Expectations

Expectations let you define what correct file delivery looks like for your site, continuously evaluate whether it happened, and keep a record when it did not.

Most monitoring tools can only tell you when something happens. Expectations can also tell you when nothing happens, making it possible to detect a missing vendor feed, a skipped nightly batch, or a late compliance package that never arrived, all without waiting for a downstream failure to surface the problem first.

With Expectations, you specify what files should arrive, where, and when.

Files.com evaluates each delivery window against the criteria you define and records the outcome. Evaluation outcomes will include whether files arrived on time and in the right shape, arrived late, failed validation, or never came at all. When a scheduled delivery fails, an Incident is opened so your team can investigate and respond.

Expectations are particularly valuable for critical, recurring file flows where a missed or malformed delivery creates real downstream damage. Common examples include vendor feeds, order ingestion, finance batches, compliance packages, and partner integrations. They allow you to set explicit definitions of what correct delivery looks like, provide a record of every window's outcome for audits and investigation, and give a clear indication that data is ready, or is not, before downstream processing begins.

Incidents keep active problems visible and distinct from historical records, so your team always knows what still needs attention.

How Expectations Work

An Expectation monitors a defined scope of files within a recurring time window and evaluates whether those files meet your success criteria.

Each Expectation includes the following components:

• Success criteria: Specifies what constitutes a valid delivery.
• Time window: Indicates when files are expected to arrive.
• Scope: Defines the folder path and file pattern to monitor.

When a window closes, Files.com evaluates the matching files against your criteria and records the result as an Evaluation. If a scheduled window fails, an Incident is opened to track the outstanding problem until it is resolved.

Incident notifications are not yet available. When an Incident opens, your team will need to monitor the Incidents list from the Expectation's detail page. Email and webhook notifications are planned for a future release.

Expectations are a monitoring layer. They do not move or modify files. Think of them as a sensors, they determine whether expected data is present and acceptable.

Expectation Results

Each closed window produces one of 4 results.

There is a distinct difference between Missing and Invalid results. A missing result means nothing arrived whereas an invalid result means something arrived but did not meet your criteria.

Manual and upload-triggered windows do not produce Late results, since those triggers have no schedule-defined deadline.

Use Cases

Expectations are designed for recurring file workflows where correctness and timeliness matter.

Below are some examples of how Expectations can be used. Expectations are useful in any recurring workflow where the absence of a file, not just the presence of one, needs to be detected and acted on.

Vendor Feed Monitoring

A retailer receives daily product catalog updates from dozens of suppliers. Each supplier is expected to upload a CSV file to their designated folder before a morning deadline. Rather than waiting for a downstream data pipeline to fail and tracing the problem back to a missing file, the retailer configures one Expectation per supplier. If a file doesn't arrive by the deadline, an Incident opens immediately to alert the operations team. If the file arrives but doesn't match the required structure, detected via a filename pattern or count rule, the window closes as Invalid and the team investigates before the pipeline runs.

Finance and Compliance Batch Validation

A healthcare organization receives monthly billing batch files that must meet strict structural requirements before being forwarded to a clearinghouse. The file set must include a specific manifest, exactly the right number of claim files, and no temporary or partial files. A single Expectation with per-file rules and a forbidden file pattern catches malformed batches at intake, before they reach the clearinghouse and generate rejection notices.

Partner Upload Monitoring

A manufacturing company receives parts orders from distributors throughout the day. Orders arrive in bursts, and the timing varies. An upload-triggered Expectation opens when the first file lands and closes after uploads have been quiet for a configured interval, at which point Files.com evaluates the complete batch and records the outcome. The company has a clear, logged record of whether each batch arrived complete or not, without needing to know in advance when each distributor will upload.

Internal System Health Checks

An operations team monitors hourly telemetry exports from internal systems. Each system is expected to write a status file to a known path every hour. An Expectation per system checks for the file's presence in each window. If a system stops writing, due to a crash, a network issue, or a misconfiguration, the missed window opens an Incident before anyone notices a problem downstream.