Webhook Debugging

This guide helps you troubleshoot issues with webhook delivery and processing.

How Webhooks Work

Fanfare sends HTTP POST requests to your configured endpoint when events occur:

Fanfare Platform  -->  Your Webhook Endpoint
     Event              POST /webhooks/fanfare
                        Headers + JSON Body

Common Issues

Webhooks Not Being Received

Symptoms: Your endpoint isn’t receiving any webhook requests. Checklist:

Verify webhook URL is correct
- Check for typos in the URL
- Ensure the URL is publicly accessible
- HTTPS is required for production

Check endpoint accessibility

# Test your endpoint is reachable
curl -X POST https://your-site.com/webhooks/fanfare \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"test": true}'

Verify webhook is enabled
- Check webhook configuration in the dashboard
- Ensure the webhook is active, not paused
Check firewall rules
- Fanfare sends requests from specific IP ranges
- Contact support for current IP allowlist

Signature Verification Failing

Symptoms: Webhook arrives but signature verification fails. Example Verification (Node.js):

import crypto from "crypto";

function verifyWebhookSignature(payload: string, signature: string, secret: string): boolean {
  const expectedSignature = crypto.createHmac("sha256", secret).update(payload).digest("hex");

  return crypto.timingSafeEqual(Buffer.from(signature), Buffer.from(expectedSignature));
}

// In your webhook handler
app.post("/webhooks/fanfare", (req, res) => {
  const signature = req.headers["x-fanfare-signature"];
  const rawBody = req.rawBody; // Must be raw string, not parsed JSON

  if (!verifyWebhookSignature(rawBody, signature, WEBHOOK_SECRET)) {
    return res.status(400).json({ error: "Invalid signature" });
  }

  // Process webhook...
});

Common Causes:

Using parsed body instead of raw body

// Wrong: JSON parsing changes whitespace
const body = JSON.stringify(req.body);

// Correct: Use raw body as received
const body = req.rawBody;

Wrong webhook secret
- Each webhook endpoint has its own secret
- Secrets are different between test and live modes

Middleware modifying the request

// Express: Capture raw body before JSON parsing
app.use("/webhooks", express.raw({ type: "application/json" }));

Webhook Timeouts

Symptoms: Webhooks fail with timeout errors. Requirements:

Respond within 30 seconds
Return 2xx status code for success

Solution: Process asynchronously

// Bad: Long processing blocks response
app.post("/webhooks/fanfare", async (req, res) => {
  await processOrder(req.body); // Takes 45 seconds
  res.json({ received: true });
});

// Good: Acknowledge immediately, process async
app.post("/webhooks/fanfare", async (req, res) => {
  // Acknowledge receipt immediately
  res.json({ received: true });

  // Process in background
  processOrder(req.body).catch((error) => {
    console.error("Webhook processing failed:", error);
  });
});

// Better: Use a queue
app.post("/webhooks/fanfare", async (req, res) => {
  // Queue for processing
  await messageQueue.publish("webhooks", req.body);

  res.json({ received: true });
});

Duplicate Webhook Deliveries

Symptoms: Same webhook received multiple times. Causes:

Your endpoint returned non-2xx status
Network issues caused retry
Your endpoint took too long to respond

Solution: Implement idempotency

const processedWebhooks = new Set<string>();

app.post("/webhooks/fanfare", async (req, res) => {
  const eventId = req.headers["x-fanfare-event-id"];

  // Check if already processed
  if (processedWebhooks.has(eventId)) {
    return res.json({ received: true, duplicate: true });
  }

  // Mark as processed (use database in production)
  processedWebhooks.add(eventId);

  // Process webhook
  await processWebhook(req.body);

  res.json({ received: true });
});

Production-ready idempotency:

// Using database for idempotency
async function processWebhook(eventId: string, payload: unknown) {
  // Try to insert - will fail if duplicate
  try {
    await db.webhookEvents.insert({
      eventId,
      payload,
      status: "processing",
      receivedAt: new Date(),
    });
  } catch (error) {
    if (error.code === "23505") {
      // Unique constraint violation - already processed
      return { duplicate: true };
    }
    throw error;
  }

  // Process the webhook
  await handleWebhookPayload(payload);

  // Mark as processed
  await db.webhookEvents.update({
    where: { eventId },
    data: { status: "processed" },
  });
}

Wrong Event Types Received

Symptoms: Receiving unexpected event types. Solution: Filter events in configuration

// Only subscribe to events you need
const webhookConfig = {
  url: "https://your-site.com/webhooks/fanfare",
  events: ["queue.access_granted", "draw.completed", "order.completed"],
};

Webhook Payload Issues

Symptoms: Cannot parse or understand webhook payload. Debug logging:

app.post("/webhooks/fanfare", (req, res) => {
  // Log full webhook for debugging
  console.log("Webhook received:", {
    headers: req.headers,
    body: req.body,
    rawBody: req.rawBody?.toString(),
  });

  res.json({ received: true });
});

Payload structure:

{
  "id": "evt_abc123",
  "type": "queue.access_granted",
  "created": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "data": {
    "queueId": "queue_xyz",
    "consumerId": "consumer_123",
    "handoffToken": "hoff_abc",
    "expiresAt": "2024-01-15T10:45:00Z"
  },
  "organization": {
    "id": "org_abc",
    "name": "Your Store"
  }
}

Testing Webhooks

Local Development

Use a tunneling service to receive webhooks locally:

# Using ngrok
ngrok http 3000

# Using cloudflared
cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:3000

Configure the tunnel URL in your webhook settings.

