changedetection.io
Best and simplest tool for website change detection, web page monitoring, and website change alerts. Perfect for tracking content changes, price drops, restock alerts, and website defacement monitoring, all for free or enjoy our SaaS plan!
Runssource: GitHubhomepagePythonApache-2.0commit fd7c9db23e37
Python, Apache-2.0 licensed. The project labels itself: back in stock, change alert, change detection, change monitoring, monitoring, notifications, restock monitor and rss.
changedetection.io runs. An Argusic agent installed it in 5 minutes and hit 3 errors and fixed every one without help on a clean machine with no GPU, and the whole session was recorded.
changedetection.io 0.60.7 installs into a venv, launches and serves HTTP 200, its full basic test suite passes (680 passed in the main group, exit 0, plus 508 unit tests), and a real watch added via the API detected a content change and exposed it in the UI.
What the agent ended up with on a clean machine, in its own words. How this is measured
Measured by Argusic on a fresh machine every time. Every number links to its evidence. Argusic Score 60 of 100 (the mean of this project's run scores).
At a glance
Subject data from GitHub, linked at the top of this page, refreshed . Test data by Argusic (CC BY 4.0); every number links to a run page with the full log, the recording, and their sha256 hashes.
What was measured
From the run that decided this verdict. Every line is a recorded value, not an estimate.
What went wrong, in the agent's own words
The agent's own words, worst first, never rewritten into advice.
- pytest-flask live server defaulted SERVER_NAME to localhost.localdomain which does not resolve in this container (NameResolutionError on /test-endpoint)8 minutes
- PDFToHTMLToolNotFound: command-line `pdftohtml` tool was not found in system PATH (poppler-utils not installed, no root)6 minutes
- run_basic_tests.sh failed with ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'loguru' when invoked with system python31 minute
- Install time
- 5 minutes
- Cold machine to finish
- 76 minutes
- Errors hit and fixed
- 3 hit, 3 fixed with no human help
- How the result was proved
- changedetection.io -d /tmp/cds-e2e -p 5002 served HTTP 200 on /; POST /api/v1/watch returned 201; after editing the target page, server logged 'Change detected in UUID b03f9b13...' and GET /preview/b03f9b13... contained 'VERSION-B-CHANGED-9177' with has-unread in the UI; .venv/bin/pytest tests/unit/ tests/llm/ -> 508 passed; bash run_basic_tests.sh -> exit 0; bash test_cli_opts.sh -> 12/12 passed
- Model tokens used
- 2,605,777
- Exact commit tested
- fd7c9db23e37
- Container image
- sha256:cdd920bce783
What was not measured
The other half, so you can see exactly how far this evidence goes. A gap is printed as a gap and never filled in.
- Peak GPU memory
- this ran on a CPU machine, so there was no GPU to sample
- Behaviour over a long run
- each attempt uses the smallest documented settings and a fixed time budget, so this measures whether it runs, not how it holds up under load
The end of the recording
The last lines of the terminal session that decided this verdict, exactly as they were recorded.
**Timeline & fixes** - Installed into `.venv` via `pip install -e .` (editable) — all dependencies from `requirements.tx… - Error 1: pytest-flask's live-server fixture defaulted `SERVER_NAME` to `localhost.localdomain`, w… - Error 2: `pdftohtml` (poppler-utils) was not installed and cannot be apt-installed as non-root. F… - Error 3: running `run_basic_tests.sh` with bare `python3` failed (`ModuleNotFoundError: No module… **Verification performed** - `pytest tests/unit/ tests/llm/` → `508 passed, 119 subtests passed` - Project's own CI script `run_basic_tests.sh` → `exit 0` (main parallel group `680 passed`; subgro… - `test_cli_opts.sh` → `Tests run: 12, Tests passed: 12, All tests passed!` - App launch: `changedetection.io -d /tmp/cds-e2e -p 5002` → `GET /` returned `200`; `changedetecti… - Real end-to-end: `POST /api/v1/watch` returned `201` with a UUID; after the target page content c… Notes: LLM-related tests pass without real API keys (they assert error handling/mocked behavior). N…
Replay the whole session, every command from a clean machine to this point.
How it was tested
One agent, one container, no human help. It installs the project the way its own documentation says to, runs it, and fixes what breaks. Everything below is recorded as it happened: the terminal session, the log and the exact commit. The full method.
Strengths and limits
Measured facts, not opinions. How this is written.
What went well
- Reached a running state on a clean machine, with the session recorded.
- Installed in 5 minutes.
- Recovered from all 3 errors without a human stepping in, which says the failures are documented well enough to solve.
- Ran without a GPU, so it does not need one to start.
- Licensed Apache-2.0, as reported by its host.
- Measured 2 times, so the result is not a one-off.
What it is a reasonable choice for
- Trying it on a laptop or a small server: it reached a running state without a GPU.
- A quick evaluation: it was running 5 minutes after the clone.
Also tested, in the same area
Every one of these was installed and run by Argusic on a clean machine. Nothing appears here that was not tested.
Run history
| tested by | attempt | outcome | score | cost USD | when |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argusic Runner | 2/3 | Runs | 100.00 | 0.58 | |
| Argusic Runner | 1/3 | Did not run | 20.00 | 0.24 |
Topics (from GitHub)
back-in-stockchange-alertchange-detectionchange-monitoringmonitoringnotificationsrestock-monitorrssself-hostedurl-monitorweb-scrapingwebsite-change-detectionwebsite-change-detectorwebsite-change-monitorwebsite-change-notificationwebsite-change-trackerwebsite-defacement-monitoringwebsite-monitorwebsite-monitoringwebsite-watcher
Embed the badge
Markdown for the project README. It links back here; terms on the terms page.
[](https://argusic.com/subject/changedetection-io)Questions
- Does changedetection.io run?
- Yes. changedetection.io runs. Argusic installed and launched it on a clean machine in 5 minutes, hitting 3 errors on the way, and recorded the session.
- How did Argusic test changedetection.io?
- On a fresh, disposable machine, with every command recorded and the repository pinned at commit fd7c9db23e37. 2 attempts are recorded, and the full method is on the methodology page.
- What did it cost to test changedetection.io?
- The run that produced this verdict cost $0.58: real compute and model cost, not a list price per million tokens. It is recorded on that run's page.
- How long does changedetection.io take to install?
- 5 minutes in the run that decided this verdict, from a clean machine to a running state. That is one measured attempt, not an average.
- Does changedetection.io need a GPU?
- Not to start. Argusic reached a running state on a machine with no GPU.
- What goes wrong when installing changedetection.io?
- 3 things broke in the recorded run, and 3 were fixed without human help. Each one, and the time it cost, is listed on this page.
- Where is the evidence for changedetection.io?
- All 2 recorded runs are on this page, each linking to its full log and terminal recording, stored with a sha256 fingerprint so it cannot be quietly altered.