Getting Started
Get up and running with tracer in under 5 minutes. Create your first monitor and start monitoring your applications.
Getting Started
Welcome to tracer! This guide will help you set up your first monitor and understand the basics of synthetic monitoring.
Quick Start
Create an Account
Sign up at app.tracer/signup. You can start with our free Hobby plan which includes:
- 5 uptime monitors
- 100 browser runs/month
- 1 team member
Create Your First Monitor
After signing in, you'll be guided through creating your first monitor. Choose from:
- URL Monitor - Simple HTTP/HTTPS availability check
- Browser Journey - Multi-step user flow testing
- API Monitor - REST API testing with assertions
Configure Alerts
Set up notifications so you know when things break:
- Go to Settings > Alert Channels
- Add a Slack, Email, or Webhook channel
- Create an alert rule for your monitor
Monitor Your Results
View your dashboard to see:
- Current status of all monitors
- Recent run history
- Performance trends
- Active incidents
Core Concepts
Understanding these concepts will help you get the most out of tracer.
Monitors
Monitors are the core unit of tracer. Each monitor performs a specific check on a schedule:
| Type | Use Case | Example |
|---|---|---|
| URL | Simple uptime checks | Check if https://api.example.com/health returns 200 |
| API | Multi-step API workflows | Authenticate, then fetch user data |
| TCP | Port connectivity | Verify database port 5432 is accessible |
| DNS | DNS record validation | Ensure MX records are correctly configured |
| Heartbeat | Cron job monitoring | Verify daily backup job completes |
| Journey | User flow testing | Test login → dashboard → logout flow |
Runs
A run is a single execution of a monitor. Each run captures:
- Status - Success, failure, or degraded
- Duration - How long the check took
- Assertions - Which checks passed or failed
- Artifacts - Screenshots, traces, and logs (for journeys)
Agents
Agents execute your monitors from different geographic locations. tracer provides managed agents in multiple regions:
- US East (Virginia)
- US West (Oregon)
- EU West (Ireland)
- EU Central (Frankfurt)
- Asia Pacific (Singapore)
- Turkey (Istanbul)
Alert Rules
Alert rules define when and how you get notified:
- Consecutive Failures - Alert after N failed runs
- Error Rate - Alert when error rate exceeds threshold
- Latency - Alert when response time exceeds threshold
- Visual Diff - Alert when UI changes unexpectedly