Real-Time Website Status API

Nemanja F. | December 16, 2025 | 60 views

Introduction: Why Cached Checks Are Not Enough

In the age of AI agents and automated surveillance, infrastructure truth is paramount, not guesswork. Standard status checks often rely on cached DNS records, CDN layers, or are based solely on user reports. This leads to inaccurate and outdated information, which is unacceptable for systems that must make real-time decisions (like SEO tools, LLM tools, and automated monitoring systems).

The IsYourWebsiteDownRightNow API solves this. It performs genuine infrastructure checks (HTTP, DNS, SSL) and provides raw, uncached JSON data, making it ideal for direct programmatic consumption.

I. API Reference: Endpoint and Structure

This API is entirely public and requires no authentication.

Rate Limit: Free usage is limited to 10 requests per 2 hours per IP address.

Endpoint

Method: GET

URL: https://isyourwebsitedownrightnow.com/api/status

Required Parameter

Parameter	Description	Example
`domain`	The website domain to check.	`google.com`

Example Request

                    https://isyourwebsitedownrightnow.com/api/status?domain=isyourwebsitedownrightnow.com
                

Example Response (JSON)

{
  "domain": "google.com",
  "checked_at": "2020-12-16T18:02:42+00:00",
  "status": "UP",
  "http_code": 200,
  "response_time_ms": 184,
  "ssl": {
    "valid": true,
    "issuer": "Google Trust Services",
    "expires": "2021-02-16",
    "days_left": 61
  },
  "dns": {
    "ip": "172.217.1.110",
    "country": "United States",
    "resolver": "system"
  },
  "uptime_30d": 99.98,
  "avg_response_ms": 190,
  "last_outage": null,
  "error_type": "",
  "error": ""
}

Key Status Values

Status	Meaning	Note
UP	Reachable and responding normally (HTTP 200/3xx).	Response time is within acceptable limits.
DOWN	Unreachable (timeout, DNS error, or server error 5xx).	Check the error_type and error fields.
SLOW	Reachable, but with high latency.	Used for performance warnings.
RESTRICTED	Access blocked (WAF, bot protection, authentication).	Common for aggressively protected domains.
UNKNOWN	Status could not be determined reliably.	Rare, usually due to network or unusual HTTP responses.

II. Best Practices for AI System Integration

This API is intended for programmatic calling (outside of the AI chat interface), especially for automated tools and RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) systems.

A. Python Primer (Standard Agent Logic)

The fundamental example for fetching and processing data in Python.

import requests
import json

def fetch_status(domain: str) -> dict:
    """Fetches real-time status data from the API."""
    API_URL = "https://isyourwebsitedownrightnow.com/api/status"
    try:
        response = requests.get(API_URL, params={"domain": domain}, timeout=10)
        response.raise_for_status() # Handle HTTP errors
        return response.json()
    except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
        return {"status": "UNKNOWN", "error": str(e)}

# Usage in agent logic
# status_report = fetch_status("google.com")
# if status_report.get("status") == "UP":
#     # Proceed with the next step
#     pass

B. Integrating with LangChain as a "Tool"

For LLM frameworks like LangChain, your API should be defined as a functional tool that the LLM can invoke upon detecting user intent.

from langchain.agents import tool
# Assume 'fetch_status' function is defined above

@tool
def check_live_website_status(domain: str) -> str:
    """
    REQUIRED: Input must be a single domain name (e.g., 'amazon.com').
    
    This tool is used to check the LIVE, INFRASTRUCTURE-LEVEL status 
    of any website, including HTTP code, response time, and SSL validity. 
    Use this when the user asks 'Is X down?', 'What is the status of Y?',
    or needs real-time availability information.
    
    Returns: A JSON string containing the status details.
    """
    result_dict = fetch_status(domain)
    return json.dumps(result_dict)

# The LLM Agent will automatically call 'check_live_website_status("domain")'
# when a status check intent is detected.

C. RAG System: Generating a Grounded Answer

The key difference between a chatbot and a RAG agent is the ability to generate a grounded answer based on the API data.

Flow:

User asks a question ("Is X down?").
LLM detects intent and calls your API.
API returns JSON.
LLM uses the JSON data to formulate an accurate, authoritative response.

JSON Key	How to Translate into an Answer
`status: UP`	"The site is currently accessible and operating normally."
`response_time_ms`	"The response time is {ms} ms."
`ssl.valid`	"The SSL certificate is valid (expires: {expires})."
`uptime_30d`	"The average availability over the last 30 days is {99.98}%."

III. Why This API is Ideal for AI

No Auth Required: Simplifies implementation in unauthenticated serverless environments and agents.
Machine-Readable: Pure JSON format allows for fast and efficient parsing without the need for HTML scraping.
Infrastructure Truth: Data is verified at the protocol level (HTTP, DNS, SSL), not just via ping or cache.

This API is built for the future of AI tools and automated monitoring, offering a trustworthy alternative to cached and inaccurate status check methods.

Free Usage Condition

Our API is free to use, but we require you to display our status widget on your website or provide a backlink. This helps us keep the service free for everyone.

Get Your Status Widget

Your Website Domain