How to set up Changedetection.io
· Updated 31 July 2026 · SparkBox team
Get notified when websites change. This guide covers how to access it, log in for the first time, configure the basics, and where its data lives so you can back it up.
1. What is Changedetection.io?
Monitors websites for changes and sends you notifications when something updates. Supports JavaScript-rendered pages via a built-in Playwright browser for reliable detection.
2. How to access it
Once it's enabled, Changedetection.io runs on your SparkBox at:
http://<your-NAS-IP>:5000Add URLs to watch and configure notifications to get alerted on changes
3. Logging in
Changedetection asks for a password only — there's no username. SparkBox generates this password for you: find it in the dashboard under Settings → Service Passwords, or by clicking the app's launcher tile. (It's protected because the app stores your notification keys — without a password, anyone on your network could read them.)
To change the password, use the Reset button on that same Settings row. Changing it inside Changedetection's own settings won't stick — SparkBox manages this one.
If you set a password yourself inside the app before SparkBox started managing it, your own password keeps working and SparkBox leaves it alone.
4. Tips
- Add a URL and set a check interval to start monitoring any website for changes
- Use CSS selectors to watch only specific parts of a page for more precise alerts
5. Where your data lives
Changedetection.io's config and persistent data are stored on the SparkBox host under:
/opt/sparkbox/modules/changedetection/config/Backups via the SparkBox dashboard's Backup tile include this directory by default, so a single restore brings Changedetection.io back to its current state on a fresh install.
Next steps
That's Changedetection.io live on SparkBox.
If something doesn't match what you see, post in d/sparkbox or hit us up on YouTube. Every SparkBox bug gets patched; every UX-stumble in this guide gets rewritten.
Questions, or did this not match your box?
Every guide here came from a real problem someone hit. If yours behaves differently, say so — that is how these get corrected, and how the fix gets prioritised.
We answer there rather than in a comment box, because that is where the people who have already solved it are.