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An API lets your application ask another system for data or an action; a webhook lets that system notify your application when a subscribed event occurs. Use an API for on-demand requests and lookups, a webhook for event-driven updates, and both together when you need timely notification plus authoritative data.
What is the difference between a webhook and an API?
The key difference is who starts the exchange. With an API, your application initiates an HTTP request and the server responds. With a webhook, you register a URL with a provider, and that provider sends an HTTP request to your endpoint when an event happens.
| Aspect | API | Webhook |
|---|---|---|
| Initiator | Your application sends a request. | The provider sends a request to your registered endpoint. |
| Typical trigger | Your code needs a lookup or action. | A subscribed event occurs at the provider. |
| Timing | On demand; repeated checks are polling. | Event-triggered, generally near real time, subject to provider delivery behavior. |
| Traffic pattern | Requests recur if you poll for changes. | Notifications are sent when relevant events occur. |
| Receiver responsibility | Call the API and handle the response. | Operate an endpoint that can accept and validate incoming requests. |
| Data role | Can retrieve or modify a resource on demand. | Signals that an event happened; payload detail depends on the provider. |
GitHub describes webhooks as a way to receive data as it happens instead of intermittently polling an API: GitHub: About webhooks. Twilio similarly characterizes a webhook as an HTTP POST sent by a provider when an event occurs: Twilio: What is a webhook?.
When should you use an API?
Use an API when your application needs to request, retrieve, or change information at a time it controls. It is a natural fit for a user-triggered lookup, an initial data import, an occasional status check, or an operation such as creating or updating a resource.
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- On-demand lookups: A user opens an order page and your app fetches the current order details.
- One-time or occasional work: Your service imports a small set of records or checks a value periodically without needing immediate event notifications.
- Follow-up actions: Your system needs to update a record or perform an operation exposed by the provider.
- Recovery and reconciliation: Your system needs to verify current provider state after an event delivery is delayed, rejected, or incomplete.
Polling an API can be straightforward when checks are infrequent or the resource set is small. If you poll frequently across many resources, you create recurring requests whether or not anything changed; that adds traffic and can increase pressure on provider rate limits.
When should you use a webhook?
Use a webhook when your application should react to a provider-side event rather than repeatedly ask whether one has occurred. Examples include a payment status change, a repository push, or an update to message delivery. The provider sends a notification to your endpoint after the event, so your application does not need to keep checking for it.
GitHub says webhooks can require less effort and resources than polling, scale better across many resources, and provide near-real-time updates. “Near real time” is not a guarantee of instant delivery: the provider controls when and how it attempts delivery, and its current documentation determines retry behavior, ordering, and replay options.
A webhook also creates operational work that a simple outbound API call does not: your endpoint must be reachable, authenticated requests must be checked, and duplicate or delayed events must be handled safely.
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Why production integrations often use both
A webhook is a notification channel; it does not necessarily replace the provider’s API as the source for every detail. A robust integration commonly receives an event, verifies it, records it, and then calls the API if it needs the complete or authoritative object, needs to reconcile state, or must perform a follow-up operation.
- The provider reports that an event occurred through a webhook.
- Your endpoint validates the request and durably records the event.
- Your system acknowledges intake promptly and processes the work asynchronously when appropriate.
- If the event payload is insufficient or state needs confirmation, your worker fetches the object through the API.
- Your system records the result and makes processing idempotent so a retry does not repeat side effects.
This division avoids continuously polling every resource while preserving a way to retrieve current state. It also makes recovery possible: if a delivery is missed or processing fails, your service can use the API to check what the provider currently records.
How to make webhook handling reliable and secure
Protect the endpoint
Expose an HTTPS endpoint and follow the provider’s documented authentication method. Do not treat an incoming request as trustworthy merely because it contains a familiar event name or object ID.
Verify signatures before acting
Where the provider supports signed deliveries, verify the signature using its documented algorithm and the exact request data it specifies before trusting the payload. GitHub documents HMAC signature headers for webhook deliveries: GitHub: Validating webhook deliveries. Keep signing secrets out of source code and rotate them according to your operational policy.
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Make processing idempotent
Record the provider’s event ID and ensure that processing the same event more than once does not create duplicate charges, messages, or other side effects. Providers may retry deliveries, and a receiver may encounter the same event again after a timeout or recovery. Twilio explicitly recommends idempotent handling in its webhook guidance: Twilio: Webhook connection overrides.
Acknowledge durable intake quickly
Validate and persist the event, then return a success response without waiting for slow downstream work where your architecture permits. Queue longer tasks for asynchronous processing. If the endpoint does not respond as expected, the provider may regard delivery as failed and retry; exact behavior is provider-specific.
Plan for provider-specific delivery rules
Before relying on a webhook, check the provider’s current documentation for delivery timeouts, retry limits, event ordering, signature format, replay controls, and endpoint management. These details are not universal. Maintain an API-based reconciliation path for delayed, rejected, or incomplete deliveries.
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Examples: GitHub and Stripe
GitHub
GitHub can send HTTP POST event payloads to webhook URLs configured for repositories or organizations. That notification can trigger a build or another workflow. GitHub’s REST API remains available for on-demand access to repository resources; the webhook and API serve different jobs rather than competing as interchangeable methods.
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Stripe
Stripe documents configurable webhook endpoints for events in an account or connected accounts, managed through its API or Dashboard. A payment-related event can notify your system, while a subsequent API request can retrieve the payment object or confirm its current state. Configure only the events your integration needs and consult Stripe’s current documentation for endpoint setup and delivery details: Stripe: Webhooks.
Choosing between polling and webhooks
- Choose an API request when a person or scheduled job needs a specific answer now, when changes are not time-sensitive, or when you only have a small number of records to check.
- Choose a webhook when your application needs to react to provider-side events across many resources without repeated checks.
- Use both when event notifications should start work, but the API is needed to fetch full data, confirm state, or recover from a delivery problem.
Do not choose solely by the word “real time.” Webhooks can reduce the delay and request churn associated with polling, but delivery timing and reliability depend on the provider and on the health of your own endpoint. If occasional delay is acceptable, a simpler API polling design may be sufficient; if rapid reaction matters, use event delivery and engineer the receiver for retries and recovery.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Common webhook and API problems
The webhook never arrives
Check that the event type is subscribed, the endpoint URL is correct and publicly reachable over HTTPS, and the provider’s delivery log shows an attempt. Review authentication, firewall, DNS, and response behavior. Use the provider’s retry or replay controls if available, then reconcile state through its API.
The provider reports a failed delivery
Confirm that your endpoint returns the response the provider expects and does so within its documented timeout. Persist the event before acknowledging it; move long-running work out of the request path. Retry limits and the consequences of a failed response vary by provider.
An event is processed twice
Use the provider event ID as a deduplication key and make downstream operations idempotent. Do not assume every event is delivered exactly once.
The signature check fails
Use the provider’s prescribed signature header, secret, hash method, and raw request body handling. Parsing or re-serializing JSON before verification can change the bytes being checked. Confirm that the secret matches the endpoint and environment, and compare your implementation with the provider’s current verification instructions.
The webhook payload is missing fields you need
Treat the notification as an event signal, then call the API for the complete or authoritative object. The provider determines which fields are included in each event payload.
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Reduce polling frequency if your product can tolerate more delay, narrow requests to relevant records, or subscribe to webhooks for event notifications. Preserve API polling or lookups as a reconciliation method where needed, and observe the provider’s rate-limit guidance.
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