Checkly CLI Skills

Comprehensive Checkly CLI command reference and Monitoring as Code (MaC) workflows.

Quick start

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What is Monitoring as Code?

The Checkly CLI provides a TypeScript/JavaScript-native workflow for coding, testing, and deploying synthetic monitoring at scale. Define your monitoring checks as code, test them locally, version control them with Git, and deploy through CI/CD pipelines.

Key benefits:

• - Codeable - Define checks in TypeScript/JavaScript
• Testable - Run checks locally before deployment
• Reviewable - Code review your monitoring in PRs
• Native Playwright - Use standard @playwright/test specs
• CI/CD Native - Integrate with your deployment pipeline

Skill organization

This skill routes to specialized sub-skills by Checkly domain:

Getting Started:

• - checkly-auth - Authentication setup and login
• INLINECODE1 - Configuration files (checkly.config.ts) and project structure

Core Workflows:

• - checkly-test - Local testing workflow with npx checkly test
• INLINECODE3 - Deployment to Checkly cloud
• INLINECODE4 - Import existing checks from Checkly to code

Check Types:

• - checkly-checks - API checks, browser checks, multi-step checks
• INLINECODE6 - Heartbeat, TCP, DNS, URL monitors
• INLINECODE7 - Check groups for organization and shared config

Advanced:

• - checkly-constructs - Constructs system and resource management
• INLINECODE9 - Playwright test suites and configuration
• INLINECODE10 - Retry strategies, reporters, environment variables, bundling

When to use Checkly CLI vs Web UI

Use Checkly CLI when:

• - Defining monitoring as part of your codebase
• Automating check creation/updates in CI/CD
• Testing checks locally during development
• Version controlling monitoring configuration
• Managing multiple checks efficiently
• Integrating monitoring with application deployments

Use Web UI when:

• - Exploring Checkly for the first time
• Viewing dashboards and historical results
• Analyzing check failures and incidents
• Managing account-level settings
• Configuring alert channels (email, Slack, PagerDuty)
• Setting up private locations

Common workflows

New project setup

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Daily development

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Browser check with Playwright

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Import existing checks

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Decision Trees

"What type of check should I create?"

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Quick reference:

• - API Check: HTTP requests with assertions (status, headers, body, response time)
• Browser Check: Single Playwright spec file for web testing
• Multi-Step Check: Complex browser workflows (legacy, use Browser Check instead)
• Playwright Check Suite: Multiple Playwright tests with projects/parallelization
• Monitors: Simple health checks without code execution

"Test locally or deploy?"

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Testing hierarchy:

1. 1. npx playwright test - Fastest, local Playwright execution (browser checks only)
2. INLINECODE12 - Validates in Checkly runtime, catches compatibility issues
3. INLINECODE13 - Deploys for continuous scheduled monitoring

"File-based or construct-based checks?"

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Patterns:

• - Auto-discovery: Configure checks.browserChecks.testMatch in checkly.config.ts
• Explicit constructs: Import from checkly/constructs and instantiate
• Playwright projects: Define multiple test suites with different configs

"Where should configuration go?"

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Configuration hierarchy (specific overrides general):

1. 1. Check-level properties (highest priority)
2. CheckGroup properties
3. checkly.config.ts defaults
4. Checkly account defaults (lowest priority)

Project structure

Typical Checkly CLI project:

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Installation methods

New project (recommended)

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Creates scaffolded project with:

• - checkly.config.ts with sensible defaults
• Example checks in __checks__/ directory
• INLINECODE18 with checkly dependency
• INLINECODE19 configured

Existing project

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Global installation (not recommended)

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Note: Use npx checkly instead for project-specific CLI version.

Related Skills

Getting started:

• - See checkly-auth for authentication setup
• See checkly-config for project configuration
• See checkly-test for local testing workflow

Creating checks:

• - See checkly-checks for API and browser checks
• See checkly-monitors for simpler health checks
• See checkly-playwright for full test suite setup

Advanced workflows:

• - See checkly-deploy for deployment strategies
• See checkly-constructs for understanding the object model
• See checkly-advanced for retry strategies and reporters

Import existing:

• - See checkly-import to migrate from web UI to code