How to use is-up-cli in a bash script for automation?

Call is-up-cli with a website URL and check the exit code: if it's 0, the site is up; if 2, it's down. You can use this in if-statements or loops to trigger actions based on status.

is-up-cli vs curl for checking website availability?

is-up-cli is simpler with built-in up/down status and exit codes, while curl provides raw HTTP responses and requires manual parsing. Choose is-up-cli for quick checks, but curl for detailed control or custom requests.

Does is-up-cli work with private or localhost websites?

No, it relies on the public isitup.org API, which can only check publicly accessible websites. It won't work with internal servers, localhost, or sites behind authentication.

How to handle rate limits with is-up-cli?

The tool doesn't manage rate limits internally; you're subject to isitup.org's policies. For frequent checks, consider implementing delays or using alternative tools to avoid blocking.

Can is-up-cli be used to monitor website uptime over time?

Not directly—it's a one-time check tool. For continuous monitoring, you'd need to wrap it in a cron job or script, but external API dependencies make it less reliable for production use.

What are the alternatives to is-up-cli for CLI website checks?

Common alternatives include curl for raw HTTP requests, wget for downloading, or dedicated tools like httpie. For more features, consider self-hosted solutions like uptime-kuma or commercial services.

Open-Awesome

is-up-cli

MITJavaScriptv4.0.0

A command-line tool to check if a website is up or down using the isitup.org API.

GitHub

364 stars17 forks0 contributors

What is is-up-cli?

is-up-cli is a command-line interface tool that checks whether a website is up or down by querying the isitup.org API. It provides a quick and programmatic way to verify website availability directly from the terminal. The tool is designed for simplicity and speed, returning clear status messages and exit codes suitable for scripting.

Target Audience

Developers, system administrators, and DevOps engineers who need to quickly check website statuses from the command line or integrate uptime checks into automation workflows.

Value Proposition

It offers a minimal, dependency-free solution that is easy to install and use, with exit code support for automation, making it more convenient than manually visiting a website or using heavier monitoring tools.

Overview

Check whether a website is up or down

Use Cases

Best For

Quickly checking if a website is accessible from the command line
Integrating uptime checks into shell scripts or CI/CD pipelines
Debugging network or website connectivity issues
Automating periodic website status monitoring
Learning basic CLI tool development with Node.js
Creating simple DevOps utilities for infrastructure checks

Not Ideal For

Users needing to check internal or private servers not accessible via the public internet
High-volume automated monitoring where external API calls could hit rate limits or incur costs
Developers requiring detailed HTTP status codes, latency metrics, or error diagnostics
Environments with strict network policies that block third-party API access or prioritize self-hosted solutions

Pros & Cons

Pros

Easy Installation

Installs globally with a single npm command, as shown in the README, making it quick to set up without complex dependencies.

Clear Status Output

Provides visual feedback like '✔ Up' or '✖ Down' for immediate readability, as demonstrated in the usage example and screenshot.

Script-Friendly Exit Codes

Exits with code 0 for up and 2 for down, enabling seamless integration into automation workflows without output parsing.

Minimal and Fast

Built as a lightweight CLI tool with no unnecessary dependencies, ensuring quick execution and low resource usage.

Cons

External API Dependency

Relies entirely on the isitup.org API, so tool availability and accuracy are subject to third-party service downtime or rate limits.

Limited Diagnostic Information

Only returns basic up/down status without HTTP codes, error messages, or latency data, hindering in-depth troubleshooting.

No Batch Processing

Can only check one website per command, requiring separate calls for multiple sites, which is inefficient for bulk monitoring.

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