Pinging API

With the Pinging API, you can signal success, start, failure, and log events from your systems.

General Notes

All ping endpoints support:

• HTTP and HTTPS
• HTTP 1.0, HTTP 1.1, and HTTP 2
• IPv4 and IPv6
• HEAD, GET, and POST request methods. For HTTP POST requests, clients can optionally include diagnostic information in the request body. If the request body looks like a UTF-8 string, SoftCat Healthcheck stores the request body (limited to the first 10 kB for each received ping).

Successful responses will have the "200 OK" HTTP response status code and a short "OK" string in the response body.

UUIDs and Slugs

Each Pinging API request needs to identify a check uniquely. SoftCat Healthcheck supports two ways of identifying a check: by the check's UUID or by a combination of the project's Ping Key and the check's slug.

Check's UUID is automatically assigned when the check is created. It is immutable. You cannot replace the automatically assigned UUID with a manually chosen one. When you delete a check, you lose its UUID and cannot get it back.

You can look up the UUIDs of your checks in web UI or via Management API calls.

Check's slug can be chosen by the user. The slug should only contain the following characters: a-z, 0-9, hyphens, and underscores. A common practice is to derive the slug from the check's name (for example, a check named "Database Backup" might have a slug "database-backup"), but the user is free to pick arbitrary slug values.

Check's slug can be changed by the user, from the web interface or by using Management API calls.

Check's slug is not guaranteed to be unique. If you make a Pinging API request using a non-unique slug, SoftCat Healthcheck will return the "409 Conflict" HTTP status code and ignore the request.

Slug URLs optionally support auto-provisioning: if you make a Pinging API request to a slug with no corresponding check, SoftCat Healthcheck will create the check automatically. Auto-provisioning is off by default. To enable it, add a create=1 query parameter to the ping URL.

Endpoints

Send a "success" Signal Using UUID

HEAD|GET|POST https://healthcheck.softcat.org/ping/<uuid>

Signals to SoftCat Healthcheck that the job has been completed successfully (or a continuously running process is still running and healthy).

SoftCat Healthcheck identifies the check by the UUID value included in the URL.

The response may optionally contain a Ping-Body-Limit: <n> response header. If this header is present, its value is an integer, and it specifies how many bytes from the request body SoftCat Healthcheck will store per request. For example, if n=100, but the client sends 123 bytes in the request body, SoftCat Healthcheck will store the first 100 bytes and ignore the remaining 23. The client can use this header to decide how much data to send in the request bodies of subsequent requests.

Query Parameters

rid=<uuid>

Optional, specifies a run ID of this ping. If run ID is specified, SoftCat Healthcheck uses it to match the correct corresponding start ping for this ping and calculate an accurate duration. The value must be a client-picked UUID in the canonical textual representation.

Example: rid=123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000.

Response Codes

200 OK

The request succeeded.

404 not found

Could not find a check with the specified UUID.

Example

GET /5bf66975-d4c7-4bf5-bcc8-b8d8a82ea278 HTTP/1.0
Host: hc-ping.com

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Server: nginx
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2020 09:58:23 GMT
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Content-Length: 2
Connection: close
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *
Ping-Body-Limit: 10000

OK

Send a "start" Signal Using UUID

HEAD|GET|POST https://healthcheck.softcat.org/ping/<uuid>/start

Sends a "job has started!" message to SoftCat Healthcheck. Sending a "start" signal is optional, but it enables a few extra features:

• SoftCat Healthcheck will measure and display job execution times
• SoftCat Healthcheck will detect if the job runs longer than its configured grace time

SoftCat Healthcheck identifies the check by the UUID value included in the URL.

The response may optionally contain a Ping-Body-Limit: <n> response header. If this header is present, its value is an integer, and it specifies how many bytes from the request body SoftCat Healthcheck will store per request. For example, if n=100, but the client sends 123 bytes in the request body, SoftCat Healthcheck will store the first 100 bytes and ignore the remaining 23. The client can use this header to decide how much data to send in the request bodies of subsequent requests.

Query Parameters

rid=<uuid>

Optional, specifies a run ID of this ping. If run ID is specified, SoftCat Healthcheck uses it to match the correct corresponding completion ping for this ping and calculate an accurate duration. The value must be a client-picked UUID in the canonical textual representation.

Example: rid=123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000.

Response Codes

200 OK

The request succeeded.

404 not found

Could not find a check with the specified UUID.

