How to Add a Website to Versionista Monitoring

To add a website URL to an existing Versionista account through its documented API, create an API key in Versionista Settings, then send a POST request to https://api.versionista.com/watch with the URL in a JSON body and the key in the X-Api-Key header. Versionista recommends setting redirect to true. Its API is labeled experimental and may change. The reviewed official documentation does not verify the current dashboard steps for adding a first website.

If you are looking to create a new monitoring account, Versionista currently directs prospective customers to Fluxguard. Existing Versionista customers are told their accounts remain supported and require no action. Check Versionista’s current notice before proceeding. Read the Versionista API documentation for current endpoint details. [c001] [c003]

What you need before adding a URL

An existing Versionista account with access to Settings.
An API key created in Versionista Settings.
The complete URL you want monitored, including its scheme, such as https://example.com/page.
A client that can make an HTTPS request. Examples follow for cURL, Python, and Node.js.

The documented operation adds a URL to the account authenticated by the API key; it does not create a Versionista account. [c001]

Add a website using the Versionista API

Sign in to your Versionista account and create an API key in Settings. Treat the key as a secret; do not commit it to source control or expose it in browser-side code.
Choose the URL to monitor. If it redirects, set redirect to true so Versionista attempts to follow the redirect when determining the hostname, port, and protocol to track.
POST a JSON object with a required url field to the /watch endpoint. Include the API key in the X-Api-Key header.
Inspect the response. The API returns an error indication or a page-view URL for the submitted URL. If it reports an error, use the troubleshooting section below and check the current API documentation, since the API is experimental. [c001]

cURL

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.versionista.com/watch \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --data '{"url":"https://example.com/page","redirect":true}'

Replace YOUR_API_KEY and the example URL. Keep the key out of shell history where possible; for repeatable scripts, load it from a protected environment variable or secret store.

Python

import os
import requests

api_key = os.environ["VERSIONISTA_API_KEY"]
response = requests.post(
    "https://api.versionista.com/watch",
    headers={
        "X-Api-Key": api_key,
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    json={
        "url": "https://example.com/page",
        "redirect": True,
    },
    timeout=30,
)
response.raise_for_status()
print(response.json())

Install the dependency with python -m pip install requests, set VERSIONISTA_API_KEY in the process environment, and run the script. If the API returns a non-JSON response, inspect response.text and the HTTP status while avoiding logging the API key.

Node.js

const apiKey = process.env.VERSIONISTA_API_KEY;
if (!apiKey) throw new Error("Set VERSIONISTA_API_KEY first");

const response = await fetch("https://api.versionista.com/watch", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "X-Api-Key": apiKey,
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    url: "https://example.com/page",
    redirect: true,
  }),
});

const body = await response.text();
if (!response.ok) {
  throw new Error(`Versionista returned HTTP ${response.status}: ${body}`);
}
console.log(body);

This uses the built-in fetch available in current Node.js releases. Set VERSIONISTA_API_KEY in the environment before running it. The response is read as text so the example can display either JSON or another response format.

Choose the request options

The documented request fields relevant to adding a URL are limited. Avoid assuming undocumented options or response fields; check the live API documentation before depending on them. [c001]

Field	Required	Default	Use
`url`	Yes	None	The page URL to add for monitoring.
`redirect`	No	`false`	When true, Versionista attempts to follow redirects to determine the hostname, port, and protocol to track. Versionista recommends true.
`new_site`	No	`false`	When true, always place the URL in a new site. This can be useful when monitoring the same site with different settings.

Usually leave new_site at its default. Set it to true when you deliberately want a separate site entry for the URL. These options do not substitute for configuring crawl discovery or alerts after the URL is added. [c001] [c002] [c004]

Example: create a separate site entry

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.versionista.com/watch \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY' \
  --data '{"url":"https://example.com/page","redirect":true,"new_site":true}'

After adding the URL: discovery and alerts

Adding a URL and configuring what else Versionista should find or how it should notify you are separate tasks.

Discover additional pages

Open the monitored site from the dashboard.
Expand the Crawl area and enable finding new URLs on each crawl.
Choose whether discovered pages should be monitored or paused. Versionista advises against automatically monitoring every discovered URL for most use cases.
For typical site discovery, consider excluding images and stylesheets or JavaScript so the crawl focuses on pages.

