Sublookout Documentation

Sublookout monitors Reddit keywords around the clock and alerts you the moment a matching post appears. This guide covers everything from setting up your first monitor to configuring Slack and email notifications.

Quickstart

You can go from sign-up to your first alert in under two minutes.

1. Create an account — sign up at app.sublookout.com/sign-up. No credit card required for the Free plan.
2. Create a monitor — click New Monitor in the dashboard and give it a name (e.g. "Freelance leads").
3. Add subreddits — type the subreddit name without the r/ prefix (e.g. forhire). Add up to 2 on Free or 20 on Pro.
4. Add keywords — enter the words or phrases you want to track (e.g. hire a developer). Matching is case-insensitive and checks both title and post body.
5. Enable the monitor — toggle it on. Sublookout will start polling Reddit immediately and save any matching posts to your results.
6. Set up notifications — go to Settings to configure email digest or Slack alerts so you get notified as soon as a match is found.

Creating a monitor

Each monitor watches a set of subreddits for a set of keywords. You can have up to 1 monitor on the Free plan and 10 on Pro.

To create a monitor, click New Monitor in the top-right of your dashboard. A new monitor is created in a disabled state — configure it first, then enable it.

Keywords

Keywords are matched against the post title and body text. Matching is case-insensitive and uses simple substring matching — a keyword of hire will match "looking to hire a developer".

Tips for effective keywords

• Use short, specific phrases rather than single common words to reduce noise (e.g. looking to hire instead of just hire)
• Add multiple keyword variants to the same monitor — each post only needs to match one keyword to appear in results
• Free plan: up to 3 keywords per monitor. Pro: up to 20.

Subreddits

Enter subreddit names without the r/ prefix. You can add as many as your plan allows — Sublookout polls each subreddit independently.

Check interval

The check interval controls how often Sublookout polls each subreddit for new posts.

For fast-moving subreddits (job boards, apartment listings), a shorter interval helps you see posts before others respond. For slower subreddits, a longer interval is usually sufficient and avoids unnecessary load.

Freshness filter

The freshness filter sets the maximum age of posts Sublookout considers. Posts older than the freshness window are ignored, even if they match your keywords.

• 1 hour — only the very latest posts
• 6 hours — good for active subreddits
• 24 hours — default, covers most use cases
• 7 days — useful for slower subreddits

Setting a shorter freshness window reduces noise from old posts appearing in results when you first enable a monitor.

Viewing results

Every post that matches a keyword is saved to your results. Results are ordered by when they were found. Click any result title to open the Reddit post in a new tab.

Each result card shows:

• Post title and the subreddit it came from
• The keyword that matched
• Post author and Reddit score
• How long ago the post was published

Results are kept up to the Max results limit (default 100, up to 500 on Pro). Once the limit is reached, the oldest results are removed automatically.

To start fresh, click Clear results in the monitor settings. This also resets the seen-post memory, so the next poll may surface posts you have already seen.

Grid & list views

Use the view toggle in the top-right of the results panel to switch between:

• Grid — compact card layout, good for scanning many results at once
• List — wider rows with more detail visible per result

Your view preference is saved per monitor.

Email digest Pro

Sublookout can send you a digest email summarising all new results across your monitors. Email notifications require a Pro plan.

Configuring email alerts

1. Go to Settings → Notifications in the dashboard.
2. Toggle Email notifications on.
3. Choose a digest frequency — how often you want to receive the summary email (10 min, 30 min, 1 hour, 12 hours, or daily).

The digest includes all new results found since the last email was sent. If there are no new results in a period, no email is sent.

Slack integration Pro

Connect a Slack workspace to receive alerts in a channel of your choice. Slack notifications require a Pro plan.

Connecting Slack

1. Go to Settings → Notifications and click Add to Slack.
2. Authorise Sublookout in your Slack workspace and choose the channel to post to.
3. Toggle Slack notifications on.
4. Choose your preferred mode: Instant or a digest frequency.

Instant vs digest

• Instant — a Slack message is sent every time a new matching post is found. Best for time-sensitive use cases like job hunting or apartment searches.
• Digest — results are batched and sent as a single Slack message at your chosen frequency. Reduces noise for high-volume monitors.

Disconnecting Slack

Go to Settings → Notifications and click Disconnect next to your workspace. You can reconnect at any time.

Plans & limits

View the full pricing breakdown on the Pricing page.

Billing

Pro costs $12/month or $99/year (save 31%). Billing is handled securely via Dodo Payments.

Upgrading to Pro

Go to Settings → Plan in the dashboard and click Upgrade to Pro. You will be redirected to complete checkout securely. Pro features are available immediately after payment.

Cancellation

You can manage or cancel your subscription at any time from Settings → Billing in the dashboard. Your Pro access continues until the end of the current billing period. We offer a 7-day money-back guarantee — contact support@sublookout.com if you are not satisfied.

FAQ

Why am I not getting any results?

Check the following:

• Make sure your monitor is enabled (the toggle is on).
• Confirm your keywords appear in recent posts in those subreddits — try searching Reddit directly.
• Check that your freshness window isn't too short for the subreddit's activity level.
• Look for an error message on the monitor card — it will explain if a subreddit fetch failed.

How quickly will I get a result after a post is made?

On Pro with a 10-minute check interval, you will see a result within 10 minutes of the post appearing. On Free with a 60-minute interval, up to 60 minutes. Add Slack instant alerts to get notified the moment results land.

Does Sublookout monitor comments, or just posts?

Sublookout monitors posts (new submissions) only — not comments. Comment monitoring may be added in a future update.

Can I monitor private or NSFW subreddits?

Private subreddits are not accessible via the public Reddit API and cannot be monitored. NSFW subreddits are supported as long as they are publicly accessible.

Will my monitors keep running if I don't log in?

Pro monitors run 24/7 regardless of login activity. Free monitors pause after 14 days of account inactivity — log in to reactivate them.

How do I contact support?

Email support@sublookout.com and we will get back to you promptly.