Manual Testing

Send test webhooks from the dashboard or use the CLI:

# Trigger test webhook
fanfare webhooks test --endpoint webhook_abc123

Webhook Log Review

Check webhook delivery history in the dashboard:

Go to Settings > Webhooks
Select your endpoint
View Delivery Attempts

Each attempt shows:

Request payload
Response received
Status code
Timing information

Webhook Event Reference

Queue Events

Event	Description
`queue.consumer_entered`	Consumer joined the queue
`queue.position_updated`	Consumer’s position changed
`queue.access_granted`	Consumer granted checkout access
`queue.access_expired`	Consumer’s access window expired
`queue.consumer_left`	Consumer left the queue

Draw Events

Event	Description
`draw.consumer_entered`	Consumer registered for draw
`draw.completed`	Draw selection completed
`draw.winner_selected`	Individual winner notification
`draw.consumer_left`	Consumer withdrew from draw

Order Events

Event	Description
`order.created`	Order was created
`order.completed`	Order was completed
`order.cancelled`	Order was cancelled

Error Recovery

Retry Policy

Fanfare retries failed webhooks with exponential backoff:

Attempt	Delay
1	Immediate
2	1 minute
3	5 minutes
4	30 minutes
5	2 hours
6	8 hours
7	24 hours

After 7 failed attempts, the webhook is marked as failed.

Manual Retry

Retry failed webhooks from the dashboard:

Go to webhook delivery history
Find the failed delivery
Click Retry

Webhook Replay

For missed webhooks, use the replay feature:

# Replay events from a time range
fanfare webhooks replay \
  --endpoint webhook_abc123 \
  --from 2024-01-15T00:00:00Z \
  --to 2024-01-15T12:00:00Z

Best Practices

Always Respond Quickly

// Acknowledge immediately
res.status(200).json({ received: true });

// Then process

Use Idempotency Keys

// Store and check event IDs
const eventId = req.headers["x-fanfare-event-id"];

Validate Signatures

// Always verify webhook authenticity
if (!verifySignature(req)) {
  return res.status(400).json({ error: "Invalid signature" });
}

Handle All Event Types

switch (event.type) {
  case "queue.access_granted":
    await handleAccessGranted(event.data);
    break;
  // ... other cases
  default:
    console.log("Unhandled event type:", event.type);
}

Monitor Webhook Health

Set up alerts for failed webhooks
Monitor response times
Track success rates

Webhooks Overview - Webhook configuration
API Errors - Error reference
Contact Support - Get help

Overview

Best Practices

Troubleshooting

Security

Support

How Webhooks Work

Common Issues

Webhooks Not Being Received

Signature Verification Failing

Webhook Timeouts

Duplicate Webhook Deliveries

Wrong Event Types Received

Webhook Payload Issues

Testing Webhooks

Local Development

Manual Testing

Webhook Log Review

Webhook Event Reference

Queue Events

Draw Events

Order Events

Error Recovery

Retry Policy

Manual Retry

Webhook Replay

Best Practices

Always Respond Quickly

Use Idempotency Keys

Validate Signatures

Handle All Event Types

Monitor Webhook Health

​How Webhooks Work

​Common Issues

​Webhooks Not Being Received

​Signature Verification Failing

​Webhook Timeouts

​Duplicate Webhook Deliveries

​Wrong Event Types Received

​Webhook Payload Issues

​Testing Webhooks

​Local Development

​Manual Testing

​Webhook Log Review

​Webhook Event Reference

​Queue Events

​Draw Events

​Order Events

​Error Recovery

​Retry Policy

​Manual Retry

​Webhook Replay

​Best Practices

​Always Respond Quickly

​Use Idempotency Keys

​Validate Signatures

​Handle All Event Types

​Monitor Webhook Health

​Related Resources

How Webhooks Work

Common Issues

Webhooks Not Being Received

Signature Verification Failing

Webhook Timeouts

Duplicate Webhook Deliveries

Wrong Event Types Received

Webhook Payload Issues

Testing Webhooks

Local Development

Manual Testing

Webhook Log Review

Webhook Event Reference

Queue Events

Draw Events

Order Events

Error Recovery

Retry Policy

Manual Retry

Webhook Replay

Best Practices

Always Respond Quickly

Use Idempotency Keys

Validate Signatures

Handle All Event Types

Monitor Webhook Health

Related Resources