Hostname Statuses - Watchman Tower Docs

Status Overview

Watchman Tower displays a real-time status badge for your custom domain. This badge reflects the current state of your domain’s configuration and SSL certificate.

Working

Domain is active and accessible with HTTPS

SSL Being Issued

DNS verified, waiting for SSL certificate

Configuration Error

DNS misconfigured or validation failed

Status Lifecycle

Your custom domain goes through these stages:

Domain Added
     ↓
SSL Being Issued (pending)
     ↓
DNS Detected
     ↓
SSL Being Issued (pending_validation)
     ↓
Certificate Issued
     ↓
Working (active)

Each status is explained in detail below.

Working ✅

Status Badge: Green with checkmark
Cloudflare Status: active
Meaning: Your custom domain is fully operational

What This Means

Your domain is:

✅ DNS configured correctly
✅ SSL certificate issued and valid
✅ Accessible via HTTPS
✅ Routing traffic to your status page
✅ Auto-renewing before expiration

What You Can Do

Your status page is live at your custom domain. You can now:

Share the URL with customers
Update website links
Embed status widgets
Configure custom branding

Expected Behavior

Visiting your domain in a browser:

https://status.mycompany.com

Results in:

Status page loads immediately
Browser shows padlock icon (secure)
No SSL warnings or errors
Fast load times via Cloudflare CDN

Certificate Details

Click the padlock icon in your browser to view certificate:

Field	Value
Issued to	status.mycompany.com
Issued by	Cloudflare Inc ECC CA-3
Valid from	Issue date
Valid until	90 days from issue
Status	Valid / Secure

Automatic Renewal

Certificates automatically renew ~30 days before expiration. You don’t need to take any action. Watchman Tower monitors renewal status and will alert you only if there’s an issue.

SSL Being Issued ⏳

Status Badge: Yellow with clock icon
Cloudflare Statuses: pending, pending_validation, pending_deployment
Meaning: Setup in progress

What This Means

Your domain is transitioning through setup stages: Stage 1: Initial Pending

Domain registered in Cloudflare
Waiting for DNS configuration
CNAME record not yet detected

Stage 2: Pending Validation

DNS CNAME verified
SSL validation in progress
Let’s Encrypt checking domain ownership
HTTP challenge active

Stage 3: Pending Deployment

Certificate issued
Being deployed to edge network
Almost ready (usually < 1 minute)

What You Should Do

Verify DNS Configuration

Check that your CNAME record is correct:

dig CNAME status.mycompany.com

Should return: status.watchmantower.com

Wait Patiently

DNS propagation: 5-10 minutes
SSL validation: 1-5 minutes
Total typical time: 10-15 minutes

Don't Visit Domain Yet

Accessing the domain before SSL is ready shows privacy errors. Wait for Working status.

Check Again in 10 Minutes

Refresh your Watchman Tower dashboard to see status updates

Expected Behavior

If you try to visit your domain:

https://status.mycompany.com

You’ll see browser warnings like:

“Your connection is not private”
“NET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID”
“SSL certificate error”

This is normal and temporary. The SSL certificate hasn’t been issued yet.

When to Be Concerned

If status remains SSL Being Issued for longer than:

30 minutes - Check DNS configuration
1 hour - Review troubleshooting guide
2 hours - Contact support

Validation Process

While in this status, Cloudflare is:

Detecting your CNAME record

Making validation requests:

http://status.mycompany.com/.well-known/acme-challenge/{token}

Receiving validation responses from edge
Requesting certificate from Let’s Encrypt
Installing certificate across global network

You can’t speed this up—it’s an automated process handled by Cloudflare and Let’s Encrypt.

Configuration Error ❌

Status Badge: Red with warning icon
Cloudflare Statuses: blocked, moved, or validation failure
Meaning: Setup failed due to DNS or configuration issue

What This Means

Your domain cannot be validated because:

❌ CNAME record is missing or incorrect
❌ DNS hasn’t propagated yet
❌ Cloudflare proxy is enabled (orange cloud)
❌ Domain is already in use elsewhere
❌ DNS provider blocking validation requests

Immediate Actions

Verify CNAME Record

Check DNS configuration:

dig CNAME status.mycompany.com

Expected: status.watchmantower.com
If different or missing: Update DNS

Check Cloudflare Proxy

If using Cloudflare DNS:

Log into Cloudflare dashboard
Find your CNAME record
Ensure cloud icon is GRAY (DNS only)
If orange, click to disable proxy

Wait for DNS Propagation

After fixing DNS:

Wait 10-15 minutes
Watchman Tower auto-retries validation
Status should update automatically

Delete & Re-add If Needed

If stuck after 30 minutes:

Delete the domain in Watchman Tower
Wait 2 minutes
Re-add the domain
This triggers a fresh validation attempt

Common Causes

CNAME Target Typo

Issue: Target is status.watchmantower.co instead of .comFix: Correct the CNAME target to exactly:

status.watchmantower.com

Cloudflare Proxy Enabled

Issue: Orange cloud (proxied) instead of gray (DNS only)Fix: In Cloudflare DNS settings, click the orange cloud to disable proxy. It should turn gray.

