Definition
Webhook
A webhook is an automated HTTP request a system sends to a URL you provide whenever a specified event occurs — an issue created, a status changed, a comment added. Instead of repeatedly polling an API for changes, your service receives a real-time push. Webhooks are the backbone of integrations, letting tools react to each other instantly.
Key takeaways
- A webhook is an automated HTTP request a system sends to a URL you provide whenever a specified event occurs.
- It inverts the usual API direction: instead of polling for changes, you register a URL once and the server pushes to you in real time.
- Robust webhook systems sign each request, retry on failure, and guarantee at-least-once delivery — so receivers must tolerate the occasional duplicate.
- Webhooks are the connective tissue of modern toolchains, turning isolated systems into a reactive, event-driven network.
The difference between a webhook and a normal API call is direction. With a regular API, your code asks the server for data when it wants it. With a webhook, you register a URL once and the server calls you the moment something happens. This inverts control: integrations become event-driven and near-instant rather than dependent on polling on a timer.
A webhook payload describes the event — what happened, to which object, when — usually as JSON sent in a POST request. Robust webhook systems sign each request so the receiver can verify it is authentic, retry on failure, and guarantee at-least-once delivery, which means receivers should be built to handle the occasional duplicate.
Webhooks power the connective tissue of modern toolchains: a deploy finishes and posts to chat, an issue closes and updates a spreadsheet, a payment succeeds and provisions an account. They turn isolated systems into a reactive network.
Planoda emits signed webhooks for issue, project, and cycle events with automatic retries, so external systems can react to changes the instant they happen.
Related terms
- MCP ServerAn MCP server implements the Model Context Protocol, an open standard that lets AI assistants connect to external tools and data through a uniform interface. Rather than building a bespoke integration per assistant, a tool exposes one MCP server describing its available actions and resources, and any MCP-capable AI can discover and use them safely.
- Issue TrackerAn issue tracker is the system of record for a team's work — every bug, feature, and task captured as a structured issue with a state, assignee, priority, and history. It replaces scattered emails and spreadsheets with one searchable, accountable source of truth that the whole team plans, executes, and reports against.
- CI/CD (Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery)CI/CD is the practice of automatically building, testing, and releasing code through a pipeline triggered by every change. Continuous integration merges and verifies work frequently to catch conflicts early; continuous delivery keeps the software always in a releasable state, often deploying automatically. Together they shorten the path from a commit to running in production.
- Row-Level Security (RLS)Row-level security (RLS) is a database feature that restricts which rows a query can read or modify based on the current user or context. Instead of relying solely on application code to filter data, the database itself enforces access policies on every query — a strong defense for multi-tenant systems where one workspace's data must never leak to another.
- SLAAn SLA (service-level agreement) is a defined commitment to respond to or resolve certain work within a set time — for example, acknowledging urgent bugs within an hour. SLAs turn vague expectations into measurable targets, hold teams accountable, and signal which work the clock is running on so the most time-sensitive items aren't lost.