How to Use Webhooks to Connect Your Portal to Other Apps

What Portal Webhooks Do

A webhook is an HTTP endpoint that accepts incoming data or serves outgoing data when called. Your portal's webhook API gives external software a programmatic way to interact with the same database that powers your portal pages. When a mobile app needs to save a user's score, it posts data to the webhook. When an external CRM needs to read a contact's status, it queries the webhook.

This is what makes portals more than just web dashboards. The webhook API turns your portal into a full backend service that any application can connect to, regardless of what programming language or platform it runs on.

How Webhook Endpoints Work

The platform's mode layer handles webhook requests. When a request comes in to a URL pattern like /{accountID}/{app}/{mode}/{data}, the system loads the appropriate handler and processes the request. Your portal can define custom webhook modes that accept POST data, validate the request, perform database operations, and return JSON responses.

Authentication for webhooks uses API keys rather than session cookies. The calling application includes the API key in the request, and the platform validates it before processing. This keeps webhook security separate from browser-based login security.

Common Webhook Uses

Mobile App Data Sync

A mobile app can use webhooks to read and write user data stored in your portal's database. When the user updates their profile in the app, the app posts the changes to the webhook. When the app needs to display portal data, it queries the webhook endpoint. The same data is visible in both the mobile app and the web portal because they share the same database.

Game Backends

Unity games and other game engines can use webhooks to store player progress, leaderboard scores, inventory items, and game state. The NoSQL database provides fast key-value storage at low cost (1-2 credits per operation), making it practical for games with frequent read and write operations. See How to Build a Game Leaderboard for a detailed example.

Third-Party Integrations

Connect your portal to external tools like payment processors, shipping services, or analytics platforms. When a payment completes, a webhook from the payment processor can update the invoice status in your portal. When an order ships, the shipping service can post tracking information that appears in your customer's portal view.

Automated Workflows

Use workflow triggers to start automated processes when webhook data arrives. A new form submission can trigger an email notification, a database update can trigger an SMS alert, and a completed task can trigger the next step in a sequence.

Getting Started With Webhooks

To add webhook endpoints to your portal, you need to define mode handlers in your app configuration. Each mode is a URL path that maps to a handler function. The handler receives the incoming request data, performs the needed database operations, and returns a JSON response. You can build these handlers as part of a custom app or configure them through the platform's existing app modes.