HTTP Monitoring¶

Overview¶

HTTP monitoring in UptimeHunt provides comprehensive website and API endpoint monitoring capabilities. This guide covers configuration, authentication, advanced features, and best practices for HTTP/HTTPS monitoring.

Basic Configuration¶

Required Parameters¶

Service Name: Descriptive identifier for the monitoring service; Example: "Production API Health Check"
URL: Complete endpoint URL including protocol; Format: https://example.com/path; Supports both HTTP and HTTPS; Maximum length: 4096 characters
HTTP Method: Request method to use for checks; Options: GET, POST, HEAD; Default: GET

Optional Parameters¶

Project: Project assignment for organization
Enabled: Toggle to activate/deactivate monitoring
Check Interval: Monitoring frequency in minutes (1-60); Default: 3 minutes

HTTP Methods¶

GET¶

Standard method for retrieving resources.

Use Cases:

Website homepage monitoring
API endpoint availability
Health check endpoints
Status pages

Configuration:

No request body required
Can include custom headers
Supports authentication

POST¶

Method for sending data to endpoints.

Use Cases:

API endpoint testing with data
Login endpoint validation
Form submission monitoring
Data processing endpoints

Configuration:

Requires request body data
Supports JSON, XML, form data
Can include custom headers
Supports authentication

HEAD¶

Lightweight method requesting only headers.

Use Cases:

Quick availability checks
Metadata verification
Reduced bandwidth monitoring
Response header validation

Configuration:

No response body retrieved
Faster than GET
Limited validation options

Authentication¶

UptimeHunt supports multiple authentication methods for protected endpoints.

No Authentication¶

Default setting for public endpoints.

Configuration:

Select "None" from authentication dropdown
No additional parameters required

Use When:

Monitoring public websites
Accessing open APIs
Checking unauthenticated endpoints

Basic Authentication¶

HTTP Basic Authentication using username and password.

Configuration:

Select "Basic" from authentication dropdown
Enter Username
Enter Password

Technical Details:

Credentials sent in Authorization header
Base64 encoded username:password
Supported by most web servers
Standard HTTP authentication method

Example Use Cases:

Admin panels with basic auth
Development/staging environments
Legacy systems
Simple authentication requirements

Security Considerations:

Always use HTTPS with Basic Auth
Credentials transmitted with every request
Create dedicated monitoring credentials
Limit credential permissions

Bearer Token¶

Token-based authentication for modern APIs.

Configuration:

Select "Bearer Token" from authentication dropdown
Enter your Bearer Token

Technical Details:

Token sent in Authorization header
Format: Authorization: Bearer {token}
Common in RESTful APIs
JWT token support

Example Use Cases:

Modern REST APIs
Microservices
OAuth 2.0 protected resources
JWT-authenticated endpoints

Security Considerations:

Tokens may expire (plan for rotation)
Use HTTPS to protect tokens
Generate dedicated monitoring tokens
Limit token permissions/scopes

Custom Headers¶

Add custom HTTP headers to requests for specialized monitoring scenarios.

Adding Headers¶

In service configuration, locate Headers section
Click "Add Header" button
Enter Header Name (e.g., Accept)
Enter Header Value (e.g., application/json)
Repeat for additional headers

Common Headers¶

Content-Type

Name: Content-Type
Value: application/json

Specifies request body format for POST requests.

Accept

Name: Accept
Value: application/json

Indicates expected response format.

User-Agent

Name: User-Agent
Value: UptimeHunt-Monitor/1.0

Identifies the monitoring client.

API-Key

Name: API-Key
Value: your-api-key-here

Custom API key authentication.

X-Custom-Header

Name: X-Custom-Header
Value: custom-value

Application-specific headers.

Header Limitations¶

Maximum header name length: 64 characters
Maximum header value length: 4096 characters
No limit on number of headers (reasonable use)

Use Cases¶

API Version Selection

Name: API-Version
Value: v2

Content Negotiation

Name: Accept-Language
Value: en-US

Custom Authentication

Name: X-API-Token
Value: token-value

Correlation Tracking

Name: X-Request-ID
Value: monitoring-check-id

POST Data¶

For POST requests, configure the request body.

Text Input¶

Enter request body directly in the form field.

Supported Formats:

JSON
XML
Form-urlencoded
Plain text

JSON Example:

{
  "username": "monitor",
  "password": "check123"
}

XML Example:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<check>
  <status>request</status>
</check>

Form Data Example:

username=monitor&password=check123

File Upload¶

Upload a file containing the request body.

Use Cases:

Large request bodies
Complex JSON/XML structures
Binary data
Reusable request templates

Process:

Prepare request body in a file
Click file upload button
Select file from your computer
File content used as POST body

File Limitations

Uploaded files should be reasonable in size. Extremely large payloads may cause timeout or performance issues.

