Ned Watch

Know when your agent silently stops.

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What it can do

  • Watch Register: Register a watch. type: deadman | http | tls (for overrun and content use overrun_watch / content_watch). target: URL (http/tls); omit for deadman. interval_s >= 300 on the free tier.
  • Quickstart: The fastest way to be watched, in one call. Makes you an agent (if you have no key yet) and a deadman watch that expects a check-in every `every_minutes` (5 to 1440). Miss one and Ned POST
  • Watch Get: Current state of one of your watches: status, fired, fire_count, next_check, last_state.

What data it sees

Do you need an account

No: the server works without sign-in

Know when your agent silently stops. Check in on a schedule (deadman) and Ned calls your webhook the moment you go quiet; overrun catches a run that takes too long or reports a crash; http, content and tls watch the outside. Two independent stations (US and EU), signed callbacks, the first five watches free. Start with quickstart.

How to connect

How to connect Ned Watch to Claude

The server address to paste into Claude settings:

https://ned-watch.run.tools

  1. Open Claude (claude.ai or the desktop app).
  2. Go to Settings → Connectors.
  3. Click Add custom connector.
  4. Paste the server address copied below into Remote MCP server URL and click Add.
  5. In a chat, click + → Connectors and switch the new connector on.

Custom connectors are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans (Free is limited to one). On Team and Enterprise an organization Owner adds the connector first under Organization settings → Connectors.

Authorization

After you click Add, a sign-in window for the service opens. Sign in with your own account and approve access. Claude never sees your password.

How to connect Ned Watch to ChatGPT

The server address to paste into ChatGPT settings:

https://ned-watch.run.tools

  1. Open ChatGPT in a browser (chatgpt.com). A Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu plan is required.
  2. Turn on developer mode once: Settings → Apps → Advanced settings → Developer mode.
  3. Open Settings → Connectors and click Create.
  4. Fill in the form: Name (anything), Description (one line about what the service does), MCP server URL (copy it below).
  5. Under Authentication choose OAuth if the service requires sign-in, otherwise None. Click Create.
  6. In a new chat open + → Apps/Connectors and enable the connector.

OpenAI has renamed this section before (Connectors → Apps/Plugins). If the label differs, search settings for "developer mode". On Business/Enterprise workspaces an admin must allow custom connectors first.

Authorization

On first use ChatGPT opens the service's sign-in window. Sign in and approve access.

How to connect Ned Watch to Cursor

The server address to paste into Cursor settings:

https://ned-watch.run.tools

Fastest: click Open in Cursor below and confirm the prompt.

Manually:

  1. In Cursor open Settings → Cursor Settings → MCP and click Add new global MCP server.
  2. Paste the JSON copied below into ~/.cursor/mcp.json (per project: .cursor/mcp.json in the repo root).
  3. Save the file. The server appears in the MCP list; authorize it there if asked.

Authorization

If the service needs sign-in, an authorize button appears next to the server in the MCP list.

Server tool list (11)

Raw names from tools/list. Only developers need these.

watch_registerRegister a watch. type: deadman | http | tls (for overrun and content use overrun_watch / content_watch). target: URL (http/tls); omit for deadman. interval_s >= 300 on the free tier. condition: e.g. {"grace_s": 600} for deadman, {"max_ms": 2000} for http latency, {"warn_days": 14} for tls. Ned POSTs a signed test callback to callback_url within 60s, then fires on change. No agent key yet? Call this without one: the response includes agent_key (shown once). Store it and pass it as NED_AGENT_KEY next time.
quickstartThe fastest way to be watched, in one call. Makes you an agent (if you have no key yet) and a deadman watch that expects a check-in every `every_minutes` (5 to 1440). Miss one and Ned POSTs a signed message to callback_url; check in again and he says it's clear. Returns agent_key (shown once), signing_secret, and the exact check-in line to run on your schedule. The first 5 watches are free. arm=true starts the clock now instead of at your first check-in, so a job that never runs at all still wakes you.
watch_getCurrent state of one of your watches: status, fired, fire_count, next_check, last_state.
watch_cancelCancel a watch you registered. Frees a free-tier slot.
deadman_checkinCheck in on a deadman watch to keep it from firing. Proves you hold the watch's signing_secret (returned at registration): it is sent as Authorization: Bearer <signing_secret> for this one call. No agent key needed.
overrun_watchFire when something is STILL running past its deadline (the other side of a deadman). Register once, then call overrun_start when a run begins and overrun_finish when it ends. If a run isn't finished within max_runtime_s (60 to 86400), Ned POSTs one signed 'fire' (run_id, started_at, deadline); a finish after that sends 'clear' with late: true and the runtime. A start while a run is open closes the old one as superseded (no callback). label: give each job its own watch (the same registration twice returns the same watch). 1c/day; counts toward the free 5.
overrun_startA run began on an overrun watch. Returns run_id and deadline. Sends the watch's signing_secret as Authorization: Bearer for this one call; no agent key needed. run_id is optional (your own id, 1-64 chars); pass one and a retried start is safe (it returns the open run instead of superseding it).
overrun_finishThe run ended. Returns runtime_s and late. If Ned already fired for this run, your callback gets 'clear' with late: true. Finishing with no run open is an error (409). failed=true says the run crashed: Ned fires at once with your short error (up to 200 chars) and clears when a later run finishes ok.
content_watchFire when a URL answers but says the wrong thing. expect has 1 to 5 conditions: status (int), contains / not_contains (a string or list of strings), json_path (dotted, e.g. "data.items.0.state") with equals (a JSON scalar) or exists (true/false). No regex. Pages over 256 KB fail as 'size'. The callback names the condition that failed, never the page's content. 2c/day at >= 60s, 7c at >= 30s; free within the first 5 at >= 300s. Example: expect={"status": 200, "json_path": "status", "equals": "ok"}
balanceYour balance in cents, free allowance used, burn per day, days left, and the top-up routes.
pricingNed Watch pricing: 5 free watches at >=300s, then per-day rates (http/tls/content 2c, fast 7c, deadman 1c, overrun 1c) from a prepaid balance topped up over x402 (USDC on Base). Public, no key needed. Paying is done against POST /v1/topup/{5,20,50}, not here.