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What Watch checks

Watch is more than a ping. Each check is an HTTP GET from Europe — not a real browser. It is included on Starter and Growth, on a hostname you already added.

• Three European cities

  Frankfurt checks every window. Dublin runs when Frankfurt failed, or when Frankfurt answered but first byte was slow. London is a third sample only after a fail — not for slowness.

• DNS

  Each check resolves the hostname (IPv4, then IPv6 when needed) before it requests the URL. If the address set moves, we mail you.

• HTTP status

  The response must match the status you expect. The default is 200–399. You can require a single code.

• Redirects

  A redirect that leaves your hostname fails the check.

• Page content

  You can require a short phrase in the body, or forbid one. A keyword check is its own row — the page can be up while the phrase is missing.

• Speed

  We record first byte (TTFB) and total load time. Slow is based on first byte. The default threshold is 3 seconds; 0 turns Slow off.

• Daily sitemap

  Once a day we fetch /sitemap.xml (or the path you set) and visit the first 40 URLs on the same hostname. Off-host URLs are skipped. A bad result is checked again after 30 minutes before we alert. Not an HTML crawl.

• Certificate

  On a successful HTTPS check we read the leaf certificate visitors see. Mail at 14 days left, an incident at 3. We do not walk the full chain or grade ciphers.

• Domain expiry

  Once a day we look up the registry (RDAP). Mail at 30 days left, an incident at 7.

• Visitor 404s and 500s

  Watch counts cfa('404') and cfa('500') events from real visitors in the last hour. Over the threshold (default 10; 0 is off) we mail you. The hostname can still be Up.

• Heartbeat

  On Starter and Growth you can POST a heartbeat for a cron or a job. If no beat arrives within the grace you set (minimum 60 seconds, maximum 24 hours), Watch opens a heartbeat incident. Empty grace is off.

• TCP port

  You can add a TCP check for one port on a hostname you already added. That is a connect, not a port scan.

• What Watch is not

  Watch is not a real browser and not a transaction test. It does not run JavaScript or click through a checkout.

A single slow sample never sends mail. Slow mail goes out only after Dublin confirms slowness in two consecutive windows. A real outage — two windows where Frankfurt and Dublin both failed — alerts promptly. One city down and one up stays Up.

Starter checks every 3 minutes (10 pages). Growth checks every minute (25 pages). Hobby shows the Watch tab; checks start on Starter.

Ping vs Watch

• What it sends

  A simple ping

  Often ICMP echo, or one HTTP request

  Watch

  An HTTP GET — not a rendered page

• Where from

  A simple ping

  Usually one location

  Watch

  Frankfurt every window; Dublin confirms a fail or a slow first byte; London only after a fail

• What counts as up

  A simple ping

  Any answer may count as up

  Watch

  DNS, the status you expect (default 200–399), and no redirect off your hostname. Optional must-contain or must-not-contain phrases.

• Speed

  A simple ping

  Sometimes round-trip time

  Watch

  First byte and total load time. Slow is first byte over your threshold (default 3 seconds).

• Certificate and domain

  A simple ping

  No

  Watch

  Leaf certificate: mail at 14 days, incident at 3. Registry expiry (RDAP, once a day): mail at 30 days, incident at 7.

• Sitemap and visitor errors

  A simple ping

  No

  Watch

  Daily sitemap, first 40 same-host URLs. Hourly visitor 404 and 500 rates from cfa('404') and cfa('500').

• Cron jobs

  A simple ping

  No

  Watch

  Optional heartbeat on Starter and Growth. Empty grace is off.

• When it alerts

  A simple ping

  Often on the first failed ping

  Watch

  Down after two windows where Frankfurt and Dublin both fail. Slow after two windows where both are slow. One slow sample never mails.

• Browser checkout test

  A simple ping

  No

  Watch

  No — Watch does not run JavaScript or click through a checkout.