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The Webhooks API provides methods for verifying webhook signatures and constructing validated event objects from webhook payloads.

​
Construct Event

Verifies the webhook signature and constructs a validated event object. 
import { WorkOS } from '@workos-inc/node';

const workos = new WorkOS(process.env.WORKOS_API_KEY);

// In your webhook endpoint
app.post('/webhooks', async (req, res) => {
  const sigHeader = req.headers['workos-signature'];
  const payload = req.body;
  
  try {
    const event = await workos.webhooks.constructEvent({
      payload,
      sigHeader,
      secret: process.env.WORKOS_WEBHOOK_SECRET,
      tolerance: 180000 // 3 minutes in milliseconds
    });
    
    // Process the verified event
    switch (event.event) {
      case 'user.created':
        console.log('New user:', event.data);
        break;
      case 'connection.activated':
        console.log('Connection activated:', event.data);
        break;
      // Handle other event types...
    }
    
    res.status(200).send('Webhook processed');
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Webhook verification failed:', error);
    res.status(400).send('Invalid signature');
  }
});

​
Parameters

​
payload
Record<string, unknown>
required
The raw webhook payload received from WorkOS.
​
sigHeader
string
required
The value of the workos-signature header from the webhook request.
​
secret
string
required
Your webhook secret key from the WorkOS dashboard.
​
tolerance
number
default:"180000"
Time tolerance in milliseconds for validating the timestamp. Defaults to 180000 (3 minutes). Events with timestamps outside this tolerance window will be rejected to prevent replay attacks.

​
Response

Returns a Promise that resolves to an Event object with the following properties:
​
id
string
Unique identifier for the event.
​
event
string
The event type (e.g., user.created, connection.activated, dsync.user.created).
​
data
object
The event payload containing the relevant resource data. The structure varies based on the event type.
​
createdAt
string
ISO 8601 timestamp when the event was created.
​
context
Record<string, unknown>
Additional context about the event.

​
Error Handling

The method throws a SignatureVerificationException if:
  • The signature header is missing or malformed
  • The timestamp is outside the tolerance window
  • The computed signature doesn’t match the provided signature

​
Verify Header

Verifies a webhook signature without constructing the event object. 
const isValid = await workos.webhooks.verifyHeader({
  payload: req.body,
  sigHeader: req.headers['workos-signature'],
  secret: process.env.WORKOS_WEBHOOK_SECRET,
  tolerance: 180000
});

if (isValid) {
  // Process webhook
} else {
  // Reject webhook
}

​
Parameters

​
payload
any
required
The raