Configure an HTTP Content Check

Check web endpoints for expected content and response time

Written By Erdinc Akay

Last updated 26 days ago

Add Check dialog with the HTTP Content Check editor scrolled to the lower fields — HTTP Method, Expected status code, Expected and Forbidden content substring, Warning/Critical response time at their defaults, with the Add Check confirm button highlighted at the bottom

An HTTP Content Check goes beyond simple availability monitoring. It verifies that a web endpoint returns the expected content — and catches scenarios where a website loads but displays an error page, maintenance page, or stale data.

Prerequisites

  • You need the Monitoring Check Management permission.
  • The target device must have a connected agent with network access to the endpoint.

Steps

  1. Go to Devices and open the device.
  2. Click the Checks tab → Add Check → HTTP Content Check.
  3. Add one or more endpoints to monitor:
FieldExampleDescription
URLhttps://app.example.com/healthThe endpoint to check
HTTP MethodGETRequest method — one of GET, POST, or HEAD. Default: GET.
Timeout (ms)30000How long to wait for a response before failing. Range 1000–120000. Default: 30000.
Expected status code200The HTTP status code that indicates success
Expected content substring"status":"ok"Text that must appear in the response body
Forbidden content substringmaintenanceText that must NOT appear in the response body
Warning response time (ms)5000 msWarning when the response takes longer
Critical response time (ms)15000 msCritical when the response takes longer
  1. Optional: Configure custom headers, and — for POST requests — a request body for API endpoints.
  2. Click Add Check.

Tips

  • Use this check for health endpoints that return JSON — check for "status":"ok" or similar known content.
  • The Forbidden content substring field catches error pages. Set it to e.g. "error" or "maintenance" to detect when a website shows an error page but still returns HTTP 200.
  • For simple SSL certificate and availability monitoring without content checking, use the simpler SSL / HTTP check instead.

The check runs every 10 minutes by default. The first result appears in the device's Checks tab shortly after you add the check.

See also: HTTP Content Check Reference