Use a local agent such as Monit when you need alerts about processes, filesystems, ports, protocols, and resource conditions on the VPS itself. Use Uptime Kuma when you want a browser dashboard, status pages, endpoint checks, and SMTP notifications in one place. Both paths send through an authenticated SMTP relay; the reliable setup also filters noisy events, protects credentials, queues failed deliveries, and verifies the alert path with a real test.
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Choose the monitoring path that fits the failure you need to detect
Email delivery is only one part of server monitoring. First decide where the check should run and what it must observe.
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Choose Monit for host-level and process-level failures
Monit runs on the VPS and evaluates local conditions. Its documented checks cover services, processes, filesystems, ports, protocols, and resource usage. It can alert globally for all monitored services or locally for one service. This makes it suitable for questions such as:
- Is a web process still running and associated with its expected PID file?
- Does a local HTTP service answer on a specific port and protocol?
- Has a filesystem, memory, CPU, or other resource condition crossed a configured threshold?
- Has a process disappeared, stopped responding, or lost a required connection?
The configuration-file workflow is compact and works well on a VPS where you want monitoring to remain close to the service. The trade-off is that you must edit and validate configuration files rather than managing checks in a browser.
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Choose Uptime Kuma for endpoint checks and a dashboard
Uptime Kuma is a self-hosted monitoring tool with a web interface. Its documented monitor types include HTTP(S), TCP, ping, DNS, Docker, database, and other checks, and its notification channels include Email (SMTP). It fits a setup where you want a central dashboard, status pages, or one place to manage several kinds of endpoint checks.
Because a self-hosted dashboard normally runs on the same VPS unless you deliberately place it elsewhere, consider the vantage point. A local monitor can report that a process is alive even when the VPS is unreachable from the internet. An endpoint monitor can check public reachability, but if the monitoring application shares the same host and network path as the service, a single outage can affect both the service and the alerting system. For important services, place an additional check outside the VPS or use a second monitoring location.
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Neither Monit nor Uptime Kuma should attempt to deliver mail directly to every recipient domain. Configure an SMTP relay that accepts authenticated submissions from the VPS and forwards them to the target mailbox.
Collect the relay details
Before opening either monitoring interface, obtain these values from the relay provider:
- SMTP hostname.
- Submission port.
- Encryption mode: implicit SSL, explicit TLS/STARTTLS, or another mode the relay documents.
- Username and password, if authentication is required.
- Sender address permitted by the relay.
- Recipient address or distribution list for operational alerts.
- Any source-IP allowlist, sender verification, or domain policy the relay enforces.
Monit documents port 465 for SSL and port 25 for TLS or non-secure connections as defaults, but relay services can require different ports and policies. The example below uses port 587 as a template. Confirm the current port, TLS behavior, certificate requirements, and authentication method with the relay before deploying.
Create a dedicated monitoring identity
Use a sender account created for monitoring rather than a personal mailbox. Limit its permissions and recipients to what alerting needs. This separates operational mail from human correspondence and makes rotation or revocation less disruptive. Keep the credential out of shell history, tickets, screenshots, world-readable files, and unencrypted backups. Store the configuration with ownership and permissions that prevent untrusted users from reading it, and rotate the password according to the relay’s current policy.
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Configure Monit email alerts
Monit’s official guidance uses a global set alert statement for all services or an alert statement inside a service entry for one service. The mail server is defined separately with set mailserver.
1. Define the SMTP server and recipient
Start with a global mail server and a global alert target. This conceptual configuration shows authenticated TLS and an event filter:
set mailserver smtp.example.net port 587 username "ALERT_USER" password "ALERT_PASSWORD" using TLS
set alert [email protected] only on { timeout, nonexist, connection, resource }Adapt the syntax to the Monit version installed on the VPS. The hostname, account, password, sender behavior, and encryption mode are relay-specific. If the relay expects implicit SSL rather than explicit TLS, use the corresponding Monit options documented for that version instead of copying the example unchanged.
2. Add a process and service check
A process check identifies the service and can define how Monit starts or stops it. A protocol check then tests the service from the VPS:
check process webapp with pidfile /run/webapp.pid
start program = "/usr/local/bin/webapp-start"
stop program = "/usr/local/bin/webapp-stop"
if failed host 127.0.0.1 port 8080 protocol http then alertThe PID-file path, start command, stop command, host, port, and protocol must match the application on your VPS. A wrong PID path can make a healthy service appear absent; a wrong port or protocol can generate a false outage. Verify each value against the service’s actual runtime configuration before enabling notifications.
