[GH-ISSUE #774] Feature Request: ping response body compatible with Prometheus format #542

New issue

Closed

opened 2026-02-25 23:42:49 +03:00 by kerem · 1 comment

kerem commented

2026-02-25 23:42:49 +03:00

Owner

Originally created by @fabricat on GitHub (Jan 13, 2023).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/healthchecks/healthchecks/issues/774

I'd like to use your service in order to ensure that my Prometheus server is up. Unfortunately, since the ping response body is just OK, Prometheus does not recognize the format and marks the target as DOWN.

Despite the main goal (checking whether Prometheus is working) is achieved correctly, a small change (just add a fake value after "OK") could also avoid errors on Prometheus' side.

Can you make it possible to select an "output format", e.g. by accepting a format query parameter to the ping URL?

The code should be changed from this:
github.com/healthchecks/healthchecks@f849c5e1a1/hc/api/views.py (L84)
into something like this (sorry for the ugly code 😓 I am not a Python developer):

    content = "OK"
    if request.GET["format"] == "prometheus":
        content = "ping 1"  # ref. https://prometheus.io/docs/instrumenting/exposition_formats/
    response = HttpResponse(content)

That would be an enticing new feature, that only the best-in-class provide 😉

Originally created by @fabricat on GitHub (Jan 13, 2023). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/healthchecks/healthchecks/issues/774 I'd like to use your service in order to ensure that my [Prometheus](https://prometheus.io/) server is up. Unfortunately, since the ping response body is just `OK`, Prometheus does not recognize [the format](https://prometheus.io/docs/instrumenting/exposition_formats/) and marks the target as DOWN. Despite the main goal (checking whether Prometheus is working) is achieved correctly, a small change (just add a _fake value_ after "OK") could also avoid errors on Prometheus' side. Can you make it possible to select an "output format", e.g. by accepting a `format` query parameter to the ping URL? The code should be changed from this: https://github.com/healthchecks/healthchecks/blob/f849c5e1a1254541a06cacdb341a0153fa380232/hc/api/views.py#L84 into something like this (sorry for the ugly code 😓 I am not a Python developer): ```python content = "OK" if request.GET["format"] == "prometheus": content = "ping 1" # ref. https://prometheus.io/docs/instrumenting/exposition_formats/ response = HttpResponse(content) ``` That would be an enticing new feature, that only the best-in-class provide 😉

kerem closed this issue

2026-02-25 23:42:49 +03:00

kerem commented

2026-02-25 23:42:49 +03:00

Author

Owner

@cuu508 commented on GitHub (Jan 16, 2023):

Hi @fabricat, thanks for the suggestion!

I've considered this feature before, but ultimately decided against it – it would be a useful, but a niche feature. And I think it would be too niche to warrant the extra complexity. If I see ongoing demand for it, I will reconsider.

@cuu508 commented on GitHub (Jan 16, 2023): Hi @fabricat, thanks for the suggestion! I've considered this feature before, but [ultimately decided against it](https://github.com/healthchecks/healthchecks/issues/577#issuecomment-1357286440) – it would be a useful, but a niche feature. And I think it would be too niche to warrant the extra complexity. If I see ongoing demand for it, I will reconsider.

kerem referenced this issue

2026-02-26 00:30:20 +03:00

[PR #542] [CLOSED] add helm #988