Create a monitor
Register a check from the dashboard and understand every field.
Before you start
A monitor checks one target on a schedule and records the result as up, slow, or down. You need an UpCheck account and a project; every monitor lives inside a project.
Free plan limits
Create from the dashboard
Open your project and choose New monitor. The form asks for a name, a target, and a check interval; everything else has a sensible default.
Choose a check type
| Type | What it checks |
|---|---|
| HTTP | Requests a URL and judges the response status. |
| Keyword | Requests a URL and looks for text in the response body. |
| API | Requests a URL and validates JSON fields in the response. |
| Port | Opens a TCP connection to a host and port. |
| DNS | Resolves a host and optionally compares the record value. |
Configure the request
HTTP family monitors default to a HEAD request and switch to GET automatically when content rules are set. You can add:
- Up to 4 request headers, for example an
Authorizationheader for a protected endpoint. - A request body for write methods (
POST,PUT,PATCH,DELETE). The body is sent with every scheduled check, so point it at test data, never at real customer writes. - Up to 4 content rules: text that must appear, text that must be absent, or a JSON field check.
Advanced HTTP options are Pro
Interval and thresholds
The interval is how often the check runs. Your plan sets the floor: 5 minutes on free, 1 minute on Pro. Two thresholds decide when status flips:
fail_threshold: consecutive failed checks before the monitor turns down and alerts fire.recover_threshold: consecutive passing checks before it turns up again.
After you create it
The first check runs right away, so the monitor shows a real status within seconds. From the monitor page you can watch latency, uptime, and the event timeline, pause the monitor, or edit any field from the settings sheet.
Other ways to create monitors
Everything the form does is also available programmatically: the REST API accepts the same fields, and the MCP server lets an AI agent register monitors for you from a plain request like "monitor my site".