Monitoring NocoDB with Vigilmon: Health Endpoint, Web Dashboard Availability, TCP Port & SSL Alerts

NocoDB is an open-source Airtable alternative that turns any SQL database — MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, SQL Server — into a collaborative spreadsheet interface with views, forms, automations, and a REST/GraphQL API. Teams use NocoDB to manage CRM data, project tracking, inventory, and workflows without writing code. When NocoDB goes down, those spreadsheet views and automations stop, API integrations fail, and anyone relying on its forms for data entry loses access entirely. Vigilmon gives you external visibility into NocoDB's health endpoint, web dashboard, TCP port, and SSL certificate so you detect failures before they interrupt your team's workflows.

What You'll Build

• A monitor on NocoDB's /api/v1/health health endpoint
• An HTTP monitor for the NocoDB web dashboard
• A TCP monitor for the NocoDB application port (8080)
• SSL certificate monitoring for your NocoDB domain
• An alerting setup that distinguishes API failures from network-level failures

Prerequisites

• A running NocoDB instance with a public or network-reachable domain
• HTTPS configured (e.g., https://nocodb.example.com)
• A free account at vigilmon.online

Step 1: Verify NocoDB's Health Endpoint

NocoDB exposes a dedicated health check endpoint at /api/v1/health that returns a structured status response from the Node.js application:

curl https://nocodb.example.com/api/v1/health

A healthy NocoDB instance returns HTTP 200 with a JSON body:

{
  "message": "OK"
}

This endpoint requires no authentication and confirms that the NocoDB Node.js server is running, its internal health checks pass, and the application is ready to serve requests. It is specifically designed for uptime monitoring and load balancer health probes.

Step 2: Create a Vigilmon HTTP Monitor for the Health Endpoint

1. Log in to Vigilmon → Add Monitor → HTTP.
2. URL: https://nocodb.example.com/api/v1/health.
3. Check interval: 60 seconds.
4. Response timeout: 10 seconds.
5. Expected status: 200.
6. Keyword: OK.
7. Label: NocoDB API Health.
8. Click Save.

This monitor catches:

• NocoDB Node.js process crashes
• Database connectivity failures (NocoDB requires a connected database to function)
• Application startup failures after upgrades or configuration changes
• Container restarts caused by memory pressure or misconfiguration

The OK keyword check ensures the response is a valid NocoDB health payload rather than a proxy error page that might also return 200.

Step 3: Monitor the NocoDB Web Dashboard

NocoDB's web dashboard is served by the same Node.js server as the API, but monitoring it independently catches scenarios where API health checks pass but the frontend is broken — such as static asset serving failures, middleware errors, or misconfigured base URLs:

1. Add Monitor → HTTP.
2. URL: https://nocodb.example.com.
3. Check interval: 60 seconds.
4. Expected status: 200.
5. Keyword: NocoDB.
6. Label: NocoDB Web Dashboard.
7. Click Save.

This monitor catches reverse proxy failures, static file serving issues, and configuration errors that would prevent team members from accessing their no-code database views in a browser — even if the API health endpoint is returning 200.

Step 4: Create a TCP Monitor for the NocoDB Application Port

NocoDB listens on port 8080 by default (or your configured port). A TCP check confirms the Node.js server is bound and accepting connections at the network layer, independently of the application-level health response:

1. Add Monitor → TCP.
2. Host: nocodb.example.com (or the internal host/container name if port 8080 is not publicly exposed).
3. Port: 8080.
4. Check interval: 60 seconds.
5. Response timeout: 10 seconds.
6. Label: NocoDB TCP Port 8080.
7. Click Save.

Note: If NocoDB is deployed behind a reverse proxy (nginx, Caddy, Traefik) and port 8080 is not exposed externally, target the internal container or host address. Alternatively, if TCP access is not available, rely on the /api/v1/health endpoint as the primary health signal.

When the TCP monitor fires but the health endpoint was returning 200, a reverse proxy or network change has severed the connection between your external traffic and the NocoDB container — a layer-3 failure that HTTP monitoring alone can't distinguish from an application failure.

Step 5: Monitor SSL Certificates

NocoDB is often accessed by multiple team members and integrated with external automations via API. An expired SSL certificate:

• Blocks browser access to no-code database views for the entire team
• Breaks REST API integrations and webhook deliveries
• Prevents form embeds on external websites from loading
• May silently break automation tools that connect to the NocoDB API

1. Add Monitor → SSL Certificate.
2. Domain: nocodb.example.com.
3. Alert when expiry is within: 30 days.
4. Alert again: 14 days, 7 days, 3 days, 1 day.
5. Click Save.

Step 6: Configure Alerting

In Vigilmon under Settings → Notifications, configure your alert channels:

| Monitor | Trigger | Action | |---|---|---| | /api/v1/health | Non-200 or OK missing | Check NocoDB container; inspect database connectivity; review application logs | | Web Dashboard | Non-200 or keyword missing | Check reverse proxy; verify static file serving; inspect middleware configuration | | TCP Port 8080 | Connection refused or timeout | Verify port binding; check container network; inspect firewall rules | | SSL certificate | < 30 days to expiry | Renew certificate; verify ACME/Let's Encrypt auto-renewal is running |

Alert after: 2 consecutive failures for HTTP monitors. 1 failure for the TCP monitor — a process that's stopped listening on its port won't recover on its own.

Common NocoDB Failure Modes and What Vigilmon Catches

| Scenario | Vigilmon monitor | |---|---| | NocoDB Node.js process crash | Health endpoint unreachable; alert within 60 s | | Database connection failure | Health check may return 503; all table reads and writes fail | | Database migration failure after upgrade | Health check returns 500; schema mismatch prevents queries | | Reverse proxy misconfiguration | Web dashboard monitor fires; TCP port may still be open | | Port conflict after container restart | TCP monitor fires; reverse proxy returns 502 | | Static file serving broken | Web dashboard monitor fires; API health may still return 200 | | Memory exhaustion on large datasets | Node.js OOM-killed; health endpoint becomes unreachable | | SSL certificate expires | SSL monitor alerts at 30 days; all team access and API integrations blocked | | Base URL misconfiguration after domain change | Web UI loads with broken assets; dashboard monitor keyword check fails | | DNS misconfiguration | All monitors fire simultaneously |

NocoDB bridges the gap between spreadsheets and databases for non-technical teams — but when it goes down, those teams lose access to the data they depend on for daily operations. Vigilmon watches NocoDB's health endpoint, web dashboard, application port, and SSL certificate so you're alerted within 60 seconds of any failure, well before your team reports that their views are gone.

Start monitoring NocoDB in under 5 minutes — register free at vigilmon.online.