> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.uptimeio.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Creating Monitors

> Create a monitor in the dashboard and understand every setting and default

A monitor watches one endpoint, service or scheduled job and opens an incident when it fails. This guide walks through creating an HTTP monitor in the dashboard. The other monitor types work the same way; see [Monitor Types](/monitors/http) for their specific settings.

## Before you start

* Create an account and verify your email address. Monitors cannot be created until the email is verified.
* Decide where alerts should go. You can add [notification destinations](/notifications/overview) now or after creating the monitor.
* Check your plan limits in [Plans & Billing](/billing/plans): monitor count and minimum check interval.

## Create a monitor in the dashboard

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the new monitor form">
    Click **Monitors** in the sidebar, then **Create Monitor**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter the URL">
    HTTP is selected by default. Enter the full URL, for example `https://example.com/health`. The monitor name is derived from the URL and can be changed later from the monitor's edit page.

    To monitor something else (heartbeat, ping, TCP port, DNS), open **Monitoring something else?** and pick the type.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review how often we check (optional)">
    Expand **How often we check**:

    * **Check Interval** slider. The default is **5 minutes**; your plan sets the shortest interval.
    * **Monitoring Regions**. The default is **Let us choose regions**. Pro and Scale can pick specific locations.

    See [Settings reference](#settings-reference).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review HTTP settings (optional)">
    Expand **HTTP Configuration** to change the method, expected status codes, authentication, timeout, headers, request body, redirects and SSL verification. See [Settings reference](#settings-reference).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose notification destinations (optional)">
    Expand **Notifications** and select the destinations that should be alerted. Verified destinations are pre-selected.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create the monitor">
    Click **Create Monitor**. The first check runs shortly afterwards and the monitor page shows the status, response time and the location that ran the check.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Settings reference

| Setting (dashboard label) | Default | Notes |
| - | - | - |
| **Monitor Name** | Derived from the URL | Editable at any time from the monitor's **Edit** page. |
| **Check Interval** | 5 minutes | Shortest allowed: 5 minutes on Free, 1 minute on Pro and Scale. The slider only offers intervals your plan allows. The longest is 24 hours. |
| **Monitoring Regions** | Let us choose regions | Free always uses automatic selection. Pro and Scale can turn it off and select at least one location. |
| **HTTP Method** | GET | Also POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD and OPTIONS. HEAD is faster because no body is downloaded. |
| **Expected status codes** | 200 | A check passes only when the response status is in the list. |
| **Authentication** | None | None, Basic or Digest. |
| **Timeout** | 30 seconds | Choose 5 to 60 seconds. Must be shorter than the check interval, so a 60 second timeout needs an interval of 2 minutes or more. |
| **Follow redirects** / **Max Redirects** | On, up to 5 | Under **Advanced Options**. Turn it off to treat redirects as failures. |
| **Verify SSL certificate** | On | Under **Advanced Options** for HTTPS URLs. |
| **Slow Response Alert** | Off | Under **SSL, domain & performance alerts**. |
| **Notifications** | Verified destinations selected | Where alerts for this monitor go. |

### Interval

Use 5 minutes for non-critical sites and 1 minute for services where you need the fastest detection.

### Timeout

A timeout that is too short causes false failures on slow endpoints; one that is too long delays failure detection. Use 10 to 15 seconds for fast APIs and up to 60 seconds for slow services.

### Locations

UptimeIO checks from multiple probe locations; see [Probe locations](/monitors/probe-locations) for the current list.

| Setting | Behaviour |
| - | - |
| **Let us choose regions** (on) | UptimeIO chooses locations for you. The only option on Free. |
| **Specific locations** (Pro and Scale) | Turn the toggle off and select at least one. Regular checks run only from the selected locations. |

Whichever locations you select, an incident is only opened after failures are confirmed from multiple locations. See [Understanding Incidents](/essentials/understanding-incidents).

## Advanced options

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Expected status codes" icon="check">
    Add the codes your endpoint really returns, for example 200, 201 and 204.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Request headers and body" icon="heading">
    Add custom headers (for example `Authorization`) and a request body for POST, PUT and PATCH.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Authentication" icon="key">
    Choose Basic or Digest and enter the username and password, or send a token in a custom header such as `Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN`. Use a dedicated, revocable credential for monitoring.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Slow Response Alert" icon="clock">
    Turn on **Slow Response Alert** and enter a threshold in milliseconds to open a separate slow-response incident when responses exceed it. See [Understanding Incidents](/essentials/understanding-incidents#slow-response).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="SSL certificate and domain expiry" icon="lock">
    Turn on certificate and domain expiry warnings in **SSL, domain & performance alerts** on the monitor form. See [Setting Up Alerts](/essentials/setting-up-alerts#certificate-and-domain-expiry-warnings).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Test a monitor

After creating a monitor, use **Test Now** on its page to run an immediate check. The result shows success or failure, response time, status code and the location that ran it.

If a test fails, check the URL, expected status codes, timeout and authentication.

## Limits and pausing

* Every monitor that is not deleted counts towards your plan's monitor limit, **including paused monitors**. At the limit the dashboard tells you that you have reached your plan's monitor limit; delete monitors or upgrade to free up room.
* **Pause** stops checks. **Resume** is refused when your plan's limit of active monitors is reached.

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Monitor shows Down but the site works">
    * Timeout too short for the endpoint.
    * Expected status codes do not match what the endpoint returns (the default is only `200`).
    * A firewall or rate limiter is blocking the UptimeIO user agent `UptimeIO-Monitor/1.0 (+https://uptimeio.com/monitoring-bot)`.
    * An invalid or expired certificate on the target. HTTPS checks fail when the certificate cannot be verified.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I cannot create a monitor">
    * Your email address is not verified yet. Use the link in the verification email.
    * You are at your plan's monitor limit. Delete monitors or upgrade.
    * The check interval is below your plan's minimum. Choose a longer one.
    * A field is invalid, for example the URL. The message next to the field explains what to fix.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Test passes but an incident opened">
    Incidents come from scheduled checks that fail and are then confirmed from multiple locations. Open the incident to see which checks failed and where.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Understanding Incidents" icon="triangle-exclamation" href="/essentials/understanding-incidents">
    How incidents are opened and resolved
  </Card>

  <Card title="Setting Up Alerts" icon="bell" href="/essentials/setting-up-alerts">
    Send alerts to email, Slack, webhooks and more
  </Card>

  <Card title="Monitor Types" icon="list" href="/monitors/http">
    Settings for each monitor type
  </Card>

  <Card title="Reading Metrics" icon="chart-line" href="/essentials/reading-metrics">
    Uptime and response time
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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