Define a manual metric

If you do not have a Prometheus server, no observability for the target system, or simply want a status surface that follows operator judgment rather than a measurement, manual metrics are the right shape.

Steps

1. •

   Create the metric

   In the console, navigate to Metrics > New metric. In the Source type picker, choose Manual. The form hides the probe config and threshold sections; manual metrics carry neither.

   Fill the title and description; pick the agent association if any (manual metrics ignore the agent at runtime, but the field stays for ownership / audit).

2. •

   Set the initial status

   Save. Open the metric. The detail page shows a clickable status pill. Pick the right initial status (healthy is the most common).

3. •

   Bind the metric to a service and (optional) SLO

   Manual metrics fit the same service / SLO model as probed metrics. Open the service, define an SLO that points at the manual metric, set a target, and the budget will burn whenever the metric is in the unhealthy state — same machinery as a probed metric.

4. •

   Hook up automation (optional)

   For systems with their own observability, you can drive a manual metric from outside Observer:

   curl -X POST https://use.observer/api/v1/metrics/<id>/status \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer obs_pub_..." \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"status":"unhealthy","note":"Vendor incident #VND-12345"}'

   The scope write:metrics is required. The note ends up in the audit log.