diff --git a/src/lang/en.json b/src/lang/en.json
index d981175c..c2d80a3e 100644
--- a/src/lang/en.json
+++ b/src/lang/en.json
@@ -1026,7 +1026,8 @@
     "GrafanaOncallUrl": "Grafana Oncall URL",
     "Local Service": "Local Service",
     "Service Name": "Service Name",
-    "localServiceDescription": "The name of the systemd service to check. Example: `nginx.service`",
+    "localServiceDescription": "The internal service name used by the OS (systemd for Linux, Service Name for Windows).",
+    "localServiceDebugHelp": "To debug, run this on your server: {linuxCommand} (Linux) or {windowsCommand} (Windows PowerShell). The command must return 'active' or 'Running'.",
     "Browser Screenshot": "Browser Screenshot",
     "Command": "Command",
     "Expected Output": "Expected Output",
diff --git a/src/pages/EditMonitor.vue b/src/pages/EditMonitor.vue
index 3c1a209f..b078a95d 100644
--- a/src/pages/EditMonitor.vue
+++ b/src/pages/EditMonitor.vue
@@ -671,6 +671,18 @@
                                     <input id="local-service-name" v-model="monitor.local_service_name" type="text" class="form-control" required placeholder="nginx.service">
                                     <div class="form-text">
                                         {{ $t("localServiceDescription") }}
+    
+                                        <div class="mt-2">
+                                            <i18n-t keypath="localServiceDebugHelp" tag="span">
+                                                <template #linuxCommand>
+                                                    <code>systemctl is-active &lt;service&gt;</code>
+                                                </template>
+                                                <!-- Reserved for Windows impl.ementation -->
+                                                <!-- template #windowsCommand>
+                                                    <code>Get-Service -Name "&lt;service&gt;"</code>
+                                                </template -->
+                                            </i18n-t>
+                                        </div>
                                     </div>
                                 </div>
                             </template>