encore-webhook

name	encore-webhook
description	Receive inbound webhooks from external services (Stripe, GitHub, Slack, Twilio, etc.) using `api.raw(...)` from `encore.dev/api`. The right skill any time the user names a third-party provider that POSTs events to a URL you own.
when_to_use	User mentions a webhook, a /webhooks/* path, raw HTTP, `api.raw()`, accepting external callbacks, verifying webhook signatures (Stripe-Signature, X-Hub-Signature-256), reading the raw request body, parsing form-encoded payloads, or any time the user names a third-party provider that posts events — Stripe, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Shopify, Twilio, SendGrid, Mailgun, Auth0, Clerk, Slack, Discord, PayPal, Square. Use `encore-api` instead for typed JSON endpoints in your own service. Trigger phrases: "Stripe webhook", "GitHub webhook", "/webhooks/stripe", "raw HTTP endpoint", "api.raw", "verify the signature", "inbound webhook", "external callback".

Encore Webhook Endpoints

Instructions

Use api.raw(...) to receive inbound webhooks from third-party services. Raw endpoints give you direct access to the Node.js-style request and response objects, which you need for signature verification (the verification typically requires the unparsed raw body).

1. Import

import { api } from "encore.dev/api";

2. Define the endpoint with api.raw

export const stripeWebhook = api.raw(
  { expose: true, path: "/webhooks/stripe", method: "POST" },
  async (req, res) => {
    const sig = req.headers["stripe-signature"];
    // Read raw body
    const chunks: Buffer[] = [];
    for await (const chunk of req) chunks.push(chunk);
    const rawBody = Buffer.concat(chunks).toString("utf8");

    // Verify signature, parse event...

    res.writeHead(200, { "Content-Type": "application/json" });
    res.end(JSON.stringify({ received: true }));
  }
);

3. Verify the signature

Most providers sign webhooks. Read the secret with secret(...) from encore.dev/config (see the encore-secret skill) and verify before trusting the payload:

import { secret } from "encore.dev/config";
const stripeWebhookSecret = secret("StripeWebhookSecret");

// inside handler:
import Stripe from "stripe";
const stripe = new Stripe(stripeApiKey());
const event = stripe.webhooks.constructEvent(rawBody, sig, stripeWebhookSecret());

For GitHub, verify the HMAC-SHA256 in the X-Hub-Signature-256 header against the raw body using your webhook secret.

Common providers

Provider	Signature header	Verification
Stripe	Stripe-Signature	stripe.webhooks.constructEvent(rawBody, sig, secret)
GitHub	X-Hub-Signature-256	HMAC-SHA256 over the raw body
Slack	X-Slack-Signature	HMAC-SHA256 over v0:{timestamp}:{rawBody}
Shopify	X-Shopify-Hmac-Sha256	HMAC-SHA256 (base64) over the raw body
Twilio	X-Twilio-Signature	HMAC-SHA1 over URL + sorted form fields

Always respond quickly

Webhook senders retry on non-2xx or slow responses. Acknowledge with a 2xx as soon as the payload is verified, then enqueue the actual work via Pub/Sub (see encore-pubsub) instead of doing it in the request handler.

import { Topic } from "encore.dev/pubsub";

interface StripeEvent { id: string; type: string; data: unknown; }
const stripeEvents = new Topic<StripeEvent>("stripe-events", {
  deliveryGuarantee: "at-least-once",
});

// inside the raw handler, after verification:
await stripeEvents.publish({ id: event.id, type: event.type, data: event.data });
res.writeHead(200); res.end();

Guidelines

• Use api.raw only for webhooks and other low-level HTTP integrations.
• Always verify the provider's signature before trusting the payload.
• Always respond 2xx fast — push slow work onto Pub/Sub.
• Store the signing secret with secret(...); never inline it.
• For typed JSON endpoints in your own service, use plain api(...) from the encore-api skill.