Example

GET /5bf66975-d4c7-4bf5-bcc8-b8d8a82ea278/start HTTP/1.0
Host: hc-ping.com

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Server: nginx
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2020 09:58:23 GMT
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Content-Length: 2
Connection: close
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *
Ping-Body-Limit: 10000

OK

Send a "failure" Signal Using UUID

HEAD|GET|POST https://healthcheck.softcat.org/ping/<uuid>/fail

Signals to SoftCat Healthcheck that the job has failed. Actively signaling a failure minimizes the delay from your monitored service failing to you receiving an alert.

SoftCat Healthcheck identifies the check by the UUID value included in the URL.

The response may optionally contain a Ping-Body-Limit: <n> response header. If this header is present, its value is an integer, and it specifies how many bytes from the request body SoftCat Healthcheck will store per request. For example, if n=100, but the client sends 123 bytes in the request body, SoftCat Healthcheck will store the first 100 bytes and ignore the remaining 23. The client can use this header to decide how much data to send in the request bodies of subsequent requests.

Query Parameters

rid=<uuid>

Optional, specifies a run ID of this ping. If run ID is specified, SoftCat Healthcheck uses it to match the correct corresponding start ping for this ping and calculate an accurate duration. The value must be a client-picked UUID in the canonical textual representation.

Example: rid=123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000.

Response Codes

200 OK

The request succeeded.

404 not found

Could not find a check with the specified UUID.

Example

GET /5bf66975-d4c7-4bf5-bcc8-b8d8a82ea278/fail HTTP/1.0
Host: hc-ping.com

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Server: nginx
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2020 09:58:23 GMT
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Content-Length: 2
Connection: close
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *
Ping-Body-Limit: 10000

OK

Send a "log" Signal Using UUID

HEAD|GET|POST https://healthcheck.softcat.org/ping/<uuid>/log

Sends logging information to SoftCat Healthcheck without signaling success or failure. SoftCat Healthcheck will log the event and display it in the check's "Events" section with the "Log" label. The check's status will remain the same.

SoftCat Healthcheck identifies the check by the UUID value included in the URL.

The response may optionally contain a Ping-Body-Limit: <n> response header. If this header is present, its value is an integer, and it specifies how many bytes from the request body SoftCat Healthcheck will store per request. For example, if n=100, but the client sends 123 bytes in the request body, SoftCat Healthcheck will store the first 100 bytes and ignore the remaining 23. The client can use this header to decide how much data to send in the request bodies of subsequent requests.

Query Parameters

rid=<uuid>

Optional, specifies a run ID of this ping. The value must be a client-picked UUID in the canonical textual representation.

Example: rid=123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000.

Response Codes

200 OK

The request succeeded.

404 not found

Could not find a check with the specified UUID.

Example

POST /5bf66975-d4c7-4bf5-bcc8-b8d8a82ea278/log HTTP/1.1
Host: hc-ping.com
Content-Type: text/plain
Content-Length: 11

Hello World

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Server: nginx
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2020 09:58:23 GMT
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Content-Length: 2
Connection: close
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *
Ping-Body-Limit: 10000

OK

Report Script's Exit Status (Using UUID)

HEAD|GET|POST https://healthcheck.softcat.org/ping/<uuid>/<exit-status>

Sends a success or failure signal depending on the exit status included in the URL. The exit status is a 0-255 integer. SoftCat Healthcheck interprets 0 as a success and all other values as a failure.

SoftCat Healthcheck identifies the check by the UUID value included in the URL.

The response may optionally contain a Ping-Body-Limit: <n> response header. If this header is present, its value is an integer, and it specifies how many bytes from the request body SoftCat Healthcheck will store per request. For example, if n=100, but the client sends 123 bytes in the request body, SoftCat Healthcheck will store the first 100 bytes and ignore the remaining 23. The client can use this header to decide how much data to send in the request bodies of subsequent requests.

Query Parameters

rid=<uuid>

Optional, specifies a run ID of this ping. If run ID is specified, SoftCat Healthcheck uses it to match the correct corresponding start ping for this ping and calculate an accurate duration. The value must be a client-picked UUID in the canonical textual representation.

Example: rid=123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000.

Response Codes

200 OK

The request succeeded.

400 invalid url format

The URL does not match the expected format.

404 not found

Could not find a check with the specified UUID.

