> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pidgeon.health/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Monitor Mirth Connect with Loft

> Stop finding out about interface failures from clinical staff. Point Loft at your Mirth channels in minutes.

## Prerequisites

* Pidgeon CLI installed (`dotnet tool install --global Pidgeon.CLI --version 0.1.0-beta.1`)
* Access to Mirth Connect's file writer output directories
* A vendor profile for your message patterns (optional but recommended)

## Step 1: Identify Mirth output directories

Mirth Connect file writer destinations typically save to a configured directory. Common paths:

```text theme={null}
/var/mirth/outbound/er-adt/
/var/mirth/outbound/lab-results/
/var/mirth/outbound/pharmacy/
```

Check your Mirth channel configuration for the exact paths.

## Step 2: Create a vendor profile

If you have sample messages from each interface, create a profile so Loft knows what "correct" looks like:

```bash theme={null}
pidgeon config analyze --samples /var/mirth/outbound/er-adt/ --save mirth_er_adt
pidgeon config analyze --samples /var/mirth/outbound/lab-results/ --save mirth_lab
```

## Step 3: Start monitoring via CLI

Watch a single interface:

```bash theme={null}
pidgeon loft watch \
  --directory /var/mirth/outbound/er-adt/ \
  --profile mirth_er_adt \
  --file-pattern "*.hl7"
```

Loft monitors the directory, validates each new message as it arrives, and alerts on failures.

## Step 4: Create interfaces via the Bridge API

For production setups, create interfaces through the Loft desktop app's local Bridge sidecar so they persist and appear in the **Sources** panel. The Bridge runs on `localhost:5100` while the Loft app is open — there is no hosted API; every call below is local to the machine running Loft:

```bash theme={null}
# Create ER ADT interface
curl -X POST http://localhost:5100/api/loft/interfaces \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Mirth ER ADT",
    "directoryPath": "/var/mirth/outbound/er-adt/",
    "profileName": "mirth_er_adt",
    "filePattern": "*.hl7"
  }'

# Create Lab Results interface
curl -X POST http://localhost:5100/api/loft/interfaces \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Mirth Lab Results",
    "directoryPath": "/var/mirth/outbound/lab-results/",
    "profileName": "mirth_lab",
    "filePattern": "*.hl7"
  }'
```

## Step 5: Configure alerting

Set up alerts in the Loft desktop app or via the Bridge API. Loft supports:

| Channel   | Supported |
| --------- | --------- |
| Local log | Yes       |
| Webhook   | Yes       |
| Email     | Yes       |
| Slack     | Yes       |
| PagerDuty | Yes       |

Alert payloads are redacted before they go out to any notification channel.

## Step 6: Monitor metrics

Check interface health through the local Bridge API:

```bash theme={null}
# Get metrics for the last 24 hours
curl http://localhost:5100/api/loft/interfaces/{id}/metrics?sinceHours=24
```

Or view the dashboard in the Loft desktop app's **Dashboards** panel.

## Step 7: Trace patient journeys

Track a specific patient's messages across interfaces:

```bash theme={null}
curl "http://localhost:5100/api/loft/traces?patient_id=MRN12345&since=2026-02-01"
```

This returns every message processed for that patient across all monitored interfaces, with timestamps and validation results.

## Live updates

Subscribe to live updates via SignalR for dashboard integration, against the local Bridge:

```javascript theme={null}
const connection = new HubConnectionBuilder()
  .withUrl("http://localhost:5100/hubs/loft", {
    accessTokenFactory: () => token
  })
  .build();

connection.on("AlertReceived", (alert) => {
  console.log("Alert:", alert.severity, alert.message);
});

await connection.start();
await connection.invoke("SubscribeToAll");
```

## Next steps

* [Configure alerting](/loft/alerting) for your notification channels
* [Explore analytics](/api-reference/analytics) for trend analysis and reporting