webhook
webhook is a lightweight Go server that converts HTTP requests into shell command execution. It listens for incoming webhooks, validates them against configurable rules, and runs specified scripts with request data passed as arguments or environment variables.
Key facts
Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | adnanh/webhook |
| Owner | adnanh |
| Primary language | Go |
| License | MIT — OSI-approved |
| Stars | 12k |
| Forks | 868 |
| Open issues | 119 |
| Latest release | 2.8.3 (2026-02-12) |
| Last updated | 2026-02-12 |
| Source | https://github.com/adnanh/webhook |
What webhook is
A standalone HTTP endpoint server written in Go that parses incoming webhooks (headers, payload, query params), evaluates trigger rules, and executes configured shell commands. Supports JSON/YAML configuration, HTTPS, multipart form data, templates, Unix sockets, and systemd socket activation.
Get the webhook source
Clone the repository and explore it locally.
git clone https://github.com/adnanh/webhook.gitcd webhook# follow the project's README for install & configurationNeed it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.
Best use cases
Implementation considerations
- Define trigger-rules carefully (branch matching, IP whitelists, secret validation) to prevent unauthorized command execution.
- Shell commands execute with the privileges of the webhook process owner; isolate webhook to a minimal-permission user account.
- Multipart form data parsing requires explicit configuration; default behavior ignores binary files unless marked as JSON.
- When running behind a reverse proxy, IP-based rules cannot validate client IP—enforce restrictions at the proxy layer.
- No built-in logging beyond verbose CLI output; integrate with external logging/monitoring if audit trail is required.
When to avoid it — and what to weigh
- Complex Webhook Routing Logic — If you need sophisticated event transformation, retry logic, dead-letter queues, or multi-destination routing, specialized webhook platforms (Hookdeck, Hookdoo) are better suited.
- High-Security Compliance Requirements — No built-in audit logging, encryption key management, or compliance frameworks. Requires external security infrastructure for PCI-DSS, SOC 2, or similar contexts.
- Stateful Workflow Orchestration — webhook executes commands immediately; it does not maintain state, queue jobs, or coordinate multi-step workflows. Use workflow engines (Airflow, Temporal) for complex orchestration.
- High-Volume Event Ingestion — Designed for moderate webhook traffic; lacks built-in horizontal scaling, load balancing, or performance monitoring that high-throughput systems require.
License & commercial use
MIT License grants permission to use, modify, and distribute webhook for any purpose (including commercial) with attribution and no warranty.
MIT is a permissive open-source license that explicitly allows commercial use. No commercial licensing, vendor lock-in, or usage restrictions apply. Deploy freely in production environments. However, verify your organization's open-source policy compliance and maintain attribution.
DEV.co evaluation signals
Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.
| Signal | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Maintenance | Active |
| Documentation | Adequate |
| License clarity | Clear |
| Deployment complexity | Low |
| DEV.co fit | Strong |
| Assessment confidence | High |
webhook itself is a command execution layer with no built-in input sanitization; shell command arguments derive directly from HTTP request data. Risks include command injection if user-provided payloads are not validated by rules or scripts. No encryption of request bodies in transit (TLS must be configured). No authentication beyond trigger-rules; implement API key validation in rule logic. No rate limiting, DDoS mitigation, or request logging beyond verbose mode. Audit trail depends on OS/shell logging, not webhook itself. When exposing to the internet, deploy behind a WAF or API gateway and enforce strict trigger-rule validation.
Alternatives to consider
Hookdeck
Enterprise webhook gateway with event queuing, retry logic, filtering, transformation, monitoring, and replay—suited for mission-critical event routing and compliance scenarios.
Zapier / Make (Integromat)
Visual workflow builders with pre-built integrations, conditional logic, and multi-app orchestration; no coding or server infrastructure required.
AWS Lambda + API Gateway
Serverless, auto-scaling, built-in logging/monitoring, managed security, and integration with AWS ecosystem; higher operational overhead but greater reliability.
Build on webhook with DEV.co software developers
Evaluate webhook against your DevOps requirements. Check GitHub for installation, review Hook-Rules documentation for trigger validation, and test trigger-rule logic in your environment before production deployment.
Talk to DEV.coRelated open-source tools
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Related on DEV.co
Explore the category and the services that help you build with it.
webhook FAQ
Can webhook validate webhook signatures (e.g., GitHub HMAC-SHA256)?
What happens if a command takes a long time to execute?
Does webhook support environment-specific configuration?
Can I run webhook as a non-root user?
Custom software development services
Adopting webhook is usually one piece of a larger software development effort. As a software development agency, DEV.co provides software development services and web development expertise — pairing senior software developers and web developers with your team to design, build, and operate open-source devops software in production.
Ready to automate your workflows with webhooks?
Evaluate webhook against your DevOps requirements. Check GitHub for installation, review Hook-Rules documentation for trigger validation, and test trigger-rule logic in your environment before production deployment.