Example

GET /5bf66975-d4c7-4bf5-bcc8-b8d8a82ea278/1 HTTP/1.0
Host: hc-ping.com

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Server: nginx
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2020 09:58:23 GMT
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Content-Length: 2
Connection: close
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *
Ping-Body-Limit: 10000

OK

Send a "success" Signal (Using Slug)

HEAD|GET|POST https://healthcheck.softcat.org/ping/<ping-key>/<slug>

Signals to SoftCat Healthcheck that the job has been completed successfully (or a continuously running process is still running and healthy).

SoftCat Healthcheck identifies the check by project's ping key and check's slug included in the URL.

The response may optionally contain a Ping-Body-Limit: <n> response header. If this header is present, its value is an integer, and it specifies how many bytes from the request body SoftCat Healthcheck will store per request. For example, if n=100, but the client sends 123 bytes in the request body, SoftCat Healthcheck will store the first 100 bytes and ignore the remaining 23. The client can use this header to decide how much data to send in the request bodies of subsequent requests.

Query Parameters

create=0|1

Optional, default "0". If set to "1", and if the slug in the URL does not match any existing check in the project, SoftCat Healthcheck creates a new check automatically.

Example: create=1

rid=<uuid>

Optional, specifies a run ID of this ping. If run ID is specified, SoftCat Healthcheck uses it to match the correct corresponding start ping for this ping, and calculate an accurate duration. The value must be a client-picked UUID in the canonical textual representation.

Example: rid=123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000.

Response Codes

200 OK

The request succeeded.

201 Created

A new check was automatically created, the request succeeded.

404 not found

Could not find a check with the specified ping key and slug combination.

409 ambiguous slug

Ambiguous, the slug matched multiple checks.

Example

GET /fqOOd6-F4MMNuCEnzTU01w/database-backup HTTP/1.0
Host: hc-ping.com

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Server: nginx
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2020 09:58:23 GMT
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Content-Length: 2
Connection: close
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *
Ping-Body-Limit: 10000

OK

Send a "start" Signal (Using Slug)

HEAD|GET|POST https://healthcheck.softcat.org/ping/<ping-key>/<slug>/start

Sends a "job has started!" message to SoftCat Healthcheck. Sending a "start" signal is optional, but it enables a few extra features:

• SoftCat Healthcheck will measure and display job execution times
• SoftCat Healthcheck will detect if the job runs longer than its configured grace time

SoftCat Healthcheck identifies the check by project's ping key and check's slug included in the URL.

The response may optionally contain a Ping-Body-Limit: <n> response header. If this header is present, its value is an integer, and it specifies how many bytes from the request body SoftCat Healthcheck will store per request. For example, if n=100, but the client sends 123 bytes in the request body, SoftCat Healthcheck will store the first 100 bytes, and ignore the remaining 23. The client can use this header to decide how much data to send in the request bodies of subsequent requests.

Query Parameters

create=0|1

Optional, default "0". If set to "1", and if the slug in the URL does not match any existing check in the project, SoftCat Healthcheck creates a new check automatically.

Example: create=1

rid=<uuid>

Optional, specifies a run ID of this ping. If run ID is specified, SoftCat Healthcheck uses it to match the correct corresponding completion ping for this ping, and calculate an accurate duration. The value must be a client-picked UUID in the canonical textual representation.

Example: rid=123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000.

Response Codes

200 OK

The request succeeded.

201 Created

A new check was automatically created, the request succeeded.

404 not found

Could not find a check with the specified ping key and slug combination.

409 ambiguous slug

Ambiguous, the slug matched multiple checks.

Example

GET /fqOOd6-F4MMNuCEnzTU01w/database-backup/start HTTP/1.0
Host: hc-ping.com

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Server: nginx
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2020 09:58:23 GMT
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Content-Length: 2
Connection: close
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *
Ping-Body-Limit: 10000

OK

Send a "failure" Signal (Using slug)

HEAD|GET|POST https://healthcheck.softcat.org/ping/<ping-key/<slug>/fail

Signals to SoftCat Healthcheck that the job has failed. Actively signaling a failure minimizes the delay from your monitored service failing to you receiving an alert.

SoftCat Healthcheck identifies the check by project's ping key and check's slug included in the URL.

The response may optionally contain a Ping-Body-Limit: <n> response header. If this header is present, its value is an integer, and it specifies how many bytes from the request body SoftCat Healthcheck will store per request. For example, if n=100, but the client sends 123 bytes in the request body, SoftCat Healthcheck will store the first 100 bytes, and ignore the remaining 23. The client can use this header to decide how much data to send in the request bodies of subsequent requests.

