Should you build your own ArtificialWatch?
Alerts you the minute a new frontier AI model goes live
The core loop is a genuine one-sitting build: poll the model-list endpoint of every provider you hold a key for, diff the ids against a local table, push the new ones to your phone. What does not one-shot is the three things a launch alert is actually judged on. Coverage · your script sees only the labs you have accounts with, while the watchlist here runs to 48 models including Chinese labs, restricted previews and things that have not shipped at all, which no API returns. Telephony · a call that rings until you answer means Twilio, a purchased number and US A2P 10DLC registration, which is days of paperwork before a line of code. And uptime, which is the whole product · a poller on a laptop that slept through the drop is worth nothing, and the second-sweep debounce that keeps preview aliases from crying wolf is the part you only tune after it has already cried wolf twice.
ENOriginal research content in English. Original prompt preserved in English.
Build me a new-AI-model launch alerter to replace ArtificialWatch. Requirements:
- Node 22 + node-cron + better-sqlite3, one process on a small VPS under pm2 so
it never sleeps · a laptop that naps misses the launch.
- Every 60 seconds, GET the model-list endpoints for the keys in .env: OpenAI
/v1/models, Anthropic /v1/models, Google generativelanguage /v1beta/models,
and OpenRouter /api/v1/models, which covers labs I have no account with.
- Store every model id ever seen in SQLite. A launch is an id new to that table
· seed it on first run so the first sweep is silent.
- Debounce: an id fires only after two consecutive sweeps, and ids matching a
regex list in config.json (dated snapshots, -preview, -latest) never fire.
- Alert by POSTing to an ntfy.sh topic: model id as the title, provider plus
context window and per-token price as the body, link to the provider's docs.
- Append each confirmed launch to launches.md as `YYYY-MM-DD · provider · id`.
- One page on localhost:8080: last 50 launches, last good sweep per provider,
red banner when a provider has errored 10 minutes · a silent poller is worse
than none.
- Out of scope: SMS and phone calls (Twilio plus US A2P 10DLC registration is
paperwork, not code) and any watchlist of unshipped models.
- README with the four .env keys and the pm2 command.The prompt opens pre-filled in your agent. Review it before running.
What would building your own look like?
Polls every provider's model-list endpoint on a one-minute cron, diffs new model ids against a local database, and pushes an alert to your phone.
What you will need
- API keys for the providers you want covered (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, OpenRouter)
- an always-on box · a small VPS or a Pi, not a laptop
- an ntfy or Pushover topic for push
Because the failure mode is asymmetric. A launch alerter that works 95% of the time is not 95% as good, it is worthless on the one morning it matters, and that is exactly the morning your VPS got rate limited or your ntfy topic was muted. Paying moves the pager duty to someone else, buys the labs you have no account with, and buys a phone that rings instead of a notification that stacks under forty others. At $19.99 it is priced against the AI subscriptions it watches, which is the comparison buyers actually make.
xcoverage of labs you hold no key for · 48 tracked models including Chinese labs and restricted previews
xthe phone call that rings until you answer, and SMS · Twilio plus US A2P 10DLC registration
xthe pre-launch watchlist and live Polymarket odds on models that have not shipped, which no API can return
xdebounce and alias filtering tuned so dated snapshots and -preview ids do not fire false alarms
xsomeone else owning the uptime · your poller sleeps when your machine does
Prefer something ready-made?
modelalert.aiThe exact job: one terse email when a model appears, without pretending it is a platform.Free↗License, setup, and limitations for each alternative.
How much does ArtificialWatch cost?
- Monthly billing
- $19.99/mo$19.99/mo
- Per year
- $240/yr$240/yr
- On a Brazilian card, with 3.5% IOF
- R$104/moR$1,254/yr
Saved to My list. You will see a notice on this site when the price changes.
You complete the purchase on ArtificialWatch’s site. Vibe Radar does not handle payments.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (per month) | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| free | $0/user | $0/user | Email and browser alerts delayed by about 15 minutes; 51 monitored AI models shown on the live page at verification. |
| signal | $12/user≈ $12 | - | Instant alerts plus SMS, routing and quiet-hour controls. |
| the call | $19.99/user≈ $19.99 | - | Signal features plus phone-call alerts; charter rate remains locked only while the subscription stays active. |
Free tieremail and browser alerts delayed about 15 minutes; 51 monitored models shown at verification
Billing termsmonthly only for currently purchasable paid tiers; no active annual checkout verified
Additional costsa cancelled charter subscription loses its locked rate; a $34.99 Watchtower tier is waitlist-only rather than currently purchasable
verified 2026-10-20 · source ↗
Is it cheaper to build or buy ArtificialWatch?
Adjust the numbers: hours to build, your hourly rate, running costs and the subscription price.
Over 24 months, subscribing is cheaper.
Starting hours estimated from the analysis (one sitting for the poller, a weekend to make it trustworthy). Does not price what you give up (support, integrations, security).
Can I rebuild ArtificialWatch?
Kinda. The core of ArtificialWatch is buildable in a weekend with the prompt on this page, but there are real gaps: coverage of labs you hold no key for · 48 tracked models including Chinese labs and restricted previews, the phone call that rings until you answer, and SMS · Twilio plus US A2P 10DLC registration. Read the honest list above before committing.
How much does ArtificialWatch cost?
ArtificialWatch costs about $19.99/mo (The Call, checked 10/20/2026), which is $240 per year.
What do I lose by replacing ArtificialWatch?
Honestly: coverage of labs you hold no key for · 48 tracked models including Chinese labs and restricted previews; the phone call that rings until you answer, and SMS · Twilio plus US A2P 10DLC registration; the pre-launch watchlist and live Polymarket odds on models that have not shipped, which no API can return; debounce and alias filtering tuned so dated snapshots and -preview ids do not fire false alarms; someone else owning the uptime · your poller sleeps when your machine does. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to ArtificialWatch?
Yes: modelalert.ai (The exact job: one terse email when a model appears, without pretending it is a platform.) The prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.