Uptime Note
An uptime monitor app idea: know your site is down before anyone tells you. Weekend build with Next.js, Supabase and Resend, for solo developers running a few side projects.
Why now
Uptime monitoring is a healthy open-source category, with Gatus and OpenStatus both active in October and 482 new repos mentioning uptime monitors. A solo developer needs only a scheduled check, an alert, and a history table.
- Nov 1openstatusHQ/openstatus (9,244 stars, updated Nov 1) (opens in a new tab)GitHub
- Oct 29TwiN/gatus (12,480 stars, updated Oct 29) (opens in a new tab)GitHub
- Oct 5 to Nov 1482 new GitHub repos mention "uptime monitor" (opens in a new tab)GitHub
Checked at the source on Nov 2, 2026. Points, comments, and stars are from that day. GitHub counts are keyword matches, so treat them as a rough guide.
The spec
Add your URLs, get checked every few minutes, and receive an alert the moment something fails, with a simple status page you can share.
Build time
WeekendBasic logic / CRUD · Level 2 of 5Audience
Solo developers running a few side projects.
Stack
- Next.js
- Supabase
- Resend
Fun factor
You learn about the outage before your one loyal user does.
Core features
- A list of URLs to check
- Checks on a schedule
- Email alert on failure and recovery
- A public status page
AI features
- Writes a plain incident summary
- Groups repeated failures into one incident
Stretch goals
- SSL certificate expiry warnings
- Slack alerts
- Response time charts
First version
Three URLs checked every five minutes, with an email when one fails.
Build plan
4 milestones, in the order you would build them. Saved ideas get this plan with checkboxes and notes.
The build prompt
Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude, Codex, or Cursor, then build the first version before anything else.
# Build Uptime Note You are a senior full-stack engineer pairing with me on a side project. Build a working first version of the product described below. Read the whole brief before writing any code, then follow "How to work" at the end. ## The idea **Uptime Note.** Add your URLs, get checked every few minutes, and receive an alert the moment something fails, with a simple status page you can share. **Why now:** Uptime monitoring is a healthy open-source category, with Gatus and OpenStatus both active in October and 482 new repos mentioning uptime monitors. A solo developer needs only a scheduled check, an alert, and a history table. **Who it is for:** Solo developers running a few side projects **What makes it fun:** You learn about the outage before your one loyal user does. ## Scope - **Build time:** Weekend. Size every decision to ship a working first version inside this window. - **Technical ambition:** Level 2 of 5, "Basic logic / CRUD". A few screens over a simple data model with create, read, update, and delete. One lightweight persistence layer, no heavy infrastructure. - **First version only.** Ship the core features below end to end. Stretch goals are listed so you can design around them, not build them. ## Core features (each must work end to end in the first version) 1. A list of URLs to check 2. Checks on a schedule 3. Email alert on failure and recovery 4. A public status page ## AI features - Writes a plain incident summary - Groups repeated failures into one incident How to build them: - Put every model call behind one server-side module with a typed interface, so the provider can change without touching the UI. - Read API keys from environment variables only, and document each one in `.env.example`. - Write prompts as versioned constants with clear instructions and an example of the expected output; parse and validate responses before using them. - Handle timeouts, rate limits, and malformed output with a graceful fallback the user can understand. Stream responses where a wait would exceed a couple of seconds. - Never let a feature depend on the model being perfect. Show the result, let the user edit or retry. ## Stretch goals (later, not in the first version) - SSL certificate expiry warnings - Slack alerts - Response time charts Leave clean seams for these (a module boundary, a nullable column, a feature flag), but do not implement them unless I ask. ## Tech stack Use exactly: Next.js, Supabase, Resend. Stay on current stable versions, follow each tool's official conventions, and add a library only when the standard library or the chosen stack cannot do the job cleanly. If part of this stack is a poor fit for a specific requirement, say so and propose the smallest change. ## Owner's notes Written by me, the project owner. Treat these as requirements and preferences that override the generated material above when they conflict. The first version should be exactly this, and no bigger: Three URLs checked every five minutes, with an email when one fails. ## Build plan (with saved progress) 0 of 4 steps complete. Resume at step 1: Add URLs. Before you start it, check what is already implemented so you do not repeat finished work. 1. **Add URLs** [not started] What to check and how often. 2. **Scheduled checks** [not started] Store each response and time. 3. **Alerts** [not started] Failure and recovery, without repeats. 4. **Status page** [not started] A public history for each URL. ## Definition of done for the first version - [ ] A list of URLs to check works end to end, with real data, not a placeholder. - [ ] Checks on a schedule works end to end, with real data, not a placeholder. - [ ] Email alert on failure and recovery works end to end, with real data, not a placeholder. - [ ] A public status page works end to end, with real data, not a placeholder. - [ ] Every screen handles loading, empty, and error states. - [ ] Typecheck, lint, and any tests pass, and the main user flow was exercised by hand. - [ ] A README explains setup, environment variables, and how to run it locally. ## Quality bar - Responsive from a phone to a desktop, keyboard-accessible, semantic HTML, visible focus states, labelled inputs, and sensible contrast. - Loading, empty, and error states for every screen that reads or writes data. Errors say what happened and what to do next. - Validate on the server, never trust the client, and keep secrets in environment variables with a committed `.env.example`. - Type-safe end to end. No `any` without a comment explaining why. - Small, readable modules named after what they do. No premature abstraction, no dead code, no TODOs left for later without a note. - Sensible defaults over settings. If a choice is not in this brief, pick the simplest option that keeps the product coherent and say what you chose. ## How to work 1. **Read, then restate.** Summarize the product in three sentences and list your assumptions. Ask only the questions that block implementation. For everything else, decide and note the decision. 2. **Plan before code.** List the files and modules you will create, in build order, mapped to the core features. If a build plan is included above, use it instead: resume at the first step not marked done and check what already exists before touching it. 3. **Set up.** If a project already exists, inspect its code, instructions, and conventions first and build on them. Otherwise scaffold the stack above with linting, formatting, a typecheck script, `.env.example`, and a README stub. 4. **Model the data first.** Define the types, schema, and any migrations before the UI, so the shape of the product is settled early. 5. **Build in vertical slices.** Finish one core feature end to end (data, logic, UI) before starting the next. Keep the app runnable after every slice and commit each slice with a message that says what changed and why. 6. **Then the interface.** Apply the quality bar above to each screen as it lands, not as a final pass. 7. **Verify.** Run typecheck, lint, and tests. Exercise the main user flow by hand. Check each item in the definition of done and each acceptance criterion. 8. **Report.** Tell me what works, what you tested and how, what is not done, every setup step I must complete myself, and the three most useful next steps. Never claim a service, test, or flow was verified when it was not. If you can edit and run the project, start implementing right after the short plan. If you cannot, give me concrete code and the exact commands to run for the next step. Rules: keep the product name and the scope as written, do not invent features, prefer boring and proven choices, and stop to ask me when a decision would be expensive to reverse.
How to use
- Copy the prompt above.
- Open ChatGPT, Claude, or your AI editor and paste it into a new conversation.
- Build milestone one, run it, then move to the next. Add stretch goals only after the first version works.
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
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