What is a Webhook Endpoint?

A webhook endpoint is a URL that receives webhook event notifications and can trigger an action based on the payload sent in the message.

A webhook endpoint differs from a traditional API endpoint in that the webhook endpoint only receives notifications while an API endpoint receives requests and sends responses.

If an API consumer wants real time updates from their API provider, they can specify a webhook URL where they would like to receive event notifications. This avoids the need for an API consumer to make constant requests and compare subsequent responses to see if anything changed. This is only possible if the API provider offers a webhook feature.

Building webhooks?

Svix is the enterprise ready webhooks sending service. With Svix, you can build a secure, reliable, and scalable webhook platform in minutes. Looking to send webhooks? Give it a try!

Here's an example of what a UI for adding webhook endpoints looks like:

To start receiving webhook messages to your endpoint, you'll have to provide the endpoint's URL and select what events you'd like to receive messages for.

At Svix, we also have a tool called Svix Play that provides a test endpoint that you can send webhooks to and inspect the headers and payload.

For code samples of an example webhook endpoint, you can check out our documentation on receiving webhooks.