---
title: "Custom HTTP Methods & Headers — Lemwatch Help"
description: "Monitor endpoints behind authentication with custom headers."
canonical: "https://lemwatch.com/help/custom-http-methods"
source: "https://lemwatch.com"
---

# Custom HTTP Methods & Headers

> Monitor endpoints behind authentication with custom headers.

## Custom HTTP Methods & Headers

 Monitor API endpoints, authenticated dashboards, and webhook receivers by specifying custom HTTP methods, request headers, request bodies, and response-body assertions. Configure everything in **Edit Site → Advanced Monitoring**.

### Supported Methods

 **GET** (default), **HEAD**, **POST**, **PUT**, **PATCH**, **DELETE**, **OPTIONS**. HEAD is the fastest and cheapest for uptime-only checks. Use POST/PUT when the endpoint requires a body to respond meaningfully.

### Custom Headers

 Add arbitrary headers as key/value pairs. Common examples:

- Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOi... — for bearer-token protected APIs

- X-API-Key: sk_live_abc123 — for header-key auth

- User-Agent: LemWatch/1.0 — override the default user agent when a WAF blocks generic monitor traffic

- Cookie: session=... — for cookie-authenticated pages

 All headers are stored encrypted at rest and never appear in incident logs or public status pages.

### Request Body

 For POST/PUT/PATCH, specify a body (JSON, form-encoded, or raw). LemWatch sends it verbatim on every check. Use this to monitor GraphQL endpoints, webhook receivers, or "search" endpoints that only respond to POST.

### Expected Body Assertion

 Set an **Expected Body Contains** string. If the response body doesn't contain this substring, the site is marked as down even if the HTTP status is 200. This catches silent failures like:

- CMS returning a "maintenance mode" page with a 200 status

- API returning an empty array instead of expected data

- Reverse-proxy misconfig serving a placeholder page

### Expected Status Code

 Override the default "2xx = up" rule. Useful when a 302 redirect or a 401 (for auth checks) is the correct healthy response.

### FAQ

 **Are custom headers visible to teammates?** Only to users with Admin or Owner role. Editors and Viewers see header keys but not values.


## Related

- [Help centre](https://lemwatch.com/help)
- [Monitor Grouping & Aggregate Status](https://lemwatch.com/help/monitor-grouping)
- [Notification Channels Overview](https://lemwatch.com/help/notification-channels-overview)
- [Lemwatch pricing](https://lemwatch.com/pricing)
- [Custom Request Headers](https://lemwatch.com/help/custom-request-headers)
- [CSV Export](https://lemwatch.com/help/csv-export)