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Chargify Webhooks

TL;DR

To integrate Chargify webhooks with ngrok:

  1. Launch your local webhook. npm start
  2. Launch ngrok. ngrok http 3000
  3. Configure Chargify 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 Chargify by using Webhooks. Chargify webhooks can be used to notify an external application whenever specific events occur in your Chargify account.

By integrating ngrok with Chargify, you can:

  • Develop and test Chargify 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 Chargify in real-time via the inspection UI and API.
  • Modify and Replay Chargify Webhook requests with a single click and without spending time reproducing events manually in your Chargify account.
  • Secure your app with Chargify 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 Chargify). ngrok agent running

Step 3: Integrate Chargify​

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

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

  2. On the home page, select a site from the Site dropdown on the top of the page.

  3. On the site page, click Config, click Settings, and then click Webhooks.

  4. On the Webhooks page, click Add New Endpoint.

  5. On the Add New Endpoint page, 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). URL to Publish

  6. Select the Events you want to subscribe this webhook. For this tutorial, select all.

  7. Click Add.

Run Webhooks with Chargify and ngrok​

Chargify sends different request body contents depending on the event that is being triggered. Follow the instructions below to test connectivity between Chargify and your local application using the webhook you created.

  1. Access your Chargfy's site home page, click Tools on the left menu and then click Webhook Testing.

  2. On the Webhook Testing page, select one of the events you subscribed the webhook, select the webhook, and then click Send.

    Confirm your localhost app receives the create-project event notification and logs both headers and body in the terminal.

Optionally, you can verify the log of the webhook call in Chargify:

  1. On the left menu, click Tools and then click Webhook Panel.

  2. On the Webhooks page, click Details to see details of the webhook call. 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.

info

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 Chargify 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 your Chargfy's site home page and click Edit current Site from the Site dropdown menu on top of the page.

  2. On the Site page, copy the value of the Site Shared Key.

  3. Create a file named chargify_policy.yml:

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    Note: Replace {your site shared key} with the value you copied before.

  4. Restart your ngrok agent by running the command:

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  5. Access the Webhook Testing page and send a new test notification to your webhook.

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