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APIs and Webhooks

Webhook

Webhook is an HTTP callback that delivers an event to a URL you provide.

What is webhook?

Webhook describes an HTTP callback that delivers an event to a URL you provide. In reliability work, the label is useful only when it maps to a measurable check, a clear owner, and a next action when expectations break. Without that operational meaning, the phrase becomes decoration in dashboards and status updates.

Why it matters

Webhook matters because teams need a precise shared meaning for an HTTP callback that delivers an event to a URL you provide. Vague language turns incidents into arguments about words instead of fixes.

When everyone uses the same definition, alerts, status updates, and post-incident reviews stay aligned.

How it works

In practice, an HTTP callback that delivers an event to a URL you provide shows up as a concrete signal you can measure or communicate. Operators define what good looks like, watch for deviations, and record what happened when expectations break.

The useful version of webhook is operational: it changes who gets notified, what customers see, or which metric a team reviews after an incident.

Practical example

Imagine a team operating around POST incident.opened to https://hooks.example.com/fajita. When observed behavior stops matching the definition of webhook, the team treats that change as a reliability event with a clear owner and next step.

Common misconception

Webhooks are the same as polling APIs

That reading usually collapses distinct ideas into one slogan. Keep webhook tied to observable behavior so the definition stays useful under pressure.

How Fajita handles this

Fajita can send webhook alerts and documents verification. See webhooks overview.

Related documentation

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