Checkmate: Open-Source Self-Hosted Server Uptime and Infrastructure Monitoring

TL;DR

• Checkmate is an open-source, self-hosted uptime and infrastructure monitoring application that tracks server hardware, uptime, response times, and incidents in real time.
• It is an independent open-source project licensed under AGPL-3.0 and created by BlueWave Labs, NOT by Navanem. This page is a community spotlight.
• Key features include several monitor types (Uptime, Docker, Ping, SSL, Port, Game server), page speed and JSON query monitoring, status pages, scheduled maintenance, and many notification channels.
• You self-host it with Docker; the stack is React, Node.js, MongoDB and Redis, plus an optional Go agent called Capture for hardware metrics.

What is Checkmate?

Checkmate is an open-source, self-hosted monitoring tool for tracking server hardware, uptime, response times, and incidents in real time. It regularly checks whether a server or website is accessible and performing well, then reports on availability, downtime, and response time, raising alerts when something changes. The repository ships both the frontend and the backend together.

For deeper server metrics, Checkmate uses a separate agent called Capture. Capture is optional, but when installed it reports CPU, RAM, disk, and temperature data from remote servers, and runs on anything that can run Go (Linux, Windows, Mac, Raspberry Pi). The project reports that Checkmate has been stress-tested with 1000+ active monitors without particular performance bottlenecks.

A note on this page: Checkmate is an independent open-source project created and maintained by BlueWave Labs, NOT by Navanem. We are featuring it as an open-source spotlight because it solves a real problem for sysadmins who need to know when their servers and sites go down. All credit goes to its authors and contributors. If you find it useful, please star and support it on GitHub.

What can Checkmate monitor?

Checkmate offers several monitoring options: Uptime, Docker, Ping, SSL, Port, and Game server checks, plus page speed monitoring and JSON query monitoring. For infrastructure monitoring such as memory, disk usage, CPU performance, and network, it relies on the Capture agent, which also supports selective disk monitoring with mountpoint selection. It runs on your own servers or on home devices like a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5.

How does Checkmate handle incidents and notifications?

Each monitor runs a check, stores the result with its response time, and evaluates recent results against a configured status change threshold. When that threshold is met and the status differs from the previous state, the monitor changes state (for example initializing, up, down, or breached). On a state change, an incident is created or resolved, and notifications fire based on your configuration. Checkmate can notify through email, Webhooks, Discord, Slack, PagerDuty, Matrix, Microsoft Teams, Telegram, Pushover, and Twilio (SMS). It also supports scheduled maintenance windows and shows incidents at a glance.

How do you deploy and self-host Checkmate?

The prerequisites are Docker and Git, and installation instructions live in the Checkmate documentation portal. The project also lists one-click or marketplace options, including Coolify, Elestio, Kubernetes via Helm chart, Sive Host, Cloudzy, and PikaPods. To monitor server infrastructure you additionally install the Capture agent. For internal HTTPS endpoints that use private Certificate Authorities, the project provides a Custom CA Trust guide for Docker.

Does Checkmate offer status pages?

Yes. Checkmate includes status pages with four themes, so you can publish the current state of your services to users or stakeholders. A public demo of the latest build is available at demo.checkmate.so.

Why feature Checkmate?

Uptime and infrastructure monitoring is core to keeping services reliable, and Checkmate packages it into one self-hosted application with a broad set of monitor types, status pages, and many notification channels. It is fully open source under AGPL-3.0, documents a small memory footprint even at hundreds of monitors, and is actively developed by a team with a large contributor community. For sysadmins who would rather host their own monitoring than depend on a third-party SaaS, it is worth a close look.

FAQ

Is Checkmate made by Navanem?

No. Checkmate is an independent open-source project created and maintained by BlueWave Labs. It is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Navanem did not build it and is only spotlighting it. The source code is on GitHub.

Do I need the Capture agent?

No. Capture is optional. Checkmate runs without it, but installing Capture adds infrastructure metrics such as CPU, RAM, disk, and temperature from your remote servers. Capture runs anywhere Go runs, including Linux, Windows, Mac, and Raspberry Pi.

What languages does the interface support?

Checkmate offers multi-language support, including Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Czech, English, Finnish, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

Where do I get it?

Checkmate is on GitHub at github.com/bluewave-labs/Checkmate. Installation guidance is in the Checkmate documentation portal, and you can try the hosted demo at demo.checkmate.so.