Start with the API

Make a key, send a count with curl, choose where alerts go and bring in past data.

Make an API key. Sign in at https://staging.countwatch.com/login and open the dashboard. A write key only sends data: put it in your app's secrets as COUNTWATCH_API_KEY. An admin key manages the account: use it for scripts and CI. A key is shown once; you can name and revoke each one. Send it as Authorization: Bearer <key>. An agent connected over MCP needs no key: it signs in with your e-mail and works through its tools.

Send a count. A watch is one metric plus its dimensions; the first point creates it.

curl -X POST https://staging.countwatch.com/v1/ingest \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COUNTWATCH_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -d '{"points":[{"metric":"orders","dimensions":{"shop":"eu"},"add":3}]}'

Choose where alerts go. Turn on e-mail alerts in the dashboard, or add a webhook, Slack or PagerDuty (POST /v1/destinations, then POST /v1/destinations/{id}/verify). Without a public address, read them with GET /v1/alerts?since=….
Skip the wait. A new watch learns your pattern for about 3 weeks (learning: true, learning_until); simple starter rules alert meanwhile. Import past counts (POST /v1/import) and alerts start now.

Errors follow RFC 9457 (problem details): each has a stable code, a fix page linked from its type, and a Request-Id to quote when you write to us. A rejected point carries {index, code, field, detail}.

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