Webhook

A webhook is an occasion notification transmitted through HTTP, the identical protocol used for transferring webpage information. It is often despatched as a POST request, which incorporates information that’s “posted” to a selected URL. The URL defines the situation of a script, which processes the info within the POST request.

Webhooks will be constructed into any software, together with internet apps, cellular apps, and desktop software program apps. Specific occasions will be programmed to generates webhooks, or “HTTP callbacks,” that are occasion notifications despatched over HTTP. The information could also be formatted in no matter approach the developer chooses, although JSON and XML formatting are generally used.

The POST information, which is shipped to a selected URL, is parsed by the corresponding script on a internet server. The script could also be written in one in every of many various server-side scripting languages, comparable to PHP, JSP, or C#. It could carry out a number of actions, comparable to saving the info in a database, emailing the data to a selected deal with, or sending new information back to the supply.

Webhooks are used for all kinds of functions. Examples embody notifying companies of gross sales, activating and deactivating software program packages, updating buyer data, and informing builders of software program crashes. Some web sites even present APIs that enable customers to ship information to a URL when particular occasions occur. GitHub, for instance, gives a listing of occasions that may set off a webhook, which builders can use to trace modifications to initiatives saved of their on-line repository.

While webhooks are an efficient software, they require an Internet connection between the info supply and the online server to operate. Additionally, a script should be current on the server on the vacation spot URL and it should be capable of acknowledge and parse the POST information. If the Internet connection or script is just not accessible, the webhook won’t work.