URL Stalker is a simple program that, simply put, stalks a URL and knows immediately when it changes. Every ten minutes (configurable), the program downloads the file and compares it to the old one. If it has changed, it emails all subscribers with a copy of the new file. It needs its own email address, and all interaction with it is performed by sending it pithy messages over email.
Pull requests and bug reports are welcome. I'll update this as I need it, but it's otherwise not being actively developed.
To set it up, check the source code out into a directory somewhere, then edit
settings.py
to your satisfaction. You will need to provide it an email address with
SMTP and IMAP access. Gmail works well (in fact, this isn't tested with anything
else!)
The general settings are:
stalked_file
: The URL of the file to stalksaved_name
: URL Stalker keeps a timestamped copy of each version, with this base name.wait_time
: Time between email queries
Email specific settings are:
email_address
: The URL Stalker's email address, used for "From" fieldemail_imap_server
: The IMAP server to connect toemail_smtp_server
: The SMTP server to connect toemail_password
: Password to the SMTP and IMAP accountsemail_subject
: Base subject to use ("URL Stalker" works)
You should also fill out the sysadmin_name
and sysadmin_email
fields so people
can contact you if the need arises.
Send a blank email with the subject SUBSCRIBE
to the configured address; your
address will be added to the mailing list. Likewise, send UNSUBSCRIBE
to have your
name removed.