Monitors: scheduled data checks

A Monitor is a saved SQL query that runs on a schedule and emails you the result - the way Colrows watches your data for change. You choose whether it sends every run or only when the query returns rows. This page covers what a Monitor is and how to configure one.

Standard data logs vs. Colrows Monitors

Why Monitors run through the compiler

The drift trap

Traditional data monitoring watches for broken pipelines: failed ETL jobs, null columns, schema errors. It misses the far more dangerous problem: semantic drift. A column name stays the same, but the business logic inside it changes. A dimension value shifts meaning across regions. A metric definition is updated in the warehouse without updating the analytics layer. Standard logs report "all systems healthy" while your AI agent generates silently wrong answers from stale definitions.

The Monitor advantage

Colrows Monitors let you watch the numbers that matter on a schedule. Write a query against a governed datasource, choose when it should reach you, and Colrows emails the result so a change shows up in your inbox instead of going unnoticed. This is a step toward keeping your semantic layer trustworthy as data changes.

Do not monitor your data for uptime alone. Monitor for semantic integrity. Fix the context, not the model.

What a Monitor is

A Monitor has four parts: a data source (and optional schema), a read-only SQL query to run against it, a schedule, and a trigger condition. When the schedule fires, Colrows runs the query and, if the condition is met, emails the result to the Monitor's owner as a CSV attachment.

Where to create one

• SQL Editor - Create Monitor in the editor toolbar. See SQL Editor.
• Colrows AI - Create Monitor on a table answer. See AI Data Analyst.
• Monitors page - open Monitors from the left menu. Administrators can add a Monitor with + Monitor and edit or delete existing ones from the Action column. The list shows each Monitor's name, datasource, schema, schedule, and send-email rule.

Settings

• Monitor name & owner - every Monitor has a single owner: the user who created it. The result email is sent to the owner.
• Datasource & schema - the datasource the query runs against, and an optional schema.
• SQL query - exactly one read-only query. Colrows checks the query when you save: anything other than a single read-only query is rejected with "Monitor SQL must contain one read-only query", and a query that reads a table or column you cannot access is rejected with "Access to the monitor query is denied". For alerting, write the query to return rows only when attention is required.
• Notification rule - Only when the query returns rows (the default and recommended choice), or After every execution.

How a Monitor delivers

When a Monitor's condition is met, Colrows emails the owner. The query result is attached as a CSV file. There are no other delivery channels today - delivery is by email.

Schedule

Schedule times are evaluated in UTC. Choose one of two modes:

• Repeat on an interval - every 15 minutes, 30 minutes, hour, 6 hours, or 12 hours, or a Custom interval in minutes.
• Run at specific times - one or more execution times of day.

Run on restricts the days: Every day, Weekdays (Monday-Friday), Weekends, or a Custom day rule. A custom rule has three fields: day of month, month, and weekday. For example, ? * 1-5 means weekdays.

Whose access a Monitor uses

Each run executes as the Monitor's owner. On datasources with Restricted Access on, the owner's data access and data masking policies apply. A run fails, and sends no email, when:

• the owner is no longer an active user in the organization;
• the datasource is no longer active in the organization;
• the owner signs in through a directory (SSO) and has not signed in within the last 7 days. Colrows needs a recent sign-in to confirm the owner's directory groups, so the owner must sign in again.