Query Parameters

create=0|1

Optional, default "0". If set to "1", and if the slug in the URL does not match any existing check in the project, SoftCat Healthcheck creates a new check automatically.

Example: create=1

rid=<uuid>

Optional, specifies a run ID of this ping. If run ID is specified, SoftCat Healthcheck uses it to match the correct corresponding start ping for this ping, and calculate an accurate duration. The value must be a client-picked UUID in the canonical textual representation.

Example: rid=123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000.

Response Codes

200 OK

The request succeeded.

201 Created

A new check was automatically created, the request succeeded.

404 not found

Could not find a check with the specified ping key and slug combination.

409 ambiguous slug

Ambiguous, the slug matched multiple checks.

Example

GET /fqOOd6-F4MMNuCEnzTU01w/database-backup/fail HTTP/1.0
Host: hc-ping.com

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Server: nginx
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2020 09:58:23 GMT
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Content-Length: 2
Connection: close
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *
Ping-Body-Limit: 10000

OK

Send a "log" Signal (Using slug)

HEAD|GET|POST https://healthcheck.softcat.org/ping/<ping-key/<slug>/log

Sends logging information to SoftCat Healthcheck without signaling success or failure. SoftCat Healthcheck will log the event and display it in check's "Events" section with the "Log" label. The check's status will not change.

SoftCat Healthcheck identifies the check by project's ping key and check's slug included in the URL.

The response may optionally contain a Ping-Body-Limit: <n> response header. If this header is present, its value is an integer, and it specifies how many bytes from the request body SoftCat Healthcheck will store per request. For example, if n=100, but the client sends 123 bytes in the request body, SoftCat Healthcheck will store the first 100 bytes, and ignore the remaining 23. The client can use this header to decide how much data to send in the request bodies of subsequent requests.

Query Parameters

create=0|1

Optional, default "0". If set to "1", and if the slug in the URL does not match any existing check in the project, SoftCat Healthcheck creates a new check automatically.

Example: create=1

rid=<uuid>

Optional, specifies a run ID of this ping. The value must be a client-picked UUID in the canonical textual representation.

Example: rid=123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000.

Response Codes

200 OK

The request succeeded.

201 Created

A new check was automatically created, the request succeeded.

404 not found

Could not find a check with the specified ping key and slug combination.

409 ambiguous slug

Ambiguous, the slug matched multiple checks.

Example

POST /fqOOd6-F4MMNuCEnzTU01w/database-backup/log HTTP/1.1
Host: hc-ping.com
Content-Type: text/plain
Content-Length: 11

Hello World

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Server: nginx
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2020 09:58:23 GMT
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Content-Length: 2
Connection: close
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *
Ping-Body-Limit: 10000

OK

Report Script's Exit Status (Using Slug)

HEAD|GET|POST https://healthcheck.softcat.org/ping/<ping-key>/<slug>/<exit-status>

Sends a success or failure signal depending on the exit status included in the URL. The exit status is a 0-255 integer. SoftCat Healthcheck interprets 0 as a success and all other values as a failure.

SoftCat Healthcheck identifies the check by project's ping key and check's slug included in the URL.

The response may optionally contain a Ping-Body-Limit: <n> response header. If this header is present, its value is an integer, and it specifies how many bytes from the request body SoftCat Healthcheck will store per request. For example, if n=100, but the client sends 123 bytes in the request body, SoftCat Healthcheck will store the first 100 bytes, and ignore the remaining 23. The client can use this header to decide how much data to send in the request bodies of subsequent requests.

Query Parameters

create=0|1

Optional, default "0". If set to "1", and if the slug in the URL does not match any existing check in the project, SoftCat Healthcheck creates a new check automatically.

Example: create=1

rid=<uuid>

Optional, specifies a run ID of this ping. If run ID is specified, SoftCat Healthcheck uses it to match the correct corresponding start ping for this ping, and calculate an accurate duration. The value must be a client-picked UUID in the canonical textual representation.

Example: rid=123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000.

Response Codes

200 OK

The request succeeded.

201 Created

A new check was automatically created, the request succeeded.

400 invalid url format

The URL does not match the expected format.

404 not found

Could not find a project matching the specified ping key.

409 ambiguous slug

Ambiguous, the slug matched multiple checks.

Example

GET /fqOOd6-F4MMNuCEnzTU01w/database-backup/1 HTTP/1.0
Host: hc-ping.com

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Server: nginx
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2020 09:58:23 GMT
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Content-Length: 2
Connection: close
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *
Ping-Body-Limit: 10000

OK