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Hookdeck

A reliable Event Gateway for event-driven applications
Hookdeck
Webhook

What is Hookdeck?

Hookdeck sits between a webhook producer and the application that consumes the event. A provider sends a request to a Hookdeck Source URL, Hookdeck records it as an event, and connection rules route it to one or more destinations. Filters, transformations, rate limits, and delays can change what reaches each destination, so a Hookdeck request in server logs may differ from the provider's original delivery.

There are two authentication boundaries. A Source can verify the original provider with a supported signature scheme, Basic authentication, or an API key. When that check succeeds, Hookdeck adds x-hookdeck-verified: true. Hookdeck then signs the event it forwards to a destination with the project signing secret by default.

The destination signature is a base64-encoded HMAC SHA-256 value in x-hookdeck-signature. During a delayed secret rotation, Hookdeck can also send x-hookdeck-signature-2. Failed destination attempts can be retried according to the connection's policy, and Hookdeck records each response for later inspection or manual retry.

Hookdeck transports configured application events rather than public web content. The traffic has no role in AI search or model training. Robots.txt cannot govern a Source URL or destination callback because neither request is a web crawl.

Not relevant for AI search

Is Hookdeck relevant for AI search?

No. Hookdeck is not part of AI search or training, so allowing or blocking it does not change your AI visibility.

Hookdeck is not a crawler. It delivers webhook notifications to endpoints you registered, so it never fetches public content for an AI product. Robots.txt does not apply, and allowing or blocking it has no effect on AI search or training.

How to handle Hookdeck

For an active connection, keep the destination route reachable and verify Hookdeck before processing the event. Compute HMAC SHA-256 over the raw request body with the project signing secret, base64-encode the digest, and compare it with x-hookdeck-signature or the rotation value in x-hookdeck-signature-2.

If Source verification is enabled, require x-hookdeck-verified: true when your action depends on Hookdeck having authenticated the original provider. That header does not replace verification of Hookdeck's own destination signature. Use x-hookdeck-event-id or an application event key to prevent a retry from repeating side effects, and return a 2xx response only after the request has been accepted.

To stop delivery, pause or remove the relevant Hookdeck connection or destination, then close the application route if it has no other use. Blocking the Hookdeck user agent is weaker than signature validation, and robots.txt has no effect on the callback.

Examples

  • A billing provider posts to a Hookdeck Source, which verifies the provider signature before forwarding the event to an accounting service.
  • During project secret rotation, a receiver accepts a match against either `x-hookdeck-signature` header without disabling delivery.
  • A destination returns 503 during maintenance, and the connection's retry rule schedules another attempt after the service recovers.
  • A filter drops event types the destination did not subscribe to, so those events remain visible in Hookdeck but never reach the application.

Frequently asked questions about Hookdeck

Learn about AI visibility monitoring and how Promptwatch helps your brand succeed in AI search.

Usually not. Hookdeck receives an event at a Source and forwards it to a destination after applying the configured connection rules.

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