This guide walks you from a new PulseAPI account to receiving your first alert notification. By the end, you'll have a working monitor set up, an alert rule configured, and a notification channel verified.

Prerequisites: A PulseAPI account. If you don't have one yet, sign up at pulseapi.io.

Step 1: Log In and Open the Dashboard

1. Go to pulseapi.io/auth/login.
2. Enter your email and password, then click Sign In.
3. You'll land on the Dashboard, which shows an overview of your monitors, recent checks, and open incidents.

Note: If this is a brand-new account, all the stats will show zero — that's expected.

Step 2: Create Your First Monitor

1. In the left sidebar, click Monitors.
2. Click New Monitor in the top-right corner.
3. Fill in the form:
   • Name — A label for this monitor (e.g., "Production API").
   • URL — The full URL to check, including https:// (e.g., https://api.yourapp.com/health).
   • Method — Leave as GET for most health check endpoints.
   • Project — Select an existing project or leave as the default.
4. Leave all other settings at their defaults for now.
5. Click Create Monitor.

You should now see your new monitor on the Monitors list with a status badge. Within 60 seconds (the default check interval), PulseAPI will make its first check and update the status to Up or Down.

Step 3: Set Up an Alert Notification Channel

Before creating an alert rule, you need somewhere for PulseAPI to send notifications.

1. In the left sidebar, click Alerts, then click Notification Channels.
2. Click New Channel.
3. Select Email as the channel type.
4. Enter your email address.
5. Click Create Channel.

The channel is automatically verified for email — no confirmation step required.

Tip: You can also set up Slack or webhook notifications later. See Setting Up Slack Notifications.

Step 4: Create an Alert Rule

An alert rule defines what failure condition triggers a notification.

1. In the left sidebar, click Alerts, then click Alert Rules.
2. Click New Rule.
3. Fill in the form:
   • Name — e.g., "Production API Down".
   • Condition — Select Status Code.
   • Operator — Select is not.
   • Value — Enter 200.
   • Scope — Select All endpoints to apply this rule to every monitor on your team.
   • Notification Channels — Select the email channel you just created.
4. Click Create Rule.

Your rule is now active.

Step 5: Verify Everything Works

1. Go back to Monitors and click the monitor you created.
2. Click Run Manual Check to trigger an immediate check.
3. The check result appears in the Check History section at the bottom of the page.

Tip: To confirm notifications work without waiting for a real failure, go to Alerts → Notification Channels, find your email channel, and click Send Test Notification.

You're Set Up

PulseAPI is now monitoring your endpoint every 60 seconds. If the endpoint returns a non-200 status code, you'll receive an email alert within about a minute.

Next steps:

• Understanding Plans and Limits — check the interval and endpoint limits for your plan
• Creating an Alert Rule — configure more advanced conditions
• Inviting Your Team — add teammates so they get alerts too

Still have questions? Contact support.