3. Use local alerts when only one service needs mail
If a check should notify a different recipient or event set, place an alert statement in that service’s entry instead of changing the global rule. This is useful when a low-priority development process should not page the same mailbox as a production endpoint. Keep the global rule for common events and use per-service rules for exceptions.
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4. Reduce noise with event filters
Monit supports event allowlists with only on { ... } and denylists with but not on { ... }. Start with events that represent a meaningful failure, such as timeout, nonexistence, connection failure, or a resource condition. Add recovery notifications only when the recipient needs to know that service has returned; otherwise repeated state changes can bury the initial failure in the mailbox.
5. Protect delivery during a relay outage
Monit can use multiple mail servers for failover. It can also persist events in an event queue when configured, then retry delivery after the mail server recovers. A conceptual queue declaration is:
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6. Validate the configuration and run a real alert test
- Check the configuration with the validation command and method documented by your installed Monit package before reloading it.
- Reload or restart Monit using the service manager on your distribution.
- Confirm that Monit can reach the relay hostname and submission port through the VPS firewall and network policy.
- Trigger a controlled event, such as stopping a non-critical test service or temporarily changing a test port, and verify that the message arrives.
- Restore the service and check whether the recovery event is sent or intentionally filtered.
- Inspect Monit’s logs and the relay’s delivery logs if the message does not appear.
Monit documents an SMTP test capability. Use it during deployment and after changing credentials, TLS settings, or relay endpoints. A successful connection test proves only that Monit can submit to the relay; it does not guarantee that the recipient mailbox will accept or display the message.
Set up Uptime Kuma SMTP notifications
Uptime Kuma is configured through its web interface rather than a Monit-style service file. The labels can change between releases, so use the field names shown by the version installed on your VPS.
1. Open the notification settings
- Sign in to the Uptime Kuma dashboard with an administrative account.
- Open the notification management area and add an Email (SMTP) notification.
- Enter the relay hostname, submission port, encryption mode, username, and password.
- Set the permitted sender address and the recipient mailbox or list.
- Save the notification and use the interface’s test action if your release provides one.
Do not assume that a port number implies a particular encryption mode. Select the mode the relay documents, and ensure the certificate name matches the hostname when certificate verification is enabled.
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2. Create monitors for the failure modes that matter
Add monitors for the endpoints and dependencies your users rely on. Uptime Kuma documents HTTP(S), TCP, ping, DNS, Docker, database, and other monitor types. For an HTTP check, use the public URL and an expected response behavior appropriate to the application. For a TCP check, specify the externally reachable host and port. A ping monitor tests network reachability, not whether an application is serving valid content.
3. Attach the SMTP notification to each monitor
For every monitor, enable the email notification and choose whether to send messages on failure, recovery, or both. Avoid attaching every event to every recipient by default. A service owner may need detailed state changes, while an operations mailbox may need only sustained failures and recoveries.
4. Decide where Uptime Kuma should run
Running the dashboard on the monitored VPS is simple, but it creates a shared failure domain. If the VPS loses power, networking, storage, or its host kernel, the dashboard may be unable to send an alert. For an external availability check, deploy Uptime Kuma on a separate host or retain an independent monitor that can reach the VPS from another network.
5. Test both failure and recovery
Use a harmless test endpoint or a maintenance window. Force one monitor to fail, confirm the email, restore the endpoint, and confirm the recovery notification if enabled. Record the test date, recipient, and observed delay in your operations notes so a future configuration change can be compared with a known-good result.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Monit and Uptime Kuma compared
| Decision point | Monit | Uptime Kuma |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | Local processes, filesystems, ports, protocols, and resource conditions | Endpoint and service availability through HTTP(S), TCP, ping, DNS, Docker, database, and other monitors |
| Management style | Configuration files and service entries | Browser-based dashboard |
| SMTP notifications | Global or per-service alert targets; authenticated mail servers; event filtering; optional queue and failover | Email (SMTP) notification channel configured in the interface; exact fields depend on the installed release |
| Vantage point | Normally the VPS itself | Normally the host running Uptime Kuma; place it separately for an independent view |
| Best fit | Fast local reaction to a crashed process or exhausted resource | Dashboard visibility, status pages, and multiple endpoint check types |
| Main operational concern | Syntax, file permissions, credential protection, and alert noise | Dashboard exposure, account security, shared failure domains, and release-specific UI changes |
The two tools can complement one another. Monit can restart or flag a local process, while Uptime Kuma checks whether the public endpoint is actually reachable. If both send email, use distinct subjects or recipients so duplicate alerts remain understandable.
