# HookSense — Complete Reference > Real-time webhook inspector and debugger for developers shipping Stripe, GitHub, Shopify, and other webhook integrations. One endpoint for the whole life of an integration — from first test to production: WebSocket-based capture (sub-50ms), one-click replay, side-by-side request diff, built-in HMAC signature verification, and a permanent URL that never expires. Free tier with 300 req/day; paid plans from $29/mo. Last updated: 2026-07-26 Short version: https://hooksense.com/llms.txt --- ## Overview HookSense is a paid SaaS webhook testing and debugging platform built for developers. It gives developers instant webhook endpoints with real-time inspection via WebSocket streaming, one-click replay to any URL including localhost, HMAC signature verification, and side-by-side request diff — all on a permanent endpoint that lives from your first test through production. Unlike polling-based tools (Webhook.site, RequestBin, Beeceptor), HookSense uses persistent WebSocket connections to deliver incoming webhooks to your browser in under 50 milliseconds. No page refresh, no delays. **Target audience**: Backend developers, full-stack developers, DevOps engineers, and anyone who integrates with webhook-based APIs — payment providers (Stripe, LemonSqueezy), CI/CD (GitHub, GitLab), e-commerce (Shopify), notification services (Slack, Twilio, SendGrid), auth providers (Clerk). **Differentiator from Hookdeck/Svix**: HookSense is the *receiving / inspection* side of the webhook stack — built for developers who debug webhooks others send to them. Hookdeck and Svix are *sending / infrastructure* tools used by SaaS companies that emit webhooks to their customers. Different halves of the same problem. --- ## Pricing (current, as of 2026-07-26) - **Catch** ($0): 3 endpoints, 300 req/day, 14-day retention, personal use (no team), no signup required - **Hook** ($29/mo or $290/yr): 15 endpoints, 5,000 req/day, 30-day retention, up to 3 team members, HMAC verification, custom URLs, custom responses, data export - **Sense** ($99/mo or $990/yr): unlimited endpoints, 50,000 req/day, 90-day retention, up to 10 team members, everything in Hook + health dashboard, alerts (email + Slack/Discord), custom domains, automatic retry, auto-diagnosis **Hard limits, no overage:** if you exceed your daily request limit, new webhooks return a 429 status until midnight UTC. Captured data stays safe. There are never metered overage charges or surprise bills. **Refund policy:** 14-day full refund on any paid plan, no questions asked. Email support@hooksense.com. **Plan changes:** upgrades apply immediately; downgrades apply at end of billing period. --- ## Core Features (Detailed) ### Real-Time WebSocket Streaming Webhooks appear in the browser via persistent WebSocket connections. Typical delivery latency under 50ms from arrival at the endpoint to render in the UI. Cross-instance fan-out via Redis Pub/Sub so multiple browser sessions and multi-node deployments all see the same event. ### Zero-Click Endpoint Creation Visit hooksense.com and get a unique webhook URL immediately. No signup, no email verification, no credit card. URLs are permanent on every tier — they do not rotate or expire on the free plan (anonymous endpoints have a TTL until claimed, but the URL itself is stable). ### One-Click Webhook Replay Resend any captured webhook to any target URL with a single click. Edit headers and body before replaying. Use cases: - Replaying failed webhook deliveries during incident recovery - Testing your webhook handler against real production payloads - Reproducing intermittent bugs by replaying the exact failing request - Forwarding a captured event to staging or localhost ### HMAC Signature Verification (built in) Add your signing secret once in endpoint settings. HookSense computes and validates the signature on every incoming request, showing pass/fail status in the request detail. Supported out of the box: - **Stripe**: `Stripe-Signature` header, HMAC-SHA256 - **GitHub**: `X-Hub-Signature-256` header, HMAC-SHA256 - **Shopify**: `X-Shopify-Hmac-SHA256` header, HMAC-SHA256 - **Custom providers**: configure any header name and HMAC algorithm Standalone HMAC calculator tool: