Reporting Check-ins via your AppSignal Integration

AppSignal offers helper methods/functions that send check-ins automatically with the following integrations:

• Elixir
• Node.js
• Python
• Ruby

This documentation will explain how you can use AppSignal's helpers to send check-ins from your app's processes.

Check-in types

Our helpers allow you to monitor background processes by sending AppSignal Start and Finish check-ins:

• Start Check-in notify AppSignal that a process has started, its status will be updated to Running.
• Finish Check-in notify AppSignal that a process has been completed, its status will be updated to:
  • Success: if the process is completed within the Check-in's maximum job duration.
  • Late: if the process completes after the pre-defined maximum job duration.

Monitoring options

You can use AppSignal's helpers to either:

• Send a single Finish Check-in to notify AppSignal when a process is completed.
• Send two separate check-ins: a Start Check-in to signal the start of a process and a Finish Check-in to signal its completion to AppSignal.

When sending both a Start and Finish Check-in AppSignal can report the actual run time of the process being monitored.

Send Finish Check-ins

To send a Finish Check-in, execute the cron helper function at the end of the process you are monitoring.

The cron helper requires you to pass the name of the cron check-in you are monitoring, as it's defined in AppSignal.

For example, when sending a Finish Check-in from a process, with the Check-in name of send_invoices:

def send_invoices do
  # ... your code here ...
  Appsignal.CheckIn.cron("send_invoices")
end

// Don't forget to import the `checkIn` helpers:
import { checkIn } from "@appsignal/nodejs";
 
function sendInvoices() {
  // ... your code here ...
  checkIn.cron("send_invoices");
}

# Don't forget to import the `cron` helper function from the
# `appsignal.check_in` module.
from appsignal.check_in import cron
def send_invoices():
  # ... your code here ...
  cron("send_invoices")

def send_invoices
  # ... your code here ...
  Appsignal::CheckIn.cron("send_invoices")
end

Send Start and Finish Check-ins

Depending on your programming language, you can pass either a function or block to the cron helper to report when the process starts and finishes, allowing you to see the duration of the process.

def send_invoices do
  Appsignal.CheckIn.cron("send_invoices", fn ->
    # ... your code here ...
  end)
end

// Don't forget to import the `checkIn` helpers:
import { checkIn } from "@appsignal/nodejs";
 
function sendInvoices() {
  checkIn.cron("send_invoices", () => {
  // ... your code here ...
});
}
 
// If the function passed to `cron` returns a promise, the finish event
// will be reported to AppSignal if the promise resolves, allowing you
// to track the duration of async functions:
import { checkIn } from "@appsignal/nodejs";
 
async function sendInvoices() {
  await checkIn.cron("send_invoices", async () => {
    // ... your async code here ...
  });
}
 
// If the promise is rejected, or if it never resolves, the finish event
// will not be reported to AppSignal.

# Don't forget to import the `cron` helper function from the
# `appsignal.check_in` module.
from appsignal.check_in import cron
 
def send_invoices():
  # ... your code here ...
 
cron("send_invoices", send_invoices)

def send_invoices()
  Appsignal::CheckIn.cron("send_invoices") do
    # ... your code here ...
  end
end

Exceptions

If an exception is raised within the function or method being monitored, the finish event will not be reported to AppSignal, triggering a missing check-in notification.

If the process from where the exception is raised is an AppSignal supported integration then an exception will be reported to AppSignal independently from the check-in:

• Supported Elixir integrations
• Supported Node.js integrations
• Supported Python integrations
• Supported Ruby integrations

Reviewing check-ins occurrences in AppSignal

Once configured, AppSignal will begin to display information about occurrences for your check-ins.

You can read more about occurrences in our Check-in Occurrences documentation.