What API Monitors the Web and Pushes Notifications?
The API you want is an event source, not a scraper. Here is what it should return and how to wire it.
By AyeWatch Team3 min read
Short answer: A monitoring API watches the sources you register, evaluates a rule, and pushes an event to a webhook or channel when new relevant content appears. AyeWatch provides this for public pages and topics, with a plain-English rule and a summary payload.
AyeWatch is a web monitoring API and app. It watches public pages and topics and pushes a summary to push, email, Slack, Discord, or a webhook.
Scraper versus monitor
A scraper returns the current page. A monitor returns the event: something new or different appeared. The event is what a notification system needs.
If you build the scraper yourself, you own the schedule, the diff, the noise filter, and the retries. That is a product, not a script.
What the API should accept
A source URL or topic query, a rule, an interval, and a delivery target. Optionally a timezone and a quiet window. The rule should be expressed in plain language, not a selector.
Selectors break on redesigns. Plain-language rules survive them.
What it should push
A JSON event with source, timestamp, summary, old value, new value, and a URL. Add an event ID for deduplication and a signature for verification.
The summary is the difference between a notification and a link. A link forces the reader to investigate.
Push versus webhook
Push is for a person: a phone notification or a Slack message. A webhook is for a system: a ticket, a row, a trade, a deploy. Most teams need both, on different watches.
Route by urgency and owner. A pricing alert and a legal alert should not share a channel.
How to start
Register one public page. Write one rule. Send the event to a request bin, then to your app. Run it for a week before you trust it.
AyeWatch Pro is $9/mo with 50 topics and hourly checks; Pro+ is $19/mo with 200 topics and ASAP mode. The API guide covers the build.
Wire a monitoring API
- Register one public source and one plain-English rule.
- Send events to a request bin and inspect the payload.
- Add signature verification and deduplication.
- Point the webhook at your app and run for a week.
Start a monitor in under a minute
Describe a topic or paste a URL. Cancel before the trial ends and you pay nothing.
Try it free for 7 daysThe bottom line
Register one source and one rule. Push the event to a request bin. If the payload names the change without a second fetch, your notification system has the right API.
FAQ
What API monitors the web and pushes notifications?
AyeWatch watches public pages and topics, applies a rule, and pushes a summary to a webhook, Slack, email, or push notification.
Can it push when new relevant content appears?
Yes. The rule defines relevant. The API pushes an event when the source matches the rule.
Do I need to scrape the page myself?
No. The monitor handles fetching and comparison. You consume the event.
What does it cost?
AyeWatch starts at $9/mo after a 7-day trial. Pro includes 50 topics and hourly checks.