Content-Type Header¶

Always set appropriate Content-Type header for POST data:

For JSON:

Content-Type: application/json

For XML:

Content-Type: application/xml

For Form Data:

Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

Response Validation¶

Status Code Checking¶

UptimeHunt checks HTTP response status codes:

Successful Responses:

2xx codes (200, 201, 204, etc.)
3xx codes (301, 302, 304, etc.)

Failed Responses:

4xx codes (400, 401, 403, 404, etc.)
5xx codes (500, 502, 503, 504, etc.)
Connection errors
Timeout errors

Response Time¶

Response time is measured and recorded:

Time from request initiation to full response
Measured in seconds
Timeout: Configurable (default: 10 seconds)
Historical data available

Connection Validation¶

Checks verify:

DNS resolution successful
TCP connection established
TLS/SSL handshake completed (HTTPS)
HTTP response received

Advanced Configuration Examples¶

Monitoring Authenticated API¶

Name: Production API Health
URL: https://api.example.com/v1/health
Method: GET
Authentication: Bearer Token
Token: eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIs...
Headers:
  - Accept: application/json
Interval: 3 minutes

Name: User Login Test
URL: https://app.example.com/api/login
Method: POST
Authentication: None
Headers:
  - Content-Type: application/json
POST Data: {"email":"test@example.com","password":"test123"}
Interval: 5 minutes

Monitoring with Custom Headers¶

Name: Versioned API Endpoint
URL: https://api.example.com/users
Method: GET
Authentication: Basic
Username: apiuser
Password: ********
Headers:
  - API-Version: v2
  - Accept: application/json
  - X-Client-ID: monitoring
Interval: 3 minutes

SSL/TLS Considerations¶

HTTPS Monitoring¶

For HTTPS endpoints:

SSL/TLS certificate validation performed
Expired certificates cause check failures
Self-signed certificates may fail validation
Certificate warnings logged

Best Practices¶

Use HTTPS for all production monitoring
Ensure certificates are valid and current
Monitor certificate expiration separately
Use trusted certificate authorities

Timeout Configuration¶

Default Timeout¶

Default timeout: 10 seconds
Applies to complete request/response cycle
Includes DNS, connection, and data transfer

Timeout Failures¶

Requests timing out are marked as failed:

Connection timeout
Read timeout
DNS resolution timeout

Monitoring Best Practices¶

Check Interval Selection¶

Critical Services:: 1-3 minutes for immediate detection
Standard Services:: 3-5 minutes for balanced monitoring
Low Priority:: 10-30 minutes for basic checks

Authentication¶

Use dedicated monitoring credentials
Limit permissions to minimum required
Rotate credentials regularly
Never use production user credentials

Endpoint Selection¶

Monitor actual user-facing endpoints
Include critical API paths
Monitor authentication flows
Check essential business functions

Performance¶

Avoid resource-intensive endpoints
Monitor lightweight health checks
Consider impact on target systems
Balance coverage vs. load

Troubleshooting¶

Connection Refused¶

Causes:

Service not running
Firewall blocking requests
Incorrect URL/port
Network connectivity issues

Solutions:

Verify service is operational
Check firewall rules
Verify URL accuracy
Test connectivity manually

Authentication Failures¶

Causes:

Incorrect credentials
Expired tokens
Invalid token format
Missing authentication header

Solutions:

Verify credentials
Refresh/regenerate tokens
Check authentication type
Review API documentation

Timeout Errors¶

Causes:

Slow endpoint response
Network latency
Resource constraints
Database delays

Solutions:

Increase check interval
Optimize endpoint performance
Check server resources
Review application logs

SSL Certificate Errors¶

Causes:

Expired certificate
Self-signed certificate
Hostname mismatch
Intermediate certificate missing

Solutions:

Renew certificates
Use CA-signed certificates
Verify hostname matches
Complete certificate chain

HTTP Monitoring¶

Overview¶

Basic Configuration¶

Required Parameters¶

Optional Parameters¶

HTTP Methods¶

GET¶

POST¶

HEAD¶

Authentication¶

No Authentication¶

Basic Authentication¶

Bearer Token¶

Custom Headers¶

Adding Headers¶

Common Headers¶

Header Limitations¶

Use Cases¶

POST Data¶

Text Input¶

File Upload¶

Content-Type Header¶

Response Validation¶

Status Code Checking¶

Response Time¶

Connection Validation¶

Advanced Configuration Examples¶

Monitoring Authenticated API¶

Monitoring Login Endpoint¶

Monitoring with Custom Headers¶

SSL/TLS Considerations¶

HTTPS Monitoring¶

Best Practices¶

Timeout Configuration¶

Default Timeout¶

Timeout Failures¶

Monitoring Best Practices¶

Check Interval Selection¶

Authentication¶

Endpoint Selection¶

Performance¶

Troubleshooting¶

Connection Refused¶

Authentication Failures¶

Timeout Errors¶

SSL Certificate Errors¶

Related Documentation¶