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Sentinel
What it is
Sentinel is an outside-in monitoring platform for websites and infrastructure that checks services from multiple regions. It monitors uptime, SSL certificates, DNS records, domain expiry, page keywords, JSON and API responses, ping, TCP ports, and heartbeat or cron jobs. Checks can run every 30 seconds from four regions, with regional consensus before Sentinel flags an outage. Alert channels include email, SMS, Slack, Discord, Telegram, Microsoft Teams and webhooks. Sentinel also offers customizable status pages and incident history, with limits and features that depend on the plan. Listed integrations include GitHub, Terraform, PagerDuty, command-line access and MCP connections for compatible AI agents to ask about monitors and help with incident triage. The Free plan includes up to 10 monitors, five-minute checks and one public status page. The pricing note lists paid access from $12/mo and a 14-day trial; listed monthly tiers are Starter at $14, Pro at $29 and Business at $79. A downloadable macOS menu bar app requires macOS 13.0 or later and a read-only API token.
For and against
For
- Monitors uptime, certificates, DNS, APIs and more.
- Checks run from four regions as often as every 30 seconds.
- Outage flags use regional consensus.
- Alerts support email, messaging services and webhooks.
- Free plan includes up to 10 monitors.
Against
- Free plan checks every five minutes.
- Status-page limits and features depend on the plan.
- macOS app requires macOS 13.0 or later and a read-only API token.
- Listed paid monthly plans start at $14.
The verdict
Sentinel covers a broad set of website and infrastructure checks, with regional consensus, numerous alert channels and customizable status pages. A free plan is available, while paid access and features vary by plan.
Who it suits
Sentinel suits digital agencies, freelance developers and designers, and SaaS teams managing one or more sites. Its monitoring and status-page tools can serve teams wanting regional checks and multiple alert channels.
Plans and prices
Free
up to 10 monitors · 5-minute checks · uptime, SSL, DNS, domain, keyword, ping, port, JSON/API and server-error checks · 1 public status page
Read 15 Oct 2026 · sentinel.rootstuff.io
Starter
up to 25 monitors · 1-minute checks · heartbeat/cron monitoring · Slack and Teams alerts
Read 15 Oct 2026 · sentinel.rootstuff.io
Pro
up to 100 monitors · Lighthouse audits · signed webhooks · one team with up to 5 members
Read 15 Oct 2026 · sentinel.rootstuff.io
Business
up to 300 monitors · 30-second checks · PagerDuty · unlimited teams and members
Read 15 Oct 2026 · sentinel.rootstuff.io
On the record
- AI access
- The MCP integration connects Claude, ChatGPT, and other MCP-compatible agents to monitors for questions and incident triage.sentinel.rootstuff.io · read 7 Oct 2026
- Alerts
- Alert channels include email, SMS, Slack, Discord, Telegram, Microsoft Teams, and webhooks.sentinel.rootstuff.io · read 7 Oct 2026
- API authentication and limits
- API calls use bearer tokens, and standard requests are limited to 120 per minute with no daily or monthly quota.sentinel.rootstuff.io · read 15 Oct 2026
- API base and versioning
- The REST API uses https://sentinel.rootstuff.io/api/v1 and promises additive-only changes within version 1.sentinel.rootstuff.io · read 15 Oct 2026
- API monitoring
- Custom HTTP requests can assert JSON response paths and values to detect silent API failures.sentinel.rootstuff.io · read 15 Oct 2026
- Checks
- It monitors uptime, SSL certificates, DNS records, domain expiry, page keywords, JSON/API responses, ping, TCP ports, and heartbeat or cron jobs.sentinel.rootstuff.io · read 7 Oct 2026
- CLI
- The CLI is installed with npm, requires Node.js 18 or newer, supports CI/CD workflows and manages monitors, incidents, teams, webhooks and status pages.sentinel.rootstuff.io · read 15 Oct 2026
- Company stack
- Rootstuff's case study says Sentinel is built with Laravel, Vue and Inertia and operates checks from multiple regions.rootstuff.io · read 15 Oct 2026
- Data retention
- Terms state that monitoring data is retained for 30 days on Free, 90 days on Pro and one year on Business.sentinel.rootstuff.io · read 15 Oct 2026
- Desktop app
- Sentinel offers a downloadable macOS menu bar app that requires macOS 13.0 or later and a read-only API token.sentinel.rootstuff.io · read 7 Oct 2026
- DNS monitoring
- Sentinel watches seven DNS record types and alerts when records change.sentinel.rootstuff.io · read 15 Oct 2026
- Documentation depth
- Documentation includes getting-started guides, monitor concepts, integrations, CLI instructions, API references, pagination, errors, rate limits and troubleshooting.sentinel.rootstuff.io · read 15 Oct 2026
- Founder and location
- Adam Balée identifies himself as Sentinel’s founder and developer, and says Rootstuff is based in West Chester, Pennsylvania.sentinel.rootstuff.io · read 7 Oct 2026
- Heartbeat and cron
- Push heartbeat and cron monitors open incidents when expected job pings are missing or report failure.sentinel.rootstuff.io · read 15 Oct 2026
- Hosted service
- The MCP server documentation describes Sentinel as a hosted service and says its server code is not open source.sentinel.rootstuff.io · read 15 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- GitHub deploy markers, Terraform, PagerDuty, a CLI and MCP-based AI assistants are supported; Zapier and Datadog are listed as coming soon.sentinel.rootstuff.io · read 15 Oct 2026
- Keyword monitoring
- Keyword checks verify required page text or detect unwanted error and defacement content.sentinel.rootstuff.io · read 15 Oct 2026
- Licence
- The hosted Sentinel service is proprietary, while the published Sentinel CLI is open source under the MIT licence.sentinel.rootstuff.io · read 15 Oct 2026
