Silent Fail
Dead-man's switch for n8n, Make, and Zapier: every ping resets the clock, and a missed ping emails you — one alert per outage, one all-clear on recovery.
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What is Silent Fail?
Silent Fail is a dead-man's switch monitoring service that alerts users via email when n8n workflows, Make scenarios, or Zapier Zaps stop running. It works by monitoring HTTP pings sent from automation tools; if pings stop, users receive one alert notification. Designed for automation enthusiasts, developers, and agencies who need to detect silent failures before users complain.
Silent Fail pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Free ($0, 3 monitors) | Solo ($9/mo, 25 monitors) | Pro ($29/mo, unlimited monitors)
Silent Fail pros
- No data access required—integrates via simple HTTP request with no OAuth or platform connection
- Intelligent alerting sends only one email per outage plus one all-clear, avoiding alert fatigue
- Handles irregular schedules with configurable grace period (defaults to 2x the interval)
- Transparent about limitations—exposes health check endpoint and displays monitoring status on dashboard
- Free tier with 3 monitors; affordable paid plans scale from 25 to unlimited monitors
Silent Fail cons
- Not suitable for workflows with truly unpredictable intervals and no upper bound
- Requires manual modification of automation workflows to add HTTP ping node
- If Silent Fail goes down, alerts are not evaluated (though this is monitored and exposed)
Frequently asked questions about Silent Fail
What happens if Silent Fail itself goes down?
Alerts are not evaluated. However, every checker run is recorded and displayed on the dashboard; a warning appears if the last run is more than 5 minutes old. The /api/health endpoint exposes this data as JSON, allowing users to point an external uptime check at it to monitor the monitor.
Does this need access to my workflow or its data?
No. There is no OAuth, no platform connection, and no read access. The workflow only sends an HTTP request to a unique URL with no required body. Silent Fail records only the arrival time, HTTP method, source IP, and user agent—never the content or results of the automation.
What if my schedule is irregular?
Set the expected interval to the longest normal gap and rely on the grace period (which defaults to twice the interval). For jobs with no predictable upper bound on interval gaps, a deadline-based check is not the right solution.
How many emails will I get for one outage?
Two emails: one when the deadline passes and one when pings resume. The checker runs every minute during downtime but suppresses alerts after the first; the delivered alert record prevents duplicates. One monitor down for a week still triggers only one email.