Make the alert path reliable and secure
- Use authenticated TLS: Submit through an SMTP relay with authentication and TLS when the provider supports it. Confirm certificate validation and the relay’s current port policy.
- Separate sender and recipient roles: A dedicated sender account limits blast radius. Use a recipient list that is maintained independently of the monitored service.
- Filter before delivery: Alert only on conditions that require action. Excessive state-change mail trains people to ignore the mailbox.
- Queue temporary failures: Enable Monit’s persistent event queue or an equivalent retry mechanism so relay downtime does not erase events.
- Protect the monitoring interface: Restrict Uptime Kuma administration to trusted networks or a protected access path, enforce strong authentication, and keep the dashboard software updated.
- Protect configuration files: Limit read access to Monit’s configuration and any file containing SMTP credentials. Check backups and deployment artifacts for accidental copies.
- Monitor the monitor: Keep a scheduled test alert or a synthetic check that confirms the mailbox receives messages. A monitor that silently loses SMTP access is not a dependable monitor.
- Document ownership: Record who receives alerts, which events are considered urgent, where credentials are stored, and how to disable notifications during planned maintenance.
Troubleshoot missing or misleading alerts
No email arrives after a deliberate failure
- Confirm the event actually occurred from the service log, process table, or endpoint check history.
- Check that the event is not excluded by Monit’s
only onorbut not onfilter, or by Uptime Kuma’s notification settings. - Verify the relay hostname resolves from the VPS and that outbound traffic to the selected port is permitted.
- Recheck the username, password, sender address, and encryption mode. A TLS/SSL mismatch commonly prevents authentication.
- Inspect Monit or Uptime Kuma logs for connection, certificate, authentication, or recipient errors.
- Look in the recipient’s spam, quarantine, and mail-flow logs before changing the monitoring configuration.
Authentication or TLS errors appear
Confirm whether the relay expects implicit SSL, explicit TLS/STARTTLS, or a non-encrypted connection on a restricted internal network. Use the relay hostname that matches its certificate, not an unrelated IP address. Re-enter the credential without trailing spaces and verify that the account is permitted to send from the configured address.
Alerts arrive late or in a burst
A temporary relay outage, DNS failure, or event queue can explain delayed delivery. Check the queue directory and retry logs, then inspect the relay’s timestamps. If many recovery and state-change messages arrive together, narrow the event filters and decide whether recovery notifications are necessary.
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Validate the PID-file location, start and stop commands, host, port, and protocol in the Monit entry. For Uptime Kuma, verify that the monitor uses the same hostname, URL path, DNS name, and externally reachable port that users use. A localhost check can pass while the public interface is broken, and a public check can fail because of firewall or DNS policy even when the application itself is healthy.
The monitoring dashboard disappears with the service
If Uptime Kuma runs on the same VPS, a host outage can remove both the monitored endpoint and the notification engine. Move the dashboard to a separate host or add an independent external check. Monit remains useful for local process failures, but it cannot report through the same failed network path unless another delivery route remains available.
Operate the system after the first successful test
Review alert recipients and filters after every service migration, firewall change, relay-password rotation, or monitoring upgrade. Repeat a controlled failure test after changing SMTP settings. Keep the relay account’s permissions narrow, remove old recipients, and verify that queue directories, logs, and configuration backups do not expose credentials. Treat the mailbox as an operational system: assign ownership, define escalation for an unacknowledged failure, and periodically confirm that test messages are still delivered.
For a single Linux VPS where the immediate requirement is an email when a process, port, or resource fails, Monit is the smaller implementation. For a dashboard that combines public endpoint checks and several notification channels, Uptime Kuma is the broader interface. In either case, authenticated SMTP, deliberate event filtering, protected credentials, retry handling, and a tested alert path determine whether the email is useful when the VPS actually has a problem.
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