APIWatch Launch: Real-time API Monitoring for Developers

Today I'm excited to announce the launch of APIWatch - a powerful real-time API monitoring tool designed specifically for developers who need to track their endpoints, analyze response times, and get instant alerts when something goes wrong.

Why APIWatch?

As developers, we rely on numerous APIs to build our applications. But how do you know when an API goes down? How do you track response time trends over weeks? Traditional monitoring solutions are often:

• ❌ Too expensive for individual developers
• ❌ Complex to set up and configure
• ❌ Lacking real-time alerting capabilities
• ❌ Not designed for API-specific metrics

APIWatch solves these problems with a developer-first approach.

Key Features

🔍 Real-time Endpoint Monitoring

Monitor any HTTP endpoint with customizable intervals. Set up checks as frequent as every 30 seconds or as relaxed as once a day. Each check captures:

• HTTP status code
• Response time (in milliseconds)
• Response body (optional, for health check validation)
• Timestamp

📊 Response Time Analytics

Track your API's performance over time with detailed analytics. View:

• Average response times
• Minimum and maximum response times
• Uptime percentage
• Historical trends

🚨 Instant Alerts

Never miss an API outage. APIWatch supports multiple alert channels:

• Email notifications - Get alerts directly in your inbox
• Webhook integration - Connect to Slack, Discord, or any custom endpoint
• Status page - Public status page for your users

💰 Free Tier for Developers

APIWatch offers a generous free tier that includes:

• Up to 5 monitored endpoints
• 60-second check intervals
• 24-hour data retention
• Email alerts

💎 Pro Tier - $5/month

For power users and teams:

• Unlimited endpoints
• 30-second check intervals
• 30-day data retention
• All alert channels
• API access

How It Works

1. Add Your Endpoint

POST /api/endpoints
{
  "name": "My API",
  "url": "https://api.example.com/health",
  "method": "GET",
  "interval": 60,
  "expectedStatus": 200
}

2. View Real-time Status

Dashboard shows all your endpoints with their current status and recent history.

3. Set Up Alerts

POST /api/alerts
{
  "type": "webhook",
  "endpointId": "abc123",
  "url": "https://hooks.slack.com/services/xxx",
  "trigger": "failure"
}

Live Demo

Want to see APIWatch in action? Check out the live demo:

https://reflect-shaft-kenny-raleigh.trycloudflare.com

API Reference

Base URL

https://reflect-shaft-kenny-raleigh.trycloudflare.com/api

Endpoints

# Get all endpoints
GET /endpoints

# Add new endpoint
POST /endpoints
{
  "name": "string",
  "url": "string",
  "method": "GET|POST|PUT|DELETE",
  "interval": 60,
  "expectedStatus": 200
}

# Get endpoint history
GET /endpoints/:id/history

# Delete endpoint
DELETE /endpoints/:id

Tech Stack

APIWatch is built with modern technologies:

• Backend: Node.js, Express, TypeScript
• Database: SQLite (for portability) / PostgreSQL (for production)
• Real-time: Server-Sent Events (SSE)
• Deployment: Docker, Cloudflare Tunnels

Roadmap

Here's what's coming next:

• 🔜 Multi-region monitoring
• 🔜 Custom health check scripts
• 🔜 Team collaboration
• 🔜 Mobile app
• 🔜 PagerDuty integration

Get Started

Ready to monitor your APIs? Try the live demo or deploy your own instance:

Conclusion

APIWatch is my solution to the problem I've faced as a developer - keeping track of all the APIs I depend on. With real-time monitoring, instant alerts, and a developer-friendly API, I hope it helps you build more reliable applications.

Give it a try and let me know what you think! 🚀