paint-brush
Creating a Webhook URL: A Guide for AWS, Heroku, and GCPby@kyriakos
1,264 reads
1,264 reads

Creating a Webhook URL: A Guide for AWS, Heroku, and GCP

by Kyriakos EleftheriouDecember 20th, 2022
Read on Terminal Reader
Read this story w/o Javascript
tldt arrow

Too Long; Didn't Read

This article provides a brief guide on creating a webhook URL in three popular cloud platforms: AWS, Heroku, and GCP. We will show you how to create a web hook endpoint in each platform and how to access it to receive incoming requests. We also discuss some of the considerations you should keep in mind, such as enabling CORS for cross-origin requests. To use the AWS API Gateway, you will need to use the API Gateway on your AWS account and go to the "Create API Gateway" page.
featured image - Creating a Webhook URL: A Guide for AWS, Heroku, and GCP
Kyriakos Eleftheriou HackerNoon profile picture


Webhooks are a powerful tool for integrating different applications and services. They allow one application to send real-time notifications to another application by making an HTTP request to a specific URL endpoint. This article will provide a brief guide on creating a webhook URL in three popular cloud platforms: AWS, Heroku, and GCP. We will show you how to create a webhook endpoint in each platform and how to access it to receive incoming requests. We will also discuss some of the considerations you should keep in mind, such as enabling CORS for cross-origin requests.


Here’s a table:

Platform

Steps

AWS

1. Sign in to your AWS account and go to the API Gateway page.

2. Click on the "Create API" button.

3. In the next window, give your API a name and choose the "Webhook" option as the protocol.

4. Create a new resource for your API.

5. Create a method for your new resource.

6. Your webhook URL is now ready to receive requests.

Heroku

1. Sign in to your Heroku account and go to the dashboard.

2. Click on the "New" button and select "Create new app".

3. In the next window, give your app a name and select a region.

4. Deploy your webhook endpoint to the app.

5. Your webhook URL is now ready to receive requests.

GCP

1. Sign in to your GCP account and go to the Cloud Functions page.

2. Click on the "Create Function" button.

3. In the next window, give your function a name and select "HTTP" as the trigger type.

4. Write the code for your webhook endpoint.

5. Deploy your webhook endpoint to GCP.

6. Your webhook URL is now ready to receive requests.


More specifically:


You will need to use the AWS API Gateway to create a webhook URL in AWS. Here is a brief guide on how to do this:


  1. Sign in to your AWS account and go to the API Gateway page.
  2. Click on the "Create API" button. This will open a new window where you can specify the details of your API.
  3. In the next window, give your API a name and choose the "Webhook" option as the protocol. Then click on the "Create API" button.
  4. Next, you will need to create a new resource for your API. This will be the URL endpoint that will receive the webhook requests. To do this, click on the "Actions" dropdown menu and select "Create Resource".
  5. In the next window, give your resource a name and select "POST" as the HTTP method. Then click on the "Create Resource" button.
  6. Now, you will need to create a method for your new resource. This will be the actual webhook URL that will receive the incoming requests. To do this, click on the "Actions" dropdown menu and select "Create Method".
  7. Select "POST" as the HTTP method in the next window and click on the "Integration Type" dropdown menu. Select "HTTP" as the integration type and enter the URL of the webhook endpoint in the "Endpoint URL" field. Then click on the "Save" button.
  8. Your webhook URL is now ready to receive requests. You can test it by sending a POST request to the URL using a tool like Postman.


To create a webhook URL in Heroku, you will need to create a new app in your Heroku account and deploy a webhook endpoint to it. Here is a brief guide on how to do this:


  1. Sign in to your Heroku account and go to the dashboard.
  2. Click on the "New" button and select "Create new app".
  3. In the next window, give your app a name and select a region. Then click on the "Create app" button.
  4. Next, you will need to deploy your webhook endpoint to the app. To do this, you will need to have a webhook endpoint written in a programming language that is supported by Heroku (such as Node.js or Python). Once you have your webhook endpoint code, you can deploy it to Heroku using the Heroku CLI (Command Line Interface) or by connecting your app to a GitHub repository and deploying it from there.
  5. Once your webhook endpoint is deployed, you can access it at the URL https://[your-app-name].herokuapp.com/[endpoint-path], where [your-app-name] is the name of your app and [endpoint-path] is the path of the endpoint within your app (for example, /webhook).


To create a webhook URL in GCP (Google Cloud Platform), you will need to use the Cloud Functions service. Here is a brief guide on how to do this:


  1. Sign in to your GCP account and go to the Cloud Functions page.
  2. Click on the "Create Function" button. This will open a new window where you can specify the details of your function.
  3. In the next window, give your function a name and select "HTTP" as the trigger type. This will make the function execute when it receives an HTTP request. Then click on the "Create" button.
  4. Next, you will need to write the code for your webhook endpoint. This function will process the incoming HTTP request and return a response. You can use any of the languages supported by Cloud Functions, such as Node.js, Python, or Go.
  5. Once you have written your webhook endpoint code, you can deploy it to GCP by clicking on the "Deploy" button in the Cloud Functions editor.
  6. Your webhook URL is now ready to receive requests. You can access it at the URL https://[region]-[project-id].cloudfunctions.net/[function-name], where [region] is the region where your function is deployed, [project-id] is the ID of your GCP project, and [function-name] is the name of your function.


You may need to enable CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) for your webhook URL if you want to receive requests from other websites. To do this, you must add the appropriate CORS headers to the response returned by your webhook endpoint. You can find more information on how to do this in the documentation for the language that you are using for your webhook endpoint.


In conclusion, creating a webhook URL in AWS, Heroku, or GCP is a straightforward process that can be accomplished with just a few steps. By following the instructions in this article, you can quickly set up a webhook endpoint that will allow you to receive real-time notifications from other applications and services. With a webhook URL in place, you can easily integrate your application with many other platforms and services, unlocking new possibilities for automation and interoperability.