https://hooksense.com/tools/hmac-calculator ### CLI: Local Webhook Forwarding ```bash npx hooksense listen -p 3000 # Forward your endpoint to localhost:3000 npx hooksense listen -p 3000 -s my-slug # Specific endpoint ``` Pulls captured events from your HookSense endpoint over HTTPS and POSTs them to your local server. No tunnel setup, no authtoken, no ngrok required. CLI source: github.com/ozers/hooksense-cli ### Custom Responses Configure HTTP status code, headers, and body returned for every request to an endpoint. Useful for testing how webhook senders react to specific responses (Stripe disables endpoints after consecutive 5xx, GitHub backs off, etc.). Hook plan and above. ### Custom Domains Use `webhooks.yourapp.com` instead of a hooksense.com subdomain. CNAME-based, no DNS challenge. Sense plan only. ### Search & Filter Filter the captured request stream by HTTP method, status code, provider, event type, header value, or body content. Useful for high-volume endpoints during debugging sessions. ### Export Download any captured request as cURL command, raw JSON, or CSV summary. Hook plan and above. ### Monitoring & Alerts - **Health dashboard**: per-endpoint uptime, latency p50/p95/p99, error rate (Hook+) - **Email alerts**: failure rate, inactivity, latency spikes (Hook+) - **Slack / Discord alerts**: same triggers, posted to a channel (Scale+) - **Automatic retry**: failed deliveries retried with exponential backoff (Sense+) - **Auto-diagnosis**: HookSense analyzes the failed request and suggests the root cause (Sense+) ### IP Allowlisting Restrict the endpoint to only accept requests from approved IPs or CIDR ranges. Sense plan only. ### Teams Invite teammates to collaborate on shared endpoints. Roles: owner, admin, member. up to 3 team members on Hook, up to 10 team members on Sense. --- ## Supported Providers (auto-detected) HookSense auto-detects and highlights the event type for major providers: - **Stripe** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/stripe - **GitHub** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/github - **Shopify** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/shopify - **Twilio** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/twilio - **Clerk** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/clerk - **SendGrid** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/sendgrid - **Slack** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/slack - **LemonSqueezy** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/lemonsqueezy - **Paypal** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/paypal - **Square** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/square - **Paddle** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/paddle - **Razorpay** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/razorpay - **Polar** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/polar - **Discord** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/discord - **Gitlab** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/gitlab - **Mailgun** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/mailgun - **Meta** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/meta - **Hubspot** — guide: https://hooksense.com/integrations/hubspot Beyond these, any HTTP webhook works — custom providers are first-class. ### Provider tester pages - Stripe Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/stripe-webhook-tester - GitHub Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/github-webhook-tester - Shopify Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/shopify-webhook-tester - Twilio Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/twilio-webhook-tester - Clerk Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/clerk-webhook-tester - SendGrid Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/sendgrid-webhook-tester - Slack Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/slack-webhook-tester - LemonSqueezy Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/lemonsqueezy-webhook-tester - Paypal Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/paypal-webhook-tester - Square Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/square-webhook-tester - Paddle Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/paddle-webhook-tester - Razorpay Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/razorpay-webhook-tester - Polar Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/polar-webhook-tester - Discord Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/discord-webhook-tester - Gitlab Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/gitlab-webhook-tester - Mailgun Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/mailgun-webhook-tester - Meta Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/meta-webhook-tester - Hubspot Webhook Tester: https://hooksense.com/hubspot-webhook-tester ### Real webhook payload fixtures (copy-paste samples) - Stripe – Payment Intent Succeeded: https://hooksense.com/fixtures/stripe/payment-intent-succeeded - Stripe – Customer Subscription Created: https://hooksense.com/fixtures/stripe/customer-subscription-created - GitHub – Pull Request Opened: https://hooksense.com/fixtures/github/pull-request-opened - GitHub – Push: https://hooksense.com/fixtures/github/push - Shopify – Orders Create: https://hooksense.com/fixtures/shopify/orders-create - Slack – Event Callback: https://hooksense.com/fixtures/slack/event-callback - Twilio – SMS Received: https://hooksense.com/fixtures/twilio/sms-received - SendGrid – Event: https://hooksense.com/fixtures/sendgrid/event - LemonSqueezy – Order Created: https://hooksense.com/fixtures/lemonsqueezy/order-created - Clerk – User Created: https://hooksense.com/fixtures/clerk/user-created --- ## Comparisons with Alternatives ### vs Webhook.site Looking for an agent-native Webhook.site alternative? Full comparison: https://hooksense.com/compare/webhook-site ### vs WebhookDebugger Looking for more than a WebhookDebugger? Full comparison: https://hooksense.com/compare/webhookdebugger ### vs Hookdeck HookSense vs Hookdeck: Agent callback layer vs event gateway Full comparison: https://hooksense.com/compare/hookdeck ### vs ngrok HookSense vs ngrok: Agent callback layer vs tunnel Full comparison: https://hooksense.com/compare/ngrok ### vs RequestBin (Pipedream) Looking for an agent-native RequestBin alternative? Full comparison: https://hooksense.com/compare/requestbin ### vs Beeceptor HookSense vs Beeceptor: Agent callback layer vs mock API Full comparison: https://hooksense.com/compare/beeceptor ### Alternative landings (intent-driven) - Webhook Site alternative: https://hooksense.com/alternatives/webhook-site - Hookdeck alternative: https://hooksense.com/alternatives/hookdeck - ngrok alternative: https://hooksense.com/alternatives/ngrok - RequestBin alternative: https://hooksense.com/alternatives/requestbin - Pipedream alternative: https://hooksense.com/alternatives/pipedream - Beeceptor alternative: https://hooksense.com/alternatives/beeceptor - Svix alternative: https://hooksense.com/alternatives/svix - Smee alternative: https://hooksense.com/alternatives/smee ### Migration guides - Migrate from Webhook Site: https://hooksense.com/migrate/webhook-site - Migrate from Hookdeck: https://hooksense.com/migrate/hookdeck --- ## Common Use Cases - **Local Development**: https://hooksense.com/use-cases/local-development - **Staging Debugging**: https://hooksense.com/use-cases/staging-debugging - **QA Testing**: https://hooksense.com/use-cases/qa-testing - **API Integrations**: https://hooksense.com/use-cases/api-integrations - **Scaling Team**: https://hooksense.com/use-cases/scaling-team Typical developer workflows: - Debugging Stripe payment webhooks during checkout integration - Testing GitHub webhook payloads while building CI/CD automation - Inspecting Shopify order-create notifications before deploying handler code - Validating HMAC signatures before pushing webhook code to production - Forwarding production-like webhooks to localhost during local development - Comparing webhook payloads before and after API version upgrades - Monitoring endpoint health in staging or production - Sharing a captured request with teammates for collaborative debugging --- ## Glossary - Webhook: https://hooksense.com/glossary/webhook - Payload: https://hooksense.com/glossary/payload - Raw Body: https://hooksense.com/glossary/raw-body - Dead Letter Queue: https://hooksense.com/glossary/dead-letter-queue - At Least