DNS Not Propagated

Issue: You just added the CNAME and DNS hasn’t spread globally yetFix: Wait 10-30 minutes depending on your DNS TTL setting

Wrong Record Type

Issue: Created A record or TXT record instead of CNAMEFix: Delete incorrect record and create a CNAME record

Subdomain Already in Use

Issue: status.mycompany.com already points to another serviceFix: Use a different subdomain or remove existing CNAME

CAA Record Blocking

Issue: Your domain has CAA records that don’t allow Let’s EncryptFix: Add CAA record allowing Let’s Encrypt:

mycompany.com. CAA 0 issue "letsencrypt.org"

Troubleshooting Commands

Run these commands to diagnose issues: Check CNAME:

dig CNAME status.mycompany.com

Check DNS from Google’s servers:

dig @8.8.8.8 CNAME status.mycompany.com

Check if domain resolves:

nslookup status.mycompany.com

Test HTTP access (for validation):

curl -I http://status.mycompany.com

Getting Help

If you’ve checked all the above and still see Configuration Error:

Contact Support

Email [email protected] with:

Your domain name
Screenshot of your DNS settings
Output of: dig CNAME status.mycompany.com
DNS provider name (Cloudflare, Route 53, etc.)

We’ll diagnose the issue and help you resolve it.

Status Transitions

Normal Flow

SSL Being Issued → Working

Typical time: 10-15 minutes

If DNS Issues

SSL Being Issued → Configuration Error
          ↓
    Fix DNS
          ↓
SSL Being Issued → Working

Resolution time: 15-30 minutes after DNS fix

After Deletion

Working → (Domain Deleted)
     ↓
Start Over (if re-adding)

Status Check Frequency

Watchman Tower checks your domain status:

Active domains: Every 60 seconds
Pending domains: Every 30 seconds
Failed domains: Every 5 minutes (auto-retry)

Dashboard updates in real-time as status changes.

Cloudflare API Status Mapping

For technical reference, here’s how Cloudflare statuses map to Watchman Tower:

Cloudflare Status	Watchman Tower Badge	Meaning
`pending`	SSL Being Issued ⏳	Waiting for DNS
`pending_validation`	SSL Being Issued ⏳	DNS detected, validating SSL
`pending_deployment`	SSL Being Issued ⏳	Certificate issued, deploying
`active`	Working ✅	Fully operational
`moved`	Configuration Error ❌	CNAME changed or removed
`blocked`	Configuration Error ❌	Validation blocked or failed

Notifications

You can enable email notifications for status changes:

Go to Settings

Navigate to Settings → Notifications

Enable Domain Alerts

Toggle on Custom Domain Status Changes

Receive Updates

Get emails when domain status changes to Working or Configuration Error

Sample notification:

✅ Custom Domain Active

Your custom domain status.mycompany.com is now active 
and accessible via HTTPS.

View your status page: https://status.mycompany.com

Monitoring After Setup

Once your domain shows Working, Watchman Tower continues monitoring:

SSL certificate expiration (auto-renews at ~60 days)
DNS configuration changes
Edge deployment health
Traffic routing status

You’ll be alerted if any issues are detected.

Next Steps

Troubleshooting Guide

Detailed solutions for common issues

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Getting Started

Monitoring

Alerts

WordPress Agent

Troubleshooting

​Status Overview

Working

SSL Being Issued

Configuration Error

​Status Lifecycle

​Working ✅

​What This Means

​What You Can Do

​Expected Behavior

​Certificate Details

​Automatic Renewal

​SSL Being Issued ⏳

​What This Means

​What You Should Do

​Expected Behavior

​When to Be Concerned

​Validation Process

​Configuration Error ❌

​What This Means

​Immediate Actions

​Common Causes

​Troubleshooting Commands

​Getting Help

Contact Support

​Status Transitions

​Normal Flow

​If DNS Issues

​After Deletion

​Status Check Frequency

​Cloudflare API Status Mapping

​Notifications

​Monitoring After Setup

​Next Steps

Troubleshooting Guide

FAQ

Status Overview

Status Lifecycle

Working ✅

What This Means

What You Can Do

Expected Behavior

Certificate Details

Automatic Renewal

SSL Being Issued ⏳

What This Means

What You Should Do

Expected Behavior

When to Be Concerned

Validation Process

Configuration Error ❌

What This Means

Immediate Actions

Common Causes

Troubleshooting Commands

Getting Help

Status Transitions

Normal Flow

If DNS Issues

After Deletion

Status Check Frequency

Cloudflare API Status Mapping

Notifications

Monitoring After Setup

Next Steps