portalert.exe -check. Resolve configuration errors before continuing.portalert.exe without switches to monitor in the foreground. Watch the live screen output and confirm the targets or thresholds, monitoring results and any errors. If another instance is already running, stop it first. Foreground monitoring can send real alerts to configured recipients.portalert.exe -start for long-running background monitoring, portalert.exe -status to check its status, and portalert.exe -stop when you want to stop it. Review the product log during unattended operation.portalert.exe -check portalert.exe
Observe the live output, then press Ctrl+C. After the foreground process exits:
portalert.exe -start portalert.exe -status
Leave the background monitor running for as long as needed. To stop it later:
portalert.exe -stop
Use the application directory as the working directory for every command. Background mode does not itself configure automatic startup after a reboot.
Windows: use the product .exe name. Linux: use ./cpualert, ./pingalert or ./portalert. This workflow applies to all three tools.
V2.0 features, SMS setup and licensing
Standalone lightweight TCP port monitoring software for small and medium businesses. PortAlert for SMB checks your important services automatically,
sends Email, Microsoft Teams, Telegram, and Smartbooth SMS alerts when a port is down, and sends a recovery message when the service returns to normal.
No server, no cloud dependency, no complex monitoring platform required.
Multiple Workers for Faster Port Checking to parallel check multiple targets at the same time.
PortAlert for SMB is designed for simple, affordable, and reliable monitoring of websites, servers, network devices, database ports, VPN endpoints, office services, and internal business systems.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
portalert.exe / portalert | Main monitoring program for Windows or Linux. |
license.dat | Your offline license file. |
portalert_host.txt | Host and port monitoring settings. |
portalert_notify.txt | SMTP, Microsoft Teams webhook, and Telegram settings. |
curl | Used to send Email, Microsoft Teams, Telegram, and Smartbooth SMS messages. |
portalert_log.txt | Runtime log file created by the program. |
portalert_host.txt to define the hosts and ports you want to monitor.portalert_notify.txt to define your SMTP, Microsoft Teams webhook, and Telegram settings.portalert -check first to validate config format, then run portalert -test to confirm Email, Microsoft Teams, Telegram, and Smartbooth SMS delivery before enabling background mode.license.dat in the same folder.portalert.portalert portalert -check portalert -test portalert # Observe output, then press Ctrl+C to exit foreground mode. portalert -start portalert -status portalert -stop portalert -licenseinfo portalert -probe
key : "value": as separator. = is not supported by the recommended config standard.Edit portalert_host.txt.
interval : "15" fast_retry_interval : "4" workers : "2" host : "smartbooth.com" port : "80" description : "smartbooth web" timeoutsec : "7" alertcount : "3" host : "590915.xyz" port : "443" description : "main website https" timeoutsec : "7" alertcount : "3"
teams_webhook in portalert_notify.txt.portalert -check to validate configuration format.portalert -test to verify Email, Microsoft Teams, Telegram, and Smartbooth SMS delivery.api-version=1, sv=1.0, and sig=....
Keep the full URL on one line inside double quotes.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
interval | Normal check interval in seconds. |
fast_retry_interval | Shorter retry interval used when one or more monitored ports are in failure state. |
workers | Number of parallel port checks. Default is 2. Maximum safe limit is 50. |
host | Host name or IP address to monitor. |
port | TCP port number to check. |
description | Your note for this target. |
timeoutsec | TCP connect timeout for each check. |
alertcount | Number of consecutive failures before sending a DOWN alert. |
PortAlert supports controlled parallel workers for faster monitoring when many services or devices are configured. The program still runs as one background process, but inside that process it can check multiple targets at the same time.
workers : "2"
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
workers : "2" | Default value. Two port targets can be checked at the same time. |
workers : "10" | Useful for medium-size SMB environments with many servers or network devices. |
workers : "50" | Maximum safe limit. |
workers : "2" for trial mode and small deployments.
Increase workers only when you monitor many ports and need faster scan completion.
portalert -start background process and configure workers instead.
This avoids duplicate alerts and duplicate Microsoft Teams, Email, or Telegram messages.
Edit portalert_notify.txt.
server : "smtp://smtp.gmail.com:587" email : "[email protected]" password : "your_app_password" from : "[email protected]" to : "[email protected],[email protected]" iamalive : "[email protected]" *** Microsoft Teams notification. Remove * to enable. *teams_webhook : "https://your-power-automate-webhook-url" *** Telegram notification. Remove * to enable. *token : "your telegram bot token" *chat_id : "-123456789"
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
server | SMTP server and port. Example: smtp://smtp.gmail.com:587 |
email | SMTP login account. |
password | SMTP password or app password. The program can auto-convert it to encrypted format. |
from | Sender email address. |
to | Main alert recipients. |
iamalive | Daily keep-alive recipient. |
teams_webhook | Microsoft Teams / Power Automate webhook URL. Leave blank or mark with * if not used. |
token | Telegram bot token. |
chat_id | Telegram chat ID or group ID. |
PortAlert for SMB uses an offline local license file named license.dat.
