Free Monitoring for Devs: Skip the UI Fluff

Devs want code-friendly monitoring. Here's what fits. If you’re exploring AI-driven guardrails on top of these scripts, bookmark the automation playbook so your workflows scale with the stack.

Why Devs Need It

CLI/API automate. No point-and-click nonsense. When you need the broader context to sell leadership, hand them our real-time vs five-minute monitoring breakdown so they understand why these hooks fire frequently.

Top Free

exit1.dev: CLI-first, unlimited. Pair it with the Slack integration guide if you want terminal alerts mirrored straight into incident channels.

exit1.dev Setup

CLI Quick

npm install -g exit1-cli

exit1 add https://site.com
exit1 status
exit1 status --json

API

const response = await fetch('https://api.exit1.dev/websites', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'Authorization': 'Bearer KEY'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    url: 'https://site.com',
    name: 'Site',
    checkInterval: 60
  })
});

const status = await fetch('https://api.exit1.dev/websites/ID/status');
const data = await status.json();

CI/CD Webhook

name: Monitor
on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '*/5 * * * *'

jobs:
  check:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: |
          curl -f https://site.com || \
          curl -X POST https://api.exit1.dev/webhooks/downtime \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            -d '{"url":"https://site.com","status":"down"}'

Advanced

Headers

const config = {
  url: 'https://api.site.com/health',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer KEY',
    'User-Agent': 'monitor/1.0'
  },
  expectedStatus: 200,
  timeout: 30
};

SSL

exit1 ssl https://site.com
exit1 ssl --details https://site.com

Need deeper certificate context? Cross-check against the SSL email renewal workflow so alerts trigger actual ownership.

Response Time

const perfConfig = {
  url: 'https://site.com',
  maxResponseTime: 2000,
  alertOnSlow: true,
  trackPercentiles: [50, 95, 99]
};

Dev Tool Integrations

Docker

version: '3.8'
services:
  monitor:
    image: exit1/monitor:latest
    environment:
      - API_KEY=${EXIT1_API_KEY}
      - WEBSITES=${WEBSITE_URLS}
    volumes:
      - ./config:/app/config
    restart: unless-stopped

K8s

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: monitor
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: monitor
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: monitor
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: monitor
        image: exit1/monitor:latest
        env:
        - name: API_KEY
          valueFrom:
            secretKeyRef:
              name: exit1-secret
              key: api-key

Pitfalls/Fixes

Rate limits: Batch. Bad data: Validate. For product teams juggling customers, apply the playbook from free uptime monitoring for SaaS so dev automation aligns with customer promises.

Free vs Paid

Free: 1-10 sites, basic, simple notifications, budget.

Paid: 10+ sites, collab, analytics, phone/SMS, custom, enterprise, stakes high.

Conclusion

Tools that help code, not hinder. Start free.

Sign up free

Sources

• MDN: Fetch API — https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Fetch_API
• GitHub Actions: Cron schedule — https://docs.github.com/actions/using-workflows/workflow-syntax-for-github-actions#onschedule

Recommended Free Monitoring Resources

• Free Uptime Monitor Checklist – Step-by-step actions to configure a free uptime monitor that catches incidents fast.
• Best Free Uptime Monitoring Tools (2025) – Compare the strongest free uptime monitor platforms and when to upgrade.
• Free Website Monitoring Tools 2025 Guide – Evaluate which free website monitor fits your stack and alerting needs.
• Free Website Monitoring for Developers – See how engineering teams automate alerts, SLO tracking, and reporting with a free website monitor.