Creating webhooks with the HTTP target

You can create a webhook by combining a trigger or automation with an HTTP target in Zendesk Support. In web development, a webhook sends an HTTP request to a specified url in response to an event -- in this case, when a trigger or automation fires in Zendesk Support. Web developers typically use webhooks to invoke behavior in another system.

Topics covered in this article:

• About webhooks
• Creating a webhook
• Debugging a webhook
• Examples

About webhooks

You can create webhooks with HTTP targets to build integrations with the services or with your back-end system. Examples:

• Alert your team in Slack when an urgent ticket is created
• Pass ticket details to your docs team in Asana after a ticket is resolved
• Notify your own backend service regarding an important ticket event

An HTTP target lets you pass information to third-party services and REST APIs that accept JSON, XML, or form-encoded content in HTTP requests. HTTP targets are used by automations and triggers in Zendesk Support when a ticket meets certain conditions. To learn more about targets, see Notifying external targets.

Note: Triggers and automation actions can send requests to third-party services but cannot take action based on the HTTP responses.

HTTP targets differ from URL targets. URL targets only support sending information in URL parameters, such as www.example.com?order=345. HTTP targets support sending information in the request body of POST or PUT requests, a requirement for many third-party services and open APIs. The following is a JSON example:

You can use any of the available content placeholders to insert ticket data in the content.

For more information, see the Zendesk Support placeholder reference.

HTTP targets will not retry requests based on any response code returned by the target endpoint. The only scenario in which a HTTP target notification will retry is if a timeout error is received within 10 seconds of a request being made. This can happen up to a maximum of 21 times before the target is deactivated. See Avoiding timeout errors.

Creating a webhook

1. In Zendesk Support, click the Admin icon () in the left sidebar, then select Settings > Extensions.
2. Click the Targets tab and click Add Target.
3. Select HTTP Target.
4. Configure the target to integrate with the third-party service.

   

5. Save the target.
6. Use the target in a trigger or automation. See Using targets in automations and triggers.

Debugging a webhook

If the webhook isn't working correctly, you can use the Target Failures tab in the API dashboard to check for problems with the request.

1. In Zendesk Support, click the Admin icon () in the left sidebar, then select Channels > API.
2. Select the Target Failures tab.

For more information, see Using the API dashboard.

Examples

The following articles give examples of building integrations using webhooks.

• Integrating with Slack, by Steven Yan
• Hipchat Integration with Hipchat v2 API, by Skip Moore
• Integrating the HTTP Target with Trello, by Steven Yan