)
To update the description of a signal that applies to all sites (workspaces), complete the following steps:
### Next Gen Waf Control Panel
1. Log in to the [Next-Gen WAF control panel](https://dashboard.signalsciences.net).
2. From the **Corp Rules** menu, select **Corp Signals**.
3. Click **View** to the right of the custom signal you want to edit.
4. Click **Edit corp signal**.
5. In the **Description (optional)** field, enter a description for the custom signal.
6. Click **Update corp signal**.
### Fastly Control Panel
1. Log in to the [Fastly control panel](https://manage.fastly.com).
2. Go to **Security** > **Next-Gen WAF** > [**Signals**](https://manage.fastly.com/security/ngwaf/signals).
3. From the workspaces bar, click the menu to the right of the workspace name and select your account name.
4. Click the pencil 
to the right of the custom signal you want to edit.
5. In the **Description (optional)** field, enter a description for the custom signal.
6. Click **Update custom signal**.
### Updating signals used by one site (workspace)
To update the description of a signal that applies to a specific site (workspace), complete the following steps:
### Next Gen Waf Control Panel
1. Log in to the [Next-Gen WAF control panel](https://dashboard.signalsciences.net).
2. From the **Sites** menu, select a site if you have more than one site.
3. From the **Rules** menu, select **Site Signals**.
4. Click **View** to the right of the custom signal you want to edit.
5. Click **Edit site signal**.
6. In the **Description (optional)** field, enter a description for the custom signal.
7. Click **Update site signal**.
### Fastly Control Panel
1. Log in to the [Fastly control panel](https://manage.fastly.com).
2. Go to **Security** > **Next-Gen WAF** > [**Signals**](https://manage.fastly.com/security/ngwaf/signals).
3. From the workspaces bar, click the menu to the right of the workspace name and select a workspace.
4. Click **Custom**.
5. Click the pencil to the right of the custom signal that you want to modify.
6. In the **Description (optional)** field, enter a description for the custom signal.
7. Click **Update custom signal**.
## Deleting custom signals
To delete a signal, follow the steps described below.
### Deleting signals used by all sites (workspaces)
### Next Gen Waf Control Panel
1. Log in to the [Next-Gen WAF control panel](https://dashboard.signalsciences.net).
2. From the **Corp Rules** menu, select **Corp Signals**.
3. Click **View** to the right of the custom signal you want to edit.
4. Click **Remove corp signal** and then **Delete corp signal**.
### Fastly Control Panel
1. Log in to the [Fastly control panel](https://manage.fastly.com).
2. Go to **Security** > **Next-Gen WAF** > [**Signals**](https://manage.fastly.com/security/ngwaf/signals).
3. From the workspaces bar, click the menu to the right of the workspace name and select your account name.
4. Click the more menu 
to the right of the custom signal you want to delete and then **Delete custom signal**.
5. Click **Delete custom signal**.
### Deleting signals used by one site (workspace)
### Next Gen Waf Control Panel
1. Log in to the [Next-Gen WAF control panel](https://dashboard.signalsciences.net).
2. From the **Sites** menu, select a site if you have more than one site.
3. From the **Rules** menu, select **Site Signals**.
4. Click **View** to the right of the custom signal you want to delete.
5. Click **Remove site signal** and then **Delete site signal**.
### Fastly Control Panel
To delete a custom signal, complete the following steps:
1. Log in to the [Fastly control panel](https://manage.fastly.com).
2. Go to **Security** > **Next-Gen WAF** > [**Signals**](https://manage.fastly.com/security/ngwaf/signals).
3. From the workspaces bar, click the menu to the right of the workspace name and select a workspace.
4. Click **Custom**.
5. Click the more menu to the right of the custom signal you want to delete and then **Delete custom signal**.
6. Click **Delete custom signal**.
## Related content
- [About signals](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/guides/next-gen-waf/signals/about-signals)
- [Using an API with the Next-Gen WAF](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/guides/next-gen-waf/developer/using-an-api-with-the-next-gen-waf)