How to debug webhooks without redeploying your app

2026-07-13 · behose.com

How to debug webhooks without redeploying your app

Webhook bugs are frustrating because the failure often happens outside your request cycle. The provider says it delivered. Your app says nothing happened. The logs are missing the one header or body field that would explain it.

The slow path is to add logging, deploy, trigger another event, and hope the same failure appears. A better path is to put an inspectable endpoint in front of the app while you debug.

Capture first, forward second

Start by routing the provider to a stable inspection URL. Capture method, path, query, headers, and raw body. Then forward the request to your real app. If the app fails, you still have the original event to inspect and replay manually.

Compare what changed

Look for content-type mismatches, casing differences, signature headers, missing event types, test-mode flags, and nested payload shapes. Most webhook bugs are not complex; they are assumptions that were never visible.

Keep retries separate

A retrying fan-out layer lets each destination fail independently. Your app can be down while the delivery record stays visible. When the endpoint is fixed, replay or wait for retries instead of asking the provider to resend blind.

Behose is built for this loop: receive the event, inspect the request, forward it, and watch the delivery result without redeploying your application for every new clue.