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Buildkite Webhooks

TL;DR

To integrate Buildkite webhooks with ngrok:

  1. Launch your local webhook. npm start
  2. Launch ngrok. ngrok http 3000
  3. Configure Buildkite webhooks with your ngrok URL.
  4. Secure your webhook requests with verification.

This guide covers how to use ngrok to integrate your localhost app with Buildkite by using Webhooks. Buildkite webhooks can be used to notify an external application whenever specific events occur in your Buildkite account.

By integrating ngrok with Buildkite, you can:

  • Develop and test Buildkite webhooks locally, eliminating the time in deploying your development code to a public environment and setting it up in HTTPS.
  • Inspect and troubleshoot requests from Buildkite in real-time via the inspection UI and API.
  • Modify and Replay Buildkite Webhook requests with a single click and without spending time reproducing events manually in your Buildkite account.
  • Secure your app with Buildkite validation provided by ngrok. Invalid requests are blocked by ngrok before reaching your app.

Step 1: Start your app​

For this tutorial, we'll use the sample NodeJS app available on GitHub.

To install this sample, run the following commands in a terminal:

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This will get the project installed locally.

Now you can launch the app by running the following command:

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The app runs by default on port 3000.

You can validate that the app is up and running by visiting http://localhost:3000. The application logs request headers and body in the terminal and responds with a message in the browser.

Step 2: Launch ngrok​

Once your app is running successfully on localhost, let's get it on the internet securely using ngrok!

  1. If you're not an ngrok user yet, just sign up for ngrok for free.

  2. Download the ngrok agent.

  3. Go to the ngrok dashboard and copy your Authtoken.
    Tip: The ngrok agent uses the auth token to log into your account when you start a tunnel.

  4. Start ngrok by running the following command:

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  5. ngrok will display a URL where your localhost application is exposed to the internet (copy this URL for use with Buildkite). ngrok agent running

Step 3: Integrate Buildkite​

To register a webhook on your Buildkite account follow the instructions below:

  1. Access Buildkite and sign in using your Buildkite account.

  2. On the welcome page, click Settings on the top menu and click Notification Services on the left menu.

  3. On the Notification Services page, click Add for the Webhook line.

  4. On the Add Webhook Notification page, enter My LocalHost App in the Description field and enter the URL provided by the ngrok agent to expose your application to the internet in the Webhook URL field (i.e. https://1a2b-3c4d-5e6f-7g8h-9i0j.ngrok.app). Webhook URL

  5. In the Events section, select all events.

  6. In the Pipelines section, select All Pipelines, and then click Add Webhook Notification.

Run Webhooks with Buildkite and ngrok​

Buildkite sends different request body contents depending on the event that is being triggered. You can trigger new calls from Buildkite to your application by following the instructions below.

  1. On the welcome page, click Pipelines on the top menu and then click one of your pipelines. Note: Create a pipeline if you don't have one by clicking Create your first pipeline and following the instructions on the screen.

  2. On your pipeline page, click New Build, enter a message in the Message field, and then click Create Build.

    Confirm your localhost app receives event notifications and logs both headers and body in the terminal.

Alternatively, you can verify the log of the webhook call in Buildkite:

  1. Click Settings on the top menu, click Notification Services on the left menu, click the My LocalHost App webhook tile, scroll down to the Request Log section, and then click one of the logs: Webhook Logs

Inspecting requests​

ngrok's Traffic Inspector captures all requests made through your ngrok endpoint to your localhost app. Click on any request to view detailed information about both the request and response.

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By default, accounts only collect traffic metadata to avoid exposing secrets. You must enable full capture in the Observability section of your account settings to capture complete request and response data.

Use the traffic inspector to:

  • Validate webhook payloads and response data
  • Debug request headers, methods, and status codes
  • Troubleshoot integration issues without adding logging to your app

Replaying requests​

Test your webhook handling code without triggering new events from your service using the Traffic Inspector's replay feature:

  1. Send a test webhook from your service to generate traffic in your Traffic Inspector.

  2. Select the request you want to replay in the traffic inspector.

  3. Choose your replay option:

    • Click Replay to send the exact same request again
    • Select Replay with modifications to edit the request before sending

  4. Modify the request (optional): Edit any part of the original request, such as changing field values in the request body.

  5. Send the request by clicking Replay.

Your local application will receive the replayed request and log the data to the terminal.

Secure webhook requests​

The ngrok signature webhook verification feature allows ngrok to assert that requests from your Buildkite webhook are the only traffic allowed to make calls to your localhost app.

Note: This ngrok feature is limited to 500 validations per month on free ngrok accounts. For unlimited, upgrade to Pro or Enterprise.

This is a quick step to add extra protection to your application.

  1. Access Buildkite and sign in using your Buildkite account.

  2. On the organization page, click Settings on the top menu and click Notification Services on the left menu.

  3. On the Notification Services page, click the My LocalHost App webhook tile, copy the value of the Token field, select Send an HMAC signature, and then click Save Webhook Settings.

  4. Create a file named buildkite_policy.yml, replacing {your token} with the value you have copied before:

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  5. Restart your ngrok agent by running the command:

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  6. Click Pipelines on the top menu, select one of your pipelines and create a new build.

Verify that your local application receives the request and logs information to the terminal.