[GH-ISSUE #1037] Support FAIL, not just DOWN, in email subject line #720

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opened 2026-02-25 23:43:22 +03:00 by kerem · 3 comments

kerem commented

2026-02-25 23:43:22 +03:00

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Originally created by @jdkratz on GitHub (Jul 31, 2024).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/healthchecks/healthchecks/issues/1037

It would be helpful if the alert email subject line distinguished between DOWN (I.e. missed ping) and FAIL (explicitly triggered fail). Not at all a major issue, it would just provide more information at a glance.

Originally created by @jdkratz on GitHub (Jul 31, 2024). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/healthchecks/healthchecks/issues/1037 It would be helpful if the alert email subject line distinguished between DOWN (I.e. missed ping) and FAIL (explicitly triggered fail). Not at all a major issue, it would just provide more information at a glance.

kerem closed this issue

2026-02-25 23:43:22 +03:00

kerem commented

2026-02-25 23:43:22 +03:00

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@cuu508 commented on GitHub (Jul 31, 2024):

The email body has "Last Ping Type" field which can tell you this. If it says "success", then the check is going down because last success was too long ago. If it says "failure" or "exit code x", the check received a failure signal.

@cuu508 commented on GitHub (Jul 31, 2024): The email body has "Last Ping Type" field which can tell you this. If it says "success", then the check is going down because last success was too long ago. If it says "failure" or "exit code x", the check received a failure signal.

kerem commented

2026-02-25 23:43:22 +03:00

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@jdkratz commented on GitHub (Jul 31, 2024):

Yes, I understand that. I’m just suggesting that that info be in the email subject line as well as the body. I get email alerts on my watch, but those alerts only show the subject line. It would be great to be able to tell what kind of failure it is a without needing to open the email. Again, definitely not a big deal, just a suggestion.

(Also, this is SUCH a great service, many thanks for keeping it that way for 9 years!)

@jdkratz commented on GitHub (Jul 31, 2024): Yes, I understand that. I’m just suggesting that that info be in the email subject line as well as the body. I get email alerts on my watch, but those alerts only show the subject line. It would be great to be able to tell what kind of failure it is a without needing to open the email. Again, definitely not a big deal, just a suggestion. (Also, this is SUCH a great service, many thanks for keeping it that way for 9 years!)

kerem commented

2026-02-25 23:43:22 +03:00

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@cuu508 commented on GitHub (Aug 2, 2024):

Thanks for the additional details, @jdkratz!

I would like to leave the subject line format as-is for backwards compatibility. Existing users are likely already relying on the current formatting (UP|DOWN <separator> <name of the check>). If we change the logic to use FAIL instead of DOWN in some cases, some email filtering and automation will likely break and cause issues. I also don't want to add this as a configurable option–each extra configuration knob adds complexity.

@cuu508 commented on GitHub (Aug 2, 2024): Thanks for the additional details, @jdkratz! I would like to leave the subject line format as-is for backwards compatibility. Existing users are likely already relying on the current formatting (`UP|DOWN <separator> <name of the check>`). If we change the logic to use FAIL instead of DOWN in some cases, some email filtering and automation will likely break and cause issues. I also don't want to add this as a configurable option–each extra configuration knob adds complexity.

kerem referenced this issue

2026-02-26 00:30:35 +03:00

[PR #720] [MERGED] Added duration to ping details #1013