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Build real-time workflows triggered by external events using webhooks.
Read through the lesson, mark it complete when the concept is clear, then move to the next lesson in the sequence or jump back to the module map.
A webhook is an HTTP endpoint that receives data when something happens elsewhere. Instead of polling an API every 5 minutes ("did anything change?"), webhooks push data to you instantly when events occur.
They're the foundation of real-time automation.
Event occurs (payment processed, form submitted, code pushed)
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Source system POSTs JSON to your webhook URL
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Your workflow receives the data
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Actions execute (send notification, update database, trigger AI)
Never expose an unauthenticated webhook to the internet. Validate:
Signature verification — most webhook providers include a signature header (HMAC-SHA256 of the body). Verify it to confirm the request is legitimate.
IP allowlisting — some providers have fixed IP ranges. Allowlist them.
Secret tokens — pass a secret in the URL or header and verify it on receipt.
Webhooks can be delivered more than once (network retries, provider bugs). Design your handlers to be idempotent: processing the same event twice should produce the same result as processing it once.
Use the event's unique ID as an idempotency key and check for duplicates before processing.