I’m working with a service that needs specific info in the webhook listener response. This service sends a validation token when it tries to validate the notification URL.
The listener is supposed to:
- Set the content type to text/plain in the response header
- Include the validation token in the response body
- Return an HTTP 200 status code
Zapier currently handles the 200 response and extracts the token from the webhook URL, but I’m unsure how to add the token to Zapier’s HTTP response for the POST event. I’ve checked the documentation and haven’t found a way to customize this response. Any ideas or workarounds would be really appreciated!
I’ve actually encountered a similar situation when integrating with a picky webhook service. Unfortunately, Zapier doesn’t provide direct control over the webhook listener response. However, I found a workaround that might help.
Instead of using Zapier’s built-in webhook trigger, I set up a custom webhook endpoint using a cloud function (like AWS Lambda or Google Cloud Functions). This gave me full control over the response. I then configured Zapier to poll this endpoint periodically.
The cloud function handled the initial validation and stored the incoming data. Zapier would then fetch this data on its polling cycle. It’s a bit more complex, but it allowed me to meet the strict requirements of the service I was working with.
This approach does require some coding knowledge, but it’s quite flexible. If you’re not comfortable with that, you might want to explore if there are any pre-built Zapier integrations for your specific service that handle this validation process automatically.
While Zapier’s webhook functionality is quite robust, it does have limitations when it comes to customizing responses. In my experience, the best approach for your situation is to use a middleware solution.
I’ve had success using a simple serverless function (e.g., AWS Lambda) as an intermediary. This function can receive the initial webhook, handle the validation as required, and then forward the data to Zapier. It gives you full control over the response sent back to the original service.
For implementation, you’d set up your serverless function to receive the webhook, process it according to the service’s requirements, and then use Zapier’s REST Hook trigger to send the data to your Zap. This method maintains the real-time nature of webhooks while allowing you to meet specific response criteria.
It’s a bit more setup initially, but it provides the flexibility you need for this kind of specialized integration.
ive used ngrok as a workaround for this. it lets u run a local server that can handle the custom response, then forward the data to zapier. its pretty ez to set up and gives u full control over the response. might be worth checking out if ur comfortable with a bit of coding