Introduction to webhooks

A webhook is a crucial component of modern software integration, facilitating seamless communication between two application programming interfaces (APIs). Unlike traditional APIs, which rely on users initiating requests for data, webhooks operate by pushing messages and platform-specific notifications to subscribed entities securely through HTTPS to the user's designated server.

As an illustration, consider a payment company’s use of webhooks, where they employ this technology to promptly inform your accounting application whenever a client makes a payment to you. This real-time, event-driven mechanism ensures that your systems stay updated and responsive to critical events, enhancing the overall efficiency of your software ecosystem.

To enable your system to receive webhook notifications, you must initiate a setup process. The webhook client provides a distinctive URL that points to a specific API endpoint, which should be invoked when a particular event occurs, clearly defining the event of interest. Once this webhook configuration is in place, the webhook server takes charge of the process, automatically dispatching the pertinent payload to the webhook client the moment the specified event transpires. This seamless interaction ensures that your system remains promptly informed and responsive to the events you've designated, enhancing the overall functionality of your integration.

Use cases

Acme Enterprises seeks to enhance the responsiveness of its applications by receiving automated notifications triggered by events within its Tango account. Their primary objective is to enable their internal systems to initiate specific actions in response to these notifications. To achieve this, Acme must establish a subscription to our Tango webhook events and configure their endpoints to receive real-time event notifications. These notifications are transmitted securely via HTTPS in the form of JSON payloads.

Here are some key scenarios where Acme desires timely notifications:

• When a reward becomes available, unavailable, or is depleted of stock.
• When an account is inactive, disabled, frozen, or deleted.

By subscribing to our Tango webhook events, Acme gains the capability to receive these pertinent notifications promptly. This empowers them to provide their users with options, alternatives, and informed next steps within their application, thereby improving their overall business outcomes and enhancing user satisfaction.