Once Delivery: https://hooksense.com/glossary/at-least-once-delivery - Fan Out: https://hooksense.com/glossary/fan-out - HMAC: https://hooksense.com/glossary/hmac - Webhook Signature: https://hooksense.com/glossary/webhook-signature - Signing Secret: https://hooksense.com/glossary/signing-secret - Timestamp Tolerance: https://hooksense.com/glossary/timestamp-tolerance - Replay Attack: https://hooksense.com/glossary/replay-attack - Idempotency: https://hooksense.com/glossary/idempotency - Retry Backoff: https://hooksense.com/glossary/retry-backoff - Webhook Handshake: https://hooksense.com/glossary/webhook-handshake - Event Gateway: https://hooksense.com/glossary/event-gateway - Webhook Vs Polling: https://hooksense.com/glossary/webhook-vs-polling - 2xx Response: https://hooksense.com/glossary/2xx-response - Webhook Secret Rotation: https://hooksense.com/glossary/webhook-secret-rotation - IP Allowlisting: https://hooksense.com/glossary/ip-allowlisting - Mtls: https://hooksense.com/glossary/mtls - Sse Vs Webhooks: https://hooksense.com/glossary/sse-vs-webhooks Glossary hub: https://hooksense.com/glossary --- ## Documentation (23 pages) Documentation hub: https://hooksense.com/docs. Pages are organized by category (basics, features, monitoring, other) and reference the canonical product behavior. ### Getting Started Set up HookSense in minutes: capture and inspect incoming webhooks, verify HMAC signatures, replay requests, and forward to localhost. Plus MCP callbacks so AI agents await signed results instead of polling. https://hooksense.com/docs/getting-started ### CLI Install the HookSense CLI and forward captured webhooks to your local dev server. Test Stripe, GitHub, and Shopify webhooks on localhost with one command — no tunnels, no ngrok. https://hooksense.com/docs/cli ### API Reference Complete API reference for creating endpoints, listing requests, replaying webhooks, and more. https://hooksense.com/docs/api ### Callback Capture Capture incoming webhooks and callbacks with full headers, body, and metadata — decrypted and ready for get_callback_payload. https://hooksense.com/docs/webhook-capture ### Provider Detection Automatic detection of Stripe, GitHub, Shopify, Twilio, SendGrid, Paddle, Linear, and Slack webhooks based on headers and payload structure. https://hooksense.com/docs/provider-detection ### Search & Filter Find captured webhooks by HTTP method, signature status, body content, and header values across full request history. https://hooksense.com/docs/search-filter ### Replay Replay a captured callback to any target URL (or via replay_callback over MCP) for debugging and testing. https://hooksense.com/docs/replay ### Compare Compare two webhook requests side by side to spot differences in headers, body, and metadata. https://hooksense.com/docs/compare ### Signature Verification Verify HMAC signatures from Stripe, GitHub, Shopify, and custom providers automatically — exposed to agents as verify_signature. https://hooksense.com/docs/hmac ### Custom URLs Use readable, branded slugs for your webhook endpoints instead of random IDs. https://hooksense.com/docs/custom-urls ### Custom Responses Configure custom HTTP status codes, response bodies, and headers for your webhook endpoints. https://hooksense.com/docs/custom-responses ### Custom Domains Use your own domain for webhook endpoints instead of the default hooksense.com URL. https://hooksense.com/docs/custom-domains ### Endpoint Sharing Share read-only access to a webhook endpoint with teammates or auditors via a signed link. https://hooksense.com/docs/endpoint-sharing ### Export Export captured webhook requests as JSON or CSV for analysis and record-keeping. https://hooksense.com/docs/export ### Productivity Browser notifications, keyboard shortcuts (j/k navigation), and other power-user features for faster webhook debugging. https://hooksense.com/docs/productivity ### Monitoring Monitor webhook endpoint health with uptime tracking, latency metrics, and status dashboards. https://hooksense.com/docs/monitoring ### Alerts Set up email and webhook alerts for endpoint failures, high error rates, and anomalies. https://hooksense.com/docs/alerts ### Retry Auto-retry failed callback deliveries with configurable