> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.seoutils.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.seoutils.app/guide/dataforseo-task-monitor.md).

# DataForSEO Task Monitor

Every SERP report you run creates paid tasks at DataForSEO. Most of the time they complete quietly in the background. The DataForSEO Task Monitor is where you look when you want to check on them — whether they're still with DataForSEO, already collected and waiting to be saved, recovering on their own, or genuinely stuck.

This is a monitoring page. You read it to understand what's happening; the app handles the fixing.

<figure><img src="/files/e6PdKdXsQqG7tbLSirEW" alt=""><figcaption><p>The DataForSEO Task Monitor showing summary counters, collector health and the active tasks table</p></figcaption></figure>

## Opening the monitor

Go to **Settings → DataForSEO Monitor**.

You can also reach it from the Dashboard. When something needs looking at, a **DataForSEO Needs Attention** card appears there with a link to this page. When everything is healthy, that card stays hidden — so if you don't see it, there's nothing to check.

## The four counters

| Counter                   | What it counts                                                                                              |
| ------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Waiting on DataForSEO** | Tasks being prepared, submitted, or waiting for DataForSEO to finish. Also shows the age of the oldest one. |
| **Ready to import**       | Results already downloaded to your computer, waiting to be saved into the report that asked for them.       |
| **Automatic recovery**    | Tasks older than 24 hours that the app is still collecting on its own.                                      |
| **Needs attention**       | Tasks that failed, were rejected, or have not moved for more than 15 minutes.                               |

{% hint style="info" %}
The counters describe different things about the same tasks, so one task can appear in more than one. A task under **Automatic recovery** is also still **Waiting on DataForSEO**.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
**A high "Waiting on DataForSEO" number is usually normal.** Standard-queue tasks can legitimately take hours. Look at **Needs attention** to decide whether anything is actually wrong.
{% endhint %}

## Collector Health

A collector is the background worker that asks DataForSEO whether results are ready. The monitor tracks five of them:

* Organic SERP
* Google Maps
* Google AI Mode
* ChatGPT
* Business Reviews

Each one shows whether it's running, when it last checked in, and how many results DataForSEO had waiting during that check. There's also a button to open that collector's log.

A collector counts as running if it checked in within the last three minutes.

{% hint style="info" %}
**"Ready on last check" is not your backlog.** It's the number of results DataForSEO showed on the last page it looked at. A low number doesn't mean few tasks are outstanding.
{% endhint %}

A stopped collector only raises a warning at the top of the page when it currently owns active tasks. A collector for a tool you don't use sits idle without raising a false alarm.

## Active Tasks table

The table opens in **Needs attention** mode, so you see the problems first. Switch to **All active** to see every task currently in flight.

<figure><img src="/files/ZThD7b3ynjTksswz4Sqc" alt=""><figcaption><p>Active tasks table filtered to tasks that need attention</p></figcaption></figure>

Each row shows the task's current state, its collector, the keyword, its DataForSEO task ID, whether it belongs to a durable run or is a legacy task, the date the data is for, and how old it is. Two more columns — the last provider check, and which report owns the task — can be switched on when you need them.

You can search by keyword, task ID, provider status, endpoint or owner, and filter by state, collector, owner type and age.

## Alerts

| Alert                                   | What it means                                                                                     |
| --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Disk is full**                        | Collection is paused until you free up space. Results stay at DataForSEO in the meantime.         |
| **A collector has stopped checking in** | A collector that currently owns tasks is no longer running, which may be holding up paid results. |

Task problems don't get their own banner — that's what the **Needs attention** counter and the filtered table are for.

## Staying up to date

The page refreshes itself every 15 seconds. The **Refresh** button reloads the counters, collector health and the task table immediately, and confirms when it's done.

## Logs and diagnostics

* Open any collector's log from the **Collector Health** section. Logs can be refreshed, copied, or opened in your default editor.
* **Export retired tasks** saves a file of tasks the app has finished with. This is for sending to support when you're investigating something.

## Why you can't delete tasks here

Earlier versions let you delete task records by hand. That option has been removed, and the app now refuses those requests even if an older screen still offers the button.

The reason is that deleting a task row throws away the DataForSEO task ID and the downloaded result file. Those are exactly what the app needs to recover a result **you have already paid for**. Deleting the row doesn't cancel anything at DataForSEO — it only destroys your own copy of how to fetch it.

Retiring and cleaning up old tasks is handled automatically in the background.

{% hint style="danger" %}
**Don't re-run a report just because a task looks slow.** If the task appears under **Automatic recovery**, the app still has its DataForSEO task ID and is still trying to collect the result. Running the report again pays for the same keywords a second time.
{% endhint %}

<details>

<summary>What to do when tasks need attention</summary>

1. **Check Collector Health first.** If a collector has stopped checking in, results can't be collected no matter what the tasks say. Restarting SEO Utils starts the collectors again.
2. **Check for the disk-full alert.** Collection pauses when there's no room to save results safely.
3. **Look at the age column.** A task a few minutes past the 15-minute mark is often just slow, not broken.
4. **Open the collector's log** for the tasks in question. The log shows what the collector saw on its most recent checks.
5. **Export retired tasks** if you need to send the history to support.

Wait before re-running a report. A paid result that is still recoverable is worth more than a fast retry.

</details>

{% content-ref url="/pages/D1TDLflLs8kfQXbkpdvI" %}
[Manage SERP Data](/guide/manage-serp-data.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}