1What FoxPlug reads from Better Stack
These are the exact things it reads, and nothing else.
| What | The details it takes |
|---|---|
| Your monitors | the first 100 monitors: id, display name, address, current status (down or not) and the date each was created |
| Incidents of the last 14 days | up to 100 incidents with a start time, a resolved time if there is one, and the cause text; each is matched to a monitor by its monitor id, or by the monitor's name appearing in the incident name |
| Better Stack's own 30 and 90 day availability for each monitor | one request per monitor and window, for the first 20 monitors only; a monitor with no answer simply gets no uptime moment |
| A one-line summary of the read | how many monitors and how many are down right now, shown in the success message and kept on the connection with the time of the read |
2Moments it finds, and what each becomes
A moment is one thing that happened in Better Stack worth a second look. Each one is scored, then it becomes a post, a changelog entry, a thing to fix or an idea to email, or it is skipped.
a monitor has an open incident
The moment is titled like this: Public API is down
Better Stack opens an incident for your monitor Public API at 14:03 UTC and it has no resolved time. When you press Check for what's new, FoxPlug makes the moment 'Public API is down', saying it has been down since that time, with Better Stack's cause text in brackets if it gave one. It is held from posting and shows first in the Today brief.
an incident is resolved
The moment is titled like this: Public API was down for 2 hours 10 minutes and is back
The incident is resolved after 2 hours 10 minutes. The moment reads 'Public API was down for 2 hours 10 minutes and is back' with the description 'went down on... and came back after 2 hours 10 minutes. It is fixed.' It is an ordinary update and can be skipped.
Better Stack reports 99 percent or better over 30 or 90 days
The moment is titled like this: Public API stayed up 99.9% over 30 days
A monitor older than 30 days with nothing down shows 99.9 percent availability for the last 30 days in Better Stack. FoxPlug makes one moment for that month, 'Public API stayed up 99.9% over 30 days', credited to Better Stack.
3How the brain uses it
The rules below are the ones that apply to Better Stack. The same rules, with worked examples, are on the brain page.
- A monitor that is down becomes the first card in the Today brief and stays until the monitor reports it back up or three days pass. It is never posted and nothing about it is upbeat. How the brain decides
- When an incident is over, one short honest update says how long it was down and that it is fixed. It is written only when you press Check for what's new, and you can skip it. How the brain decides
- A 30 or 90 day availability of 99, 99.5, 99.9, 99.95 or 99.99 percent becomes an update, once per month or quarter, only when the monitor is older than that window and nothing is down. The percentage is the figure the monitoring tool reports; FoxPlug never works one out. How the brain decides
- Reads happen only when you press Build the brief or Check for what's new, never in the background. How the brain decides
4Set up Better Stack in a few steps
Access: Uptime API token. What to give it: Uptime API token.
- Open Better Stack Uptime and sign in.
- Open the API tokens page in your settings (Better Stack's API guide shows where).
- Create an Uptime API token for your team.
- Copy the token.
- Paste it into FoxPlug and press Connect.
5Limits worth knowing
Where it stops, so nothing surprises you.
- Only the first 100 monitors are listed and only the first 100 incidents of the last 14 days are requested.
- Availability is fetched for the first 20 monitors only, so a larger account gets uptime moments for those 20.
- An availability request that fails is skipped for that monitor and the rest of the read goes on.
- A refused token (401 or 403) stops the read with a plain message that the API token was refused; any other failed reply stops it with the status number.
- Incidents older than 14 days are ignored.
- The uptime moment needs a monitor older than the window and nothing down on it.
6What it never reads
Read only means read only, and the list below is what the code leaves alone.
- On-call schedules, status pages, heartbeats or alert policies (only monitors, incidents and availability are requested)
- Anything it writes back: no incident is acknowledged, resolved or edited, and no monitor changed
- An uptime figure of its own: FoxPlug never works out a percentage itself
7Questions
Is the Better Stack token read-only?
No. The connect panel says the token is team-wide, so it can do more than read. FoxPlug only sends read requests.
Which Better Stack products does this cover?
Uptime only: monitors, incidents and the availability figure.
Will a down monitor be posted about?
No. It becomes a fix-first card in the Today brief. Only the later 'is back' update can become a post, and you can skip it.
When does it look at Better Stack?
Only when you press Check for what's new.
FoxPlug reads this tool only when you press Check for what's new, and only to read. Plans and limits are on the pricing page. Questions: support.