Testing Webhooks - Dashboard Tools & Monitoring

The finlight dashboard provides comprehensive testing and monitoring tools to ensure your webhook integration works reliably. Use these built-in features to validate, test, and debug your webhook endpoints.

SUMMARY

Dashboard Features Summary

Key Dashboard Tools

Webhook List:

  • View all your configured webhooks
  • See status (enabled/disabled) at a glance
  • Quick access to webhook details

Webhook Details Page:

  • Configuration tab - View/edit webhook settings
  • Call History tab - See all delivery attempts
  • Test Button - Manual testing functionality

Call History Features:

  • Status filtering - Show only successes or failures
  • Detailed logs - Click entries for full request/response data
DASHBOARDManagement Interface

Webhook Details Dashboard

Access your webhook management interface at app.finlight.me/news-webhooks to view and manage all your webhooks.

Accessing Webhook Details

  1. Navigate to your webhook list in the dashboard
  2. Click on the "Show" webhook button to view its details page
  3. View comprehensive information about your webhook configuration and performance

The webhook details page provides:

  • Configuration Overview - Current settings and filtering criteria
  • Call History - Complete log of all webhook attempts
  • Test Controls - Manual testing functionality
  • Edit Controls - Manual editing after creation
TESTINGTest Button

Manual Testing

Test Webhook Feature

The dashboard includes a "Test" button that sends a sample payload to your endpoint:

How to Use:

  1. Open your webhook details page
  2. Click the "Test" button on the top panel
  3. Wait a few seconds for the test request to complete
  4. Review the test results in the call history (maybe refresh the page)

What Happens:

  • Sends a realistic sample payload to your configured endpoint
  • Uses your actual authentication settings
  • Includes proper signature validation headers
  • Records the test attempt in your call history

Test Payload: The test sends a mock article event that follows the same structure as real webhook deliveries, allowing you to validate:

  • Endpoint accessibility and response
  • Authentication configuration
  • Payload processing logic
  • Error handling capabilities
HISTORYDelivery Logs

Call History & Monitoring

Viewing Call History

The webhook details page displays a comprehensive call history showing all delivery attempts:

Information Displayed:

  • Timestamp - When the webhook was sent
  • Status - Success (2xx) or Failed (4xx/5xx)
  • Response Code - HTTP status code returned by your endpoint
  • Response Time - How long your endpoint took to respond
  • Response - The whole response (header and body) inside the dropdown content by clicking on "Show"

Success vs Failed Requests

Successful Requests (✅):

  • HTTP status codes 200-299
  • Response received within timeout period
  • Proper acknowledgment from your endpoint

Failed Requests (❌):

  • HTTP status codes 400-599
  • Network timeouts or connection errors
  • Authentication failures
  • Invalid endpoint URLs
DEBUGTroubleshooting

Debugging with Dashboard

Using Call History for Debugging

The call history is your primary tool for diagnosing webhook issues:

Identifying Patterns:

  1. Filter by status - View only failed requests to identify problems
  2. Check timestamps - Look for timing patterns in failures
  3. Review response codes - Understand what your endpoint is returning
  4. Examine retry attempts - See how many times delivery was attempted

Common Failure Indicators:

  • HTTP 401/403 - Authentication or authorization issues
  • HTTP 404 - Incorrect endpoint URL
  • HTTP 500 - Internal server errors in your application
  • Timeouts - Your endpoint is taking too long to respond
  • Connection errors - Network connectivity issues

Detailed Error Information

Click on any call history entry to see:

  • Full request headers sent to your endpoint
  • Response headers received from your endpoint
  • Response body content (if any)
  • Exact timing information
  • Retry history for failed attempts
REQUIREMENTSImplementation Guidelines

Endpoint Requirements

Response Requirements

Your webhook endpoint must:

HTTP Response:

  • Return status codes 200-299 for successful processing
  • Respond within 30 seconds to avoid timeouts
  • Accept POST requests with JSON payloads

Headers:

  • Process X-Webhook-Signature for signature validation
  • Handle X-Webhook-Timestamp for replay attack prevention
  • Support your chosen authentication method headers

For webhook setup guidance, see the main webhooks documentation. For authentication details, check the authentication guide.