Build Webhook.site

YESreplaces $9/mosaves $108/yrback to the verdict

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Saved on this device only. Tick prerequisites first, then work the phases in order · do not start one until the checks above it pass.

A webhook inspector you host: mint a URL, catch anything sent to it with headers and body intact, watch requests arrive live, replay one to your localhost, and let bins expire. Nine dollars a month buys permanence and scripting; this buys understanding.

estimated effort one sittingthe files for this build are in the project pack

RuntimeNode 22, node:http and node:sqliteLive updatesA 2-second vanilla-JS pollHostingA VPS behind Caddy

Before step 1

Everything below is assumed from the first step. Tick each one when you actually have it, not when you plan to.

installfree
Why Everything in this build runs on it: the server, the scripts, the tests.
Get it Download the LTS installer from nodejs.org, or install with your package manager (brew install node, or nvm install 22). Restart the terminal afterwards. open ↗
Verify node --version prints v22 or higher
installfree
Why Every step below is a command you type or a file you edit.
Get it VS Code (code.visualstudio.com), Cursor or Zed. Open a folder for the project and use the editor's built-in terminal. open ↗
Verify You can open a folder and run a command in its terminal
installfree
Why History for your code, and the way most hosts deploy.
Get it Install from git-scm.com or with your package manager, then run git init in the project folder once it exists. open ↗
Verify git --version prints a version
accountabout $5 a month
Why This needs one process running all the time with a public address. The URL must be reachable from the services that call it.
Get it Hetzner Cloud (from about 4 EUR), DigitalOcean or Fly.io. Ubuntu 24.04, the smallest size. You need SSH access and a public IP. Only needed for the deploy phase; develop locally first. open ↗
accountroughly $10 a year, or free on an existing domain
Why A public address you own, so links you share never break when a provider changes.
Get it Register at Cloudflare Registrar, Porkbun or Namecheap, or use a subdomain of one you already own. You add one DNS record in the deploy phase. open ↗
installfree
Why Automatic HTTPS in front of the Node process. Without TLS the browser features this relies on (and your visitors' trust) do not work.
Get it On the VPS: follow the install steps at caddyserver.com/docs/install for Ubuntu. One Caddyfile with your domain and a reverse_proxy line is the whole config. open ↗
Verify caddy version prints a version on the server
have readyfree
Why Phase 1 and 3 need real deliveries.
Get it Stripe test mode, a GitHub repository webhook, or curl.

Data model

Create these before the first phase that stores anything. Changing a table later is the expensive kind of change.

- bins: id (uuid), created_at, expires_at, note
- requests: id, bin_id, received_at, method, path, query, headers (JSON), body (text or base64 when binary), content_type, size, ip_hash

Environment variables

These go in a .env file the app reads at startup. The pack's .env.example is this table as a file · copy it, never commit the filled-in version.

Variable	Needed	Example	Where the value comes from
`PORT`	required	`3000`	Any free port.
`DATABASE_PATH`	required	`./data/hooks.db`	SQLite file.
`SITE_URL`	required	`https://hooks.yourdomain.com`	Public base URL.
`BIN_TTL_DAYS`	optional	`7`	Default expiry for a bin.
`ADMIN_USER`	required	`admin`	Any username for the basic-auth admin pages.
`ADMIN_PASS`secret	required	`change-me-to-a-long-random-string`	Generate one: openssl rand -base64 24. Never reuse a real password.

The build, in order

1
Catch anything
Any method, any subpath, stored intact, body capped.
1. bins (id, created_at, expires_at, note), requests (id, bin_id, received_at, method, path, query, headers JSON, body, content_type, size, ip_hash).
  terminal
  mkdir hooks && cd hooks && git init && npm init -y && npm pkg set type=module mkdir -p data && cp .env.example .env
done when · tick each as it passes
next phase
2
Inspector
Newest first, detail view, copy as curl, live poll.
done when · tick each as it passes
next phase
3
Replay
Re-send a stored request to a URL you type.
done when · tick each as it passes
next phase
4
Bins and retention
Mint, expire, prune, rate limit.
done when · tick each as it passes
next phase
5
Deploy
HTTPS, service, README.
2. Files README.md
done when · tick each as it passes
next phase
6
Operate it like a productproduct builder
Only for the product-builder path: know when the catcher is down, never lose the database, and keep the server patched.
1. Answer 200 with the build id and a quick database read. Point a free uptime monitor (or your own, from the Healthchecks entry on this site) at it so an outage is noticed before a user notices.
2. One JSON line per request: method, path, status, duration, no raw IPs. Rotate weekly with logrotate, keep eight.
3. SQLite's .backup command makes a consistent copy while the app runs. Copy it to object storage or a second machine; then, once, restore it into a fresh checkout and confirm the app reads it.
  terminal
  sqlite3 data/app.db ".backup '/tmp/app-$(date +%F).db'" rclone copy /tmp/app-$(date +%F).db remote:backups/
4. Firewall allowing only 22, 80 and 443; unattended security updates on; the app running as an unprivileged user under systemd with Restart=on-failure.
done when · tick each as it passes

what this build does not replace

Custom actions, email hooks, DNS hooks, teams.
custom actions and workflow scripting
email and DNS hooks
team accounts
someone else hosting the public endpoint

after v1, if you want it

A forwarding rule per bin to a real endpoint
Request search

Need the files? The project pack on the verdict page hands your agent the whole brief · more dev tools.