Webhooks flip the usual direction of how systems exchange data. Instead of repeatedly asking "did anything happen yet?", the other system proactively announces "this just happened."
Imagine waiting for a package. You could call every 10 minutes to ask "is it here yet?" (polling). Or the delivery company could text you the instant it arrives (a webhook).
The term "webhook" was reportedly coined in 2007 by developer Jeff Lindsay, blending "web" with the software concept of a "hook" — a point where custom code runs automatically.
A regular API call is something you initiate. A webhook is the reverse — the other system initiates the message, pushing data to you the moment something happens.
NOXEL Forge and Stripe integrate through real webhooks — payments and submissions processed the instant they happen.
They're related but different. An API is typically something you actively call. A webhook is the reverse — the other system pushes data to you automatically.
Basic webhook setup through no-code platforms like Zapier requires no coding. Building a custom receiving system typically does.
Most well-built systems automatically retry a failed delivery a few times before giving up, though reliability varies by implementation.
Yes, which is why securing webhook endpoints — verifying the sender, using HTTPS — is an important practice.
Polling repeatedly checks for changes; a webhook waits passively and gets pushed data instantly the moment something happens, with no wasted checks.
Yes — a single event can notify several different systems simultaneously, each configured with its own webhook URL.
Not automatically — proper implementations verify the sender's identity (often via a signature) to prevent spoofed requests.
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