probe.txt → Purchase License →
Send probe.txt → Receive license.dat → Run production monitoring
portalert -probe > probe.txt
Send the generated probe.txt to us. A matching license.dat will be issued for your machine.
portalert -licenseinfo
This command displays current license mode, customer, expire date, and machine matching result.
alertcount, a DOWN alert is sent.| Item | Trial Limit |
|---|---|
| Email alerts | 2 per day |
| Microsoft Teams alerts | 2 per day |
| Telegram alerts | 2 per day |
| IamAlive | 1 per day |
| Monitoring targets | Maximum 2 hosts |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
portalert | Run in foreground mode. |
portalert -start | Start in background mode. |
portalert -stop | Stop background process. |
portalert -status | Check whether the monitor is running. |
portalert -check | Validate config file format. Use this first to catch = and missing keys. |
portalert -test | Send a test Email, Microsoft Teams, Telegram, and Smartbooth SMS alert to verify configuration. |
portalert -probe | Print machine probe information. |
portalert -licenseinfo | Show current license status. |
portalert -s | Silent mode. |
portalert -h / portalert --help | Show command help and usage summary. |
Recommended command flow: edit config, run portalert -check and portalert -test, then use portalert -start for background monitoring.
C:\PortAlert.portalert, license.dat, and config files in the same folder.curl exists in the same folder or in PATH.portalert_log.txt.teams_webhook in portalert_notify.txt.portalert -test and check console output for Teams command rc=0.token and chat_id.license.dat is in the same folder as portalert.portalert -licenseinfo to check the reason.
To purchase or renew your license, please visit:
https://www.smartbooth.com/purchase_lic.htm
Use the new portalert_notify.txt configuration for SMTP, Teams, Telegram and Smartbooth SMS. Migrate your previous notification settings to this file. Email messages preserve line breaks so the time, host, failure details and process rows remain readable.
Register at smartbooth.com for free SMS testing. Put your own account settings in the product's _notify.txt file. Multiple phone numbers and email addresses are comma-separated. SMS delivery works independently of SMTP.
sms_url : "https://www.smartbooth.com/smartalert/alert.php" sms_account : "[email protected]" sms_password : "your-password" sms_phone : "+10000000001,+10000000002" sms_email : "[email protected]"
Prefix unused settings with *. The downloadable templates disable notification channels until configured. Run -check first. -test sends real messages to configured recipients.
Trial notifications display [Trial Mode]. Email, Teams and Telegram trial alerts are limited to two per channel per day; IamAlive is limited to one per day. PingAlert and PortAlert trial monitoring is limited to two targets. Windows SMS trial allows two successful deliveries per day. Linux SMS trial allows two attempts, persisted in .alert_sms_trial_state. A valid license removes trial restrictions; application capacity and SMS service charges still apply.
Download the matching Windows or Linux x86-64 ZIP and extract into a dedicated writable directory. Stop the old instance before replacing files and back up your existing settings and license. On Windows, open Command Prompt in that directory and use portalert.exe. On Linux, change into that directory, run chmod +x portalert, and prefix commands with ./. Make curl available; PingAlert on Linux also requires ping. No license.dat is included in the trial download.
./portalert -check ./portalert -probe > probe.txt ./portalert -licenseinfo ./portalert # Observe output, then press Ctrl+C to exit foreground mode. ./portalert -start ./portalert -status ./portalert -stop
After purchasing, send the product, operating system and probe.txt to Smartbooth for issuance. Put the supplied license.dat in the application directory. Windows and Linux use different product codes and cannot share one license file. Linux V2 uses Ed25519 licenses; older FNV licenses require reissuance. A node license binds to machine identity and MAC; site/portable licenses follow their signed expiration and product restrictions. Keep configuration values quoted using key : "value".
Permanent licenses: Single Tool $49; Any 2 Licenses $89; Complete Bundle $119. A single license covers one product on one host and one operating system. CPUAlert for Windows and CPUAlert for Linux count as two licenses, even on the same physical machine. The Complete Bundle covers CPUAlert, PingAlert and PortAlert on the same host and OS. Permanent licenses include the purchased version forever, plus one year of updates and general email support; later updates/support are optional and quoted separately.
Annual Site plans include all three tools: Small $299/year for up to 10 host/OS installations; Standard $999/year for up to 50; Large $2,499/year for up to 200. Windows and Linux installations can be mixed; each host/OS installation counts separately, including virtual machines. Deployments may be reassigned within the site allowance during the term. Annual plans use one payment for one year and manual renewal, with no automatic recurring charge. Remote IP addresses and ports monitored by PingAlert/PortAlert do not count as installations; application capacity limits still apply. GPUAlert is sold separately. SMS credits and delivery charges are separate.