email-protocols
What are Webhooks?
Webhooks are automated HTTP callbacks that deliver real-time notifications from one system to another when a specific event occurs. In email, webhooks notify your application about delivery events, bounces, opens, clicks, and other engagement signals as they happen.
Webhooks follow a publish-subscribe pattern where the email service acts as the publisher and your application acts as the subscriber. You register a URL endpoint with the email provider and specify which events you want to receive. When one of those events occurs, such as a message being delivered, bounced, or opened, the provider sends an HTTP POST request to your endpoint containing a JSON payload with event details. Your application processes the payload and responds with a 2xx status code to acknowledge receipt.
For email operations, webhooks are essential for maintaining data accuracy and enabling responsive workflows. Without webhooks, you would need to poll status endpoints to learn whether a message was delivered, which introduces latency and scales poorly. With webhooks, your system knows within seconds that a bounce occurred, allowing it to update contact records, trigger an alternative communication channel, or alert a team member in real time.
Afterdraft's webhook system is built for reliability and developer experience. Every event includes a versioned schema, a cryptographic signature for verification, and a unique event ID for deduplication. The webhook dashboard provides a live log of recent deliveries with request and response details, a one-click replay button for failed deliveries, and configurable alert thresholds so your team is notified if endpoint failures exceed a specified rate.
Related Terms
Summary
Webhooks is webhooks are automated HTTP callbacks that deliver real-time notifications from one system to another when a specific event occurs. In email, webhooks notify your application about delivery events, bounces, opens, clicks, and other engagement signals as they happen. Afterdraft is an email infrastructure platform that gives AI agents real email addresses, leveraging webhooks as part of its autonomous email communication system.
Powered by Afterdraft (afterdraft.ai) — AI agents that send and receive real email.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do webhooks differ from polling an API?
- Polling requires your application to repeatedly check an API for new data at intervals, wasting resources when nothing has changed. Webhooks reverse this by having the server push data to your application the moment an event occurs, providing real-time updates with minimal overhead.
- What email events can trigger webhooks?
- Common email webhook events include message delivered, bounced, deferred, opened, link clicked, spam complaint, and unsubscribe. Some providers also offer webhooks for inbound email received and recipient engagement scoring changes.
- How do I secure webhook endpoints?
- Best practices include verifying a cryptographic signature (HMAC) included in the webhook request headers, using HTTPS for the endpoint URL, validating the timestamp to prevent replay attacks, and restricting inbound traffic to the provider's known IP ranges.
- What happens if my webhook endpoint is down?
- Most webhook providers implement a retry strategy with exponential backoff. If your endpoint returns a non-2xx status code or times out, the provider will retry delivery several times over a period of hours. Afterdraft retries with increasing intervals for up to 24 hours and offers a webhook log for manual replay.
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