A Simon alternative that also manages the servers
Simon tells you that a server changed or failed. ServerShelf tells you what runs on it, what needs patching, and lets you fix it from the same window.
Dejal Simon is a long-standing Mac monitoring app. It checks web pages, ping, DNS, FTP, IMAP, POP and SMTP servers, SSH, TCP ports, drive status, NTP, SMB and SNMP, runs the output through filters, and notifies by email, iMessage, sound, speech, web hook or script. It costs $99 once, $49 as an upgrade, or comes with Setapp, and needs macOS 12.4 or later.
ServerShelf is a fleet cockpit with monitoring built in: inventory with cloud import, agentless SSH scans, pending updates and patch runs, Docker control, TLS and uptime checks, hardware telemetry and AI log triage. One purchase, no account, on macOS, Windows and Linux.
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What is a good Simon alternative for people who run their own servers?
Simon watches from the outside: it requests a page, pings a host, queries a DNS server, and reacts to the result. That is exactly right for a website owner. Someone who administers the servers wants the inside view too: which packages are pending, whether the disk is filling up, what the container logs say. ServerShelf gets that over plain SSH without an agent, keeps it as an inventory, and adds HTTP and TCP uptime checks, real TLS handshakes for certificate expiry, and hardware telemetry with temperature and disk alerts. Notifications go to the native notification center, ntfy, Slack, Discord, Pushover or any webhook, and a heartbeat ping to Healthchecks or a similar service covers the time the app is closed.
Simon still checks more kinds of things: NTP, SMB shares, FTP files, SNMP devices and local applications, with filter chains scriptable in AppleScript or shell. ServerShelf covers HTTP, TCP, ping, DNS, mail servers, SSH scripts and log patterns, with number and change rules on the response.
ServerShelf vs Simon
| Feature | ServerShelf | Simon |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux; iOS & Android companion | macOS 12.4 or later |
| Check types | HTTP, HTTPS, TCP, ping, DNS, SMTP, IMAP, POP3, SSH script, log pattern | Web, ping, DNS, FTP, IMAP, POP, SMTP, SSH, port scan, drive, NTP, SMB, SNMP, application, system log, screenshot |
| Content-change detection & filters | ✓ keyword, number with min/max, change detection on a regex-selected part | ✓ block, find, regex, number, link checker, custom scripts |
| Custom checks via scripts | ✓ shell script on a server over SSH, exit code = status | ✓ AppleScript, shell, Perl, PHP, Python |
| Confirmation before alerting, pause until a date, weekly pause window | ✓ | ✓ |
| TLS certificate expiry | ✓ real handshake, SAN list, issuer | ~ via web check |
| Server metrics over SSH (CPU, RAM, disk, temperatures, Docker) | ✓ no agent | ~ local drive status and SMART only |
| Notifications | Native, email, ntfy, Slack, Discord, Pushover, webhook, sound, speech, heartbeat | Email, iMessage, sound, speech, web GET/POST, launch app, scripts |
| Push to your phone | ✓ companion app, or ntfy / Pushover | ~ via iMessage or email |
| Reports | ✓ CSV and HTML reports, availability over 24 h / 7 d / 30 d | ✓ HTML reports saved or uploaded |
| Server inventory & cloud import | ✓ 12 providers | — |
| SSH terminal, snippets, key deploy | ✓ | — |
| Pending updates & patch runs | ✓ | — |
| Docker control | ✓ | — |
| AI log triage & chat | ✓ your own key, 7 providers | — |
| Encrypted local store | SQLCipher, Argon2id, Touch ID | ~ password to open the app |
| Sync between Macs | Encrypted file to iCloud, S3 or WebDAV | ✓ iCloud, with per-Mac check assignment |
| Menu bar status | ✓ tray icon | ✓ status menu, can hide from Dock |
| Account required | No | No |
| Price | €39 once, 7-day trial | $99 once, $49 upgrade, or Setapp |
✓ = yes · — = no · ~ = limited or paid add-on. As of September 2026, best-effort from public product pages and documentation; features may change.
Keep Simon or switch?
Keep Simon if you monitor services you do not administer: other people's websites, mail servers, DNS, an SNMP printer, a page that must not change. Its check and filter catalog is still wider than ServerShelf's and the scripting is mature.
Use ServerShelf if the things you monitor are your own servers and you want the management side in the same app: inventory, terminal, updates, containers, certificates and log triage. Many people will run both, Simon for the outside view and ServerShelf for the inside.
Try it on your own servers
ServerShelf has a 7-day trial, no credit card required. Add a few of your servers, run a scan and compare what you see with the tool you use today.
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