Webhook Fundamentals

Master the core concepts of webhooks: what they are, how they work, and when to use them. These guides provide the foundation you need before diving into implementation details.

📄️ What is a Webhook?

You have two systems that need to talk to each other. System A has data that System B cares about. How does System B find out when something changes?

📄️ Webhook Request Structure Explained

A webhook is just an HTTP request, but understanding what goes into that request helps you build better integrations. Whether you are consuming webhooks from a third-party service or designing your own webhook system, the same structural patterns appear again and again: headers that carry metadata and security information, payloads that contain the actual event data, event types that tell you what happened, and event IDs that help you handle duplicates.

📄️ Your First Webhook Endpoint

Receiving webhooks is one of the most common integration tasks in backend development. Whether you are processing payments, reacting to repository events, or handling notifications from any third-party service, you need an HTTP endpoint that can accept POST requests and process them correctly.

📄️ How Webhooks Work Under the Hood

When you click "save" on a webhook configuration and events start flowing to your endpoint, a lot happens behind the scenes. Understanding this process helps you build more reliable integrations, debug delivery failures, and design better webhook systems of your own.

📄️ Webhook Terminology Glossary

Webhooks have their own vocabulary. When reading documentation, debugging integrations, or discussing systems with your team, understanding these terms helps you communicate precisely and avoid confusion. This glossary covers the essential concepts you will encounter when working with webhooks.