a web callback, an HTTP push notification or a catch hook
A message one app sends to another the moment something happens, with the data attached. It's how automations react straight away instead of checking on a timer.
A webhook is a message one app sends to another the second something happens, with the details attached. Think of it as a notification. A form gets filled in, and the form tool shouts the answers over to wherever you've told it to.
The other way to spot new data is polling, where a tool checks an app every few minutes and asks, anything new? Webhooks don't wait. That's why a Zap that starts with a webhook runs straight away.
A webhook is sent to a unique URL. In Zapier, Webhooks by Zapier gives you that URL with its Catch Hook trigger, and it can send webhooks out to other apps too. It's a Premium app, so it needs a paid plan.
I reach for webhooks when an app has no Zapier trigger for the thing I need, or when the job has to happen instantly. A button in ClickUp that fires a webhook is one of my favourites, because it lets someone rerun a process with one click.
One thing I always plan for: some apps send the same webhook twice. So on one client build, I added a check with Storage by Zapier so a templated email only ever goes out once.
On Zapier's Free plan, polling triggers check every 15 minutes. Paid plans check more often.
An API is the full set of ways you can talk to an app, and you have to ask it for data. A webhook is the app telling you when something happens, without being asked. Lots of automations use both.
Yes. Webhooks by Zapier is a Premium app, and Zapier's pricing page lists Webhooks on Professional and above.
Treat a webhook URL like a private address. Anyone who has it can send data to it, so don't post it anywhere public, and check the data that arrives before acting on it.
I set these up and train your team, in your own ClickUp or Zapier account.
Book a callContact Jack - jack@withtoki.co.uk