diff --git a/internal/alerts/dispatcher.go b/internal/alerts/dispatcher.go
index 3163fa4..49329a3 100644
--- a/internal/alerts/dispatcher.go
+++ b/internal/alerts/dispatcher.go
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ func New(cluster *config.ClusterConfig, selfID string, logger *log.Logger) *Disp
 
 // OnTransition is wired as checks.TransitionFn.
 func (d *Dispatcher) OnTransition(check *config.Check, from, to checks.State, snap checks.Snapshot) {
-	if to == checks.StateUnknown {
+	if !shouldAlert(from, to) {
 		return
 	}
 	alerts := d.cluster.EffectiveAlertsFor(check)
@@ -77,6 +77,25 @@ func (d *Dispatcher) Test(alertID string) error {
 	return d.dispatchOne(alert, msg)
 }
 
+// shouldAlert decides whether a committed state transition warrants
+// firing the configured alert channels.
+//
+// A fresh master's aggregator starts every check at StateUnknown, so
+// the first successful evaluation always commits Unknown→Up. Without
+// filtering, every master failover (or daemon restart) would spam an
+// "is now UP" alert for every healthy check. We treat Unknown→Up as a
+// silent cold start; real recoveries (Down→Up) and any transition to
+// Down still alert.
+func shouldAlert(from, to checks.State) bool {
+	if to == checks.StateUnknown {
+		return false
+	}
+	if from == checks.StateUnknown && to == checks.StateUp {
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
+
 func (d *Dispatcher) dispatchOne(a *config.Alert, msg Message) error {
 	switch a.Type {
 	case config.AlertSMTP:
diff --git a/internal/alerts/dispatcher_test.go b/internal/alerts/dispatcher_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a0bda76
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/alerts/dispatcher_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+package alerts
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.cer.sh/axodouble/quptime/internal/checks"
+)
+
+func TestShouldAlertFiltersColdStartUp(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		name string
+		from checks.State
+		to   checks.State
+		want bool
+	}{
+		{"cold start to up (master failover / daemon restart)", checks.StateUnknown, checks.StateUp, false},
+		{"cold start to down still alerts", checks.StateUnknown, checks.StateDown, true},
+		{"real recovery alerts", checks.StateDown, checks.StateUp, true},
+		{"regression alerts", checks.StateUp, checks.StateDown, true},
+		{"stale (up to unknown) suppressed", checks.StateUp, checks.StateUnknown, false},
+		{"stale (down to unknown) suppressed", checks.StateDown, checks.StateUnknown, false},
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		t.Run(c.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			if got := shouldAlert(c.from, c.to); got != c.want {
+				t.Errorf("shouldAlert(%s→%s) = %v, want %v", c.from, c.to, got, c.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}