# Signaling failures

You can actively signal a failure to SITE_NAME by slightly changing the ping URL: append either `/fail` or `/{exit-status}` to your normal ping URL. The exit status should be a 0-255 integer. SITE_NAME will interpret exit status 0 as success and all non-zero values as failures.

Examples:

    # Reports failure by appending the /fail suffix:
    curl --retry 3 PING_URL/fail

    # Reports failure by appending a non-zero exit status:
    curl --retry 3 PING_URL/1

By actively signaling failures to SITE_NAME, you can minimize the delay from your monitored service encountering a problem to you getting notified about it.

## Shell Scripts

The below shell script appends `$?` (a special variable which contains the exit status of the last executed command) to the ping URL:

    #!/bin/sh

    /usr/bin/certbot renew
    curl --retry 3 PING_URL/$?

## Python

Below is a skeleton code example in Python which signals a failure when the work function returns an unexpected value or throws an exception:

    import requests
    URL = "PING_URL"

    def do_work():
        # Do your number crunching, backup dumping, newsletter sending work here.
        # Return a truthy value on success.
        # Return a falsy value or throw an exception on failure.
        return True

    success = False
    try:
        success = do_work()
    finally:
        # On success, requests PING_URL
        # On failure, requests PING_URL/fail
        requests.get(URL if success else URL + "/fail")