Bulk import monitors via CSV

4 min read · Advanced monitors

If you are migrating from another website monitoring tool or you have 20 or more sites, adding them manually is a waste of time. Bulk import uploads a CSV file (a table saved as text) all at once and turns it into dozens of monitors.

Preparing the CSV file

You can prepare the CSV in Excel, Google Sheets or any text editor. Save it in UTF-8 encoding (so accented characters are supported). The first row contains the column names, the following rows hold the individual monitors.

name,type,target,interval_minutes,expected_status,expected_keyword
"Main page",http,https://www.mycompany.com,5,200,"Welcome"
"API health",http,https://api.mycompany.com/health,1,200,"\"status\":\"ok\""
"DB server",tcp,db.mycompany.com:5432,5,,
"Email MX",dns,mycompany.com,30,,
"SSL certificate",ssl,www.mycompany.com,1440,,

Columns

name - required, max. 120 characters. The name you will see in the overview.
type - required. One of: http, ssl, tcp, dns, domain, heartbeat, ping, visual, lan_ping, lan_tcp, lan_http.
target - required (except for the heartbeat type). A URL, hostname or host:port depending on the monitor type.
interval_minutes - optional, defaults to 5. The minimum depends on your plan.
expected_status - optional, applies only to the http monitor. The expected response code (defaults to 200).
expected_keyword - optional. For the http type it checks whether the string appears in the response body; for the dns type it checks whether it appears in the value of the DNS record.

For LAN types (lan_*) the monitor is assigned to your existing LAN agent and the target is a local IP or hostname (for example 192.168.1.10).

Import procedure

Bulk CSV monitor import page — The import page shows the sample format as well as the result after the file is uploaded.

In the dashboard click Import CSV.
On the import page you can see the sample CSV format - prepare your monitors accordingly and save the file as CSV (UTF-8).
Click Choose file, upload the CSV and confirm with the Import button.
When it finishes, the number of created monitors is shown along with any skipped rows and the reason (for example an unknown type or an exceeded plan limit).

Mind the plan limit: if the import would exceed the number of monitors in your plan, it stops at the limit and the remaining rows are marked as skipped. You can see the current status (X / Y monitors) in the top left of the dashboard.

Common CSV mistakes

Unknown type - a typo in the type column. Check the list of allowed values.
Missing target - except for the heartbeat type, every monitor must have a target.
Quotes in the keyword - if expected_keyword contains quotes, they need to be written with a backslash (so-called escaping): "\"status\":\"ok\"".
Semicolon instead of a comma - in some countries Excel saves CSV with a semicolon. When saving, choose the "CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited)" format.
File too large - the maximum CSV file size is 2 MB. That is more than enough for a typical import of tens to hundreds of monitors.

Tip: After the import, all monitors run their first check within a minute. Just wait and watch the dashboard.

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