The tutorial gives a limit of 50 newly found URLs per scan and up to 150 newly found URLs per monitored site. It does not state the tutorial’s year, so treat these as documented figures that may change and confirm current limits in Versionista help. [c002]

Choose change notifications

Summary emails: adjust their frequency in Account Settings.
Instant alerts: off by default; open the monitored page’s view, expand Crawl, and enable them for that page.
Alert content: Account Settings offer choices for text changes, text and HTML changes, or filtered changes.

Pick the alert type that matches how much detail you need. Summary reports collect changes; instant alerts are intended to notify you promptly for a page. [c004]

Monitor particular phrases

Focus phrases can notify on additions or deletions of specified terms. Enter one phrase per line; matching ignores capitalization. This feature applies to HTML and plain text, not images, PDFs, or Word documents. Versionista notes that monitoring all changes and filtering irrelevant page areas may be easier to maintain than a phrase list. [c005]

Or skip the browser setup

If your goal is to capture a page as an image or PDF rather than track future changes, ScreenshotNeo provides a website screenshot API and MCP server. Its one-call API returns a screenshot or PDF; it does not replace Versionista’s ongoing monitoring and alerts.

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webp

See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for options and response details. ScreenshotNeo removes cookie banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; bot checks, blank pages, and failed loads are never billed. Its MCP server lets AI agents use screenshot tools. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card, and paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 screenshots. Sign up for 1,000 free screenshots a month, no card required.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	What to do
Authentication error or rejected request	The API key is missing, invalid, or not sent as `X-Api-Key`.	Create or verify the key in Versionista Settings and check the exact header name. Do not put the key in the JSON body.
Request fails before reaching the API	Wrong URL, method, or request encoding.	Use HTTPS `POST` to `https://api.versionista.com/watch`, send a JSON body, and include `Content-Type: application/json`.
URL is rejected or tracks an unexpected host	The submitted URL may be malformed, or the site redirects elsewhere.	Use a complete URL with `https://` or `http://`. If it redirects, set `redirect` to `true`, which Versionista recommends.
The URL appears under an unexpected site grouping	`new_site` was set to true or a separate site was otherwise selected.	Omit `new_site` or set it to `false` to use the default behavior; use true only when you intend a separate site.
The API response shape differs from your script’s expectation	The API is explicitly experimental and subject to change.	Inspect the raw status and response body, then check the current Versionista API documentation before changing your parser. Avoid relying on undocumented fields.
No email arrives after adding the page	Adding a page does not itself configure alert preferences; instant alerts are off by default.	Check summary frequency in Account Settings. For instant alerts, open the page view, expand Crawl, and enable them.
New pages are not being found	URL discovery is a separate crawl setting and may be disabled.	Open the monitored site, expand Crawl, enable finding new URLs on each crawl, and review exclusions and discovery limits.

Reliability, performance, and cost considerations

Reliability: the documented API is experimental. Keep requests small, handle non-success HTTP statuses and API-level error indications, and avoid assuming the response schema cannot change. Confirm details against the official documentation before deploying a workflow that depends on it. [c001]
Redirects: enabling redirect follows redirects to identify the hostname, port, and protocol to track. This is Versionista’s recommended setting; omit it only when you specifically need the default behavior. [c001]
Retries: the reviewed documentation does not specify retry rules, idempotency behavior, rate limits, or a request-cost schedule. Do not blindly retry ambiguous failures if doing so could create unwanted duplicate setup; inspect the account and response first, then consult current documentation.
Discovery load: enabling automatic discovery can add many pages. Versionista recommends against automatically monitoring every newly discovered URL for most use cases. The tutorial lists up to 50 new URLs per scan and up to 150 per monitored site. [c002]
Cost: the reviewed sources do not state prices or billing rules for adding a URL or crawling it. Check your account terms and current Versionista information for costs rather than inferring them from the API request.

FAQ

Can I use this API to create a new Versionista account?

No. The documented endpoint adds a URL to an account authenticated with an API key. Versionista currently directs people seeking a new monitoring account to Fluxguard. [c001] [c003]

Does the official documentation show how to add the first site in the dashboard?

The reviewed sources provide exact API instructions but do not establish the current click-by-click dashboard workflow. Use the API steps here or consult Versionista’s current help for dashboard guidance.

Can I monitor a PDF or image for specific words?

Focus phrases are documented for HTML and plain text. The feature does not apply to images, PDFs, or Word documents. [c005]

Do I need to do anything if I already use Versionista?

Versionista’s current homepage notice says existing accounts remain supported and require no action. [c003]