What is Hookdeck Inspect?
Hookdeck Inspect is a free webhook testing service for developers and AI agents that need to receive and examine webhook requests. It creates a test URL without requiring an account, then provides a way to retrieve incoming requests as JSON. The service also offers sample payloads from more than 500 platforms, giving teams a place to explore webhook formats and test integrations before connecting them to a production endpoint.
Hookdeck Inspect Features:
Test URL: Create a webhook test URL by sending a POST request to Inspect, with no account required.
Request Retrieval: The response includes a separate URL for retrieving requests sent to the test endpoint.
Wait For Events: A GET request to the retrieval URL waits up to 25 seconds for the next incoming request.
JSON Request Data: Retrieved requests are returned as JSON, including the request information shown in the service's headers and body views.
Provider Examples: Inspect provides example webhook payloads from more than 500 platforms for reference while building or testing integrations.
Replay And Forward: The service supports replaying webhook requests and forwarding them to a localhost endpoint.
Request Retention: Requests persist on the free tier, which includes up to 100 requests.
Hookdeck Inspect Benefits:
Less Setup: A test endpoint that needs no account makes it quicker to start checking webhook behavior without first configuring a separate receiving service.
Faster Feedback: Waiting for the next request through a single retrieval URL helps developers check an event as it arrives instead of repeatedly refreshing a dashboard.
Clearer Payloads: Viewing request data in JSON makes it easier to understand what a provider sent and spot mismatches while building an integration.
More Accessible Testing: The option to work through requests using URLs gives agents and other clients a practical way to test webhooks without relying on a graphical workflow.
Local Debugging: Replaying and forwarding requests can make it easier to reproduce an event while investigating how a local application handles it.
Room For Iteration: Keeping requests available on the free tier gives teams a chance to review captured events during a testing session.
Use Cases:
Webhook Integration: Send a provider's webhook to a temporary endpoint while developing an integration, then inspect the received request before wiring up a permanent destination.
Agent Testing: Have an AI agent create a test URL, send or receive webhook traffic, and retrieve the resulting request through the service's URL-based workflow.
Payload Exploration: Consult sample payloads when starting work with a platform and needing to understand the shape of its webhook events.
Local Event Debugging: Replay a captured event and forward it to localhost while investigating how a locally running application responds to a webhook.
Stripe Event Checks: Inspect the headers and body of an incoming Stripe-style webhook request during development or troubleshooting.
GET-Only Access: When a person or client can only make GET requests, have someone open Inspect in a browser and share the test URL it creates.