Understanding statuses
Understanding statuses and flags
Each monitoring test sets several flags that together provide a complete picture of the site's health. Here is what each value means.
Flag: is_up (site responds)
The most important flag. true means the server responded with a 2xx code. false means connection error, timeout, or HTTP error code (4xx, 5xx).
Flag: text_found (text found)
Only applies to sites with configured expected text. true = text is present on the page. false = text was not found.
Flag: sanity_ok (heuristic OK)
Automatic content quality assessment. true = content looks normal. false = something suspicious was detected.
Status combinations and what they mean
| is_up | text_found | sanity_ok | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| true | true | true | Everything is fine. Site is up, text present, content normal. |
| true | false | true | Site is up but expected text is missing. Likely a content change. |
| true | — | false | Site responds but content is suspicious (e.g., empty page). |
| false | — | — | Site is unreachable. Server down, timeout, or HTTP error. |
Real-world example
Suppose you are monitoring example.com with expected text "Welcome".
- Scenario 1: is_up=true, text_found=true, sanity_ok=true → all OK, site works 100%.
- Scenario 2: is_up=true, text_found=false, sanity_ok=true → site works but the word "Welcome" is missing. Someone may have changed the content.
- Scenario 3: is_up=true, text_found=true, sanity_ok=false → site works and has expected text, but heuristics detected something suspicious (e.g., PHP warning in code).
- Scenario 4: is_up=false → site is down. Check if the server is running, DNS works, SSL certificate is valid.