Checkmk Synthetic Monitoring

Your monitoring shows green.
Your users are struggling.

Because 'UP' is not the same as 'usable'.

The truth behind green dashboards:

Traditional monitoring watches what rarely fails: the hardware.
What it doesn't see is what your users actually experience — a failed login, an endlessly loading page, a checkout that hangs.
Fatal: user satisfaction and revenue are created exactly where monitoring systems are blind — at the application level.

Source: The Network Installers — Cost of IT Downtime Statistics

7 of 10 IT failures: human-made.

2.5× Cost increase from 2014–2024 (Gartner/EMA)

$14,000 Average cost of one minute of IT downtime (2026)

The Solution

Application Tests with Robot Framework
— seamlessly integrated into Checkmk

Robot Framework is the proven and flexible open-source tool for automated testing:

Established for over 20 years
> 40,000 users worldwide
Technology-agnostic by design: web, desktop, API, SAP, Citrix, mobile — everything is testable
AI ready
No vendor lock-in
No licensing costs
No dead ends

Robotmk integrates this Swiss Army knife into Checkmk — the best-in-class monitoring platform for full-stack observability:

Flow: Robot Framework → Robotmk → Checkmk Synthetic Monitoring

Why Robotmk over the alternatives →

Why Robotmk

Pay for what matters.

Some tools charge by network request, by check interval, by the minute. Checkmk Synthetic Monitoring charges for exactly one thing: the number of test cases you monitor. Test as often as you like, as thoroughly as you like — the price doesn't move.

Action-based competitors can cost up to 10× more — and the gap grows every time you shorten the test interval.

Open source Robot Framework, zero lock-in from day one.
Deepest integration Built into Checkmk, not bolted on.
No talent risk Readable, maintainable — and 40,000+ engineers already know it.

See the full comparison →

Robotmk Bridge

Not using Robot Framework? No problem.

The Robotmk Bridge connects any test framework to Checkmk. JUnit, pytest, Gatling, ZAP — keep the tools you already trust, and gain full monitoring visibility.

Learn about the Bridge →

Invented. Perfected.
And now built into Checkmk.

I am Simon Meggle, the founder of the Robotmk project.

Since 2009, I have been exploring the question of how monitoring can capture not only the infrastructure but also the user perspective — and I have found an answer.

Its name is Robotmk: a solution that integrates Robot Framework tests directly into Checkmk, as if it had been built for that purpose from the outset.

And today? Robotmk is an integral part of Checkmk. And I am lucky enough to work part-time at Checkmk as a product manager for my own invention.

Founder of ELABIT GmbH, Inventor of Robotmk
Synthetic Monitoring Expert
Robot Framework Ambassador
Member of the Robot Framework Foundation
Organizer of the Robot Framework User Group Munich
Accredited Trainer for the "Robot Framework Certified Professional" exam
Senior Product Manager Synthetic Monitoring @ Checkmk
Chilli-Nerd 🌶️

Customer feedback

★★★★★

"The best training course I've attended so far. Checkmk + Robot Framework = ❤️"

★★★★★

"Synthetic Monitoring using Robotmk is an totally amazing capability covering the entire observability stack. We are extremely satisfied with the product!"

★★★★★

"This course gave me the confidence to start with Robot Framework and integrate it in Checkmk. Course documentation is very well structured and much better than PowerPoint slides."

★★★★★

"This course was exactly what I needed! The content was well-structured and clearly explained. Now I feel confident and ready to use Robot Framework effectively. I highly recommend it."

★★★★★

"In the latest version the End-2-End monitoring part was greatly improved with the integration of robotframework with the help of RobotMK. Until this End-2-End monitoring was for me one of the hardest parts in the monitoring business."

★★★★★

"Simon explains, in his unique and pleasant way, what Synthetic Monitoring means and gives practical examples. I can recommend this workshop to anyone who wants to get acquainted with Synthetic Monitoring."

★★★★★

"Simon set his course up in a very reasonable and logical way. The lesson about web selectors was very useful — I was able to gain a much deeper understanding. I can totally recommend this course."

★★★★★

"I highly recommend this course to anyone looking to deepen their knowledge of Robot Framework and RobotMK."

★★★★★

"Excellent course, very entertaining. Great atmosphere — thanks to the top instructors — and a very interesting topic."

★★★★★

"Synthetic Monitoring using Robotmk is an totally amazing capability covering the entire observability stack. We are extremely satisfied with the product!"

★★★★★

"This course opened up new application areas for test scenarios for me. The intensive training resolved many questions we had during our previous independent work, relying solely on documentation."

★★★★★

"I attended the course with a basic knowledge of Robot Framework and RobotMK. The course filled the gaps in my understanding very well. Simon answered detailed questions competently. A great experience that will take our Synthetic Monitoring to the next level!"