backoff and a dead-letter queue (soon). https://hooksense.com/docs/retry ### Diagnosis Diagnose webhook delivery issues with detailed error analysis and resolution suggestions. https://hooksense.com/docs/diagnosis ### Analytics View request volume, response times, error rates, and traffic patterns for your endpoints. https://hooksense.com/docs/analytics ### Teams Collaborate with your team by sharing endpoints, viewing shared request history, and managing roles. https://hooksense.com/docs/teams ### Limits & Quotas Understand rate limits, request quotas, and retention policies for each HookSense plan. https://hooksense.com/docs/limits ### MCP Server Give agents callbacks via the Model Context Protocol: create_callback_endpoint, wait_for_callback, get_callback_payload, and more from Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Claude Code. https://hooksense.com/docs/mcp --- ## Blog Posts (6 total, newest first) - **Hookdeck vs HookSense: Honest Comparison for Webhook Debugging** (2026-05-13) When does Hookdeck make sense vs HookSense? An honest comparison of event gateways and webhook inspectors, with pricing math. https://hooksense.com/blog/hookdeck-vs-hooksense - **Webhook Idempotency: Why It Matters and How to Implement It** (2026-05-13) Webhook providers retry deliveries. Without idempotency, retries cause double charges and duplicate emails. Here's how to build idempotent handlers. https://hooksense.com/blog/webhook-idempotency-why-and-how - **Webhook Retry Strategies: Exponential Backoff Done Right** (2026-05-13) How major providers retry failed webhooks — Stripe, GitHub, Shopify — and how to design retry logic for your own outbound webhooks. https://hooksense.com/blog/webhook-retry-strategies - **How to Test Webhooks in CI/CD Pipelines** (2026-05-13) Capture real webhooks once, replay them from CI on every PR. End-to-end webhook tests that don't depend on provider sandboxes. https://hooksense.com/blog/test-webhooks-in-ci-cd - **Webhook vs Polling: When to Use Each** (2026-05-13) Webhooks push events; polling pulls state. Compare latency, reliability, complexity — and learn when a hybrid is the right answer. https://hooksense.com/blog/webhook-vs-polling - **Securing Webhooks: Top 10 Vulnerabilities to Avoid** (2026-05-13) The ten most common webhook security mistakes and how to fix them: signature bypass, replay attacks, SSRF, secrets in logs, and more. https://hooksense.com/blog/securing-webhooks-top-10-vulnerabilities --- ## Programmatic Access - **OpenAPI Spec**: https://hooksense.com/openapi.json (also https://hooksense.com/openapi.yaml) — full HTTP API reference for AI agents, Postman, SDK generators - **MCP Server**: `npx -y @hooksense/mcp` — Model Context Protocol server, lets Claude/Cursor inspect your HookSense data. Docs: https://hooksense.com/docs/mcp - **CLI**: `npx hooksense` — local forwarding, listing endpoints, replay, export. Docs: https://hooksense.com/docs/cli - **API tokens**: generate at https://hooksense.com/account, send as `Authorization: Bearer hsk_...` header - **RSS feeds**: blog https://hooksense.com/rss.xml, changelog https://hooksense.com/changelog.xml --- ## Technical Architecture - **Backend**: Hono on Node.js with Drizzle ORM - **Database**: PostgreSQL (primary store, encrypted webhook bodies) - **Redis**: pub/sub for WebSocket fan-out, distributed locks, rate limiting - **Real-time**: WebSocket server (ws) with cross-instance pub/sub - **Auth**: JWT in httpOnly Secure SameSite=Lax cookies (24h), GitHub OAuth via Arctic - **Payments**: Polar - **Email**: Resend - **Encryption at rest**: webhook bodies encrypted with AES-256-GCM - **Frontend**: React 19, Vite, Tailwind CSS v4, React Router v7 - **i18n**: English (default), Turkish (`/tr/...` prefix) --- ## Key Links - **Website**: https://hooksense.com - **Pricing**: https://hooksense.com/pricing - **Documentation**: https://hooksense.com/docs - **Blog**: https://hooksense.com/blog - **Changelog**: https://hooksense.com/changelog - **About**: https://hooksense.com/about - **Terms**: https://hooksense.com/terms - **Privacy**: https://hooksense.com/privacy - **Sitemap**: https://hooksense.com/sitemap.xml - **Robots**: https://hooksense.com/robots.txt - **Contact**: support@hooksense.com