If users notice your site is down before you do… that’s backwards.
Here’s the fastest way I’ve found to stand up Uptime Kuma with TLS-expiry alerts.
0) Prereqs
- A Linux box or VPS (2 vCPU/2GB is plenty)
- Docker & docker-compose
- A domain or subdomain for your status page (optional)
1) Compose file
Create docker-compose.yml:
version: "3.3"
services:
uptime-kuma:
image: louislam/uptime-kuma:1
container_name: uptime-kuma
volumes:
- ./kuma-data:/app/data
ports:
- "3001:3001"
restart: unless-stopped
Run it
docker compose up -d
Open http://<server-ip>:3001 and set an admin user.
2) Add monitors fast
Add HTTP/HTTPS, port, or ping checks. I like to keep a CSV so I can bulk-add later:
name,type,url,hostname,port,interval_s
Homepage,HTTP,https://example.com,,,"60"
API Health,HTTP,https://api.example.com/health,,,"60"
DB Port,Port,,db.example.com,5432,"60"
3) TLS-expiry alerts (30/14/7/3 days)
Add a TLS Certificate monitor for your domain, then set Notification targets:
Email (SMTP), Telegram, Discord, etc.
4) Bonus: a simple status page
In Kuma, create a Status Page and add components.
Put it behind your domain (e.g., status.example.com) with any web server.
If you’re using Caddy:
status.example.com {
encode gzip zstd
root * /var/www/status
file_server
header {
Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"
X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff"
X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN"
}
}
Want the done-for-you kit?
I bundled a Uptime & SSL Monitor Kit (compose, monitor CSV template, headers checklist, status copy).
👉 https://colbycardell.gumroad.com/l/rkwrl?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=uptime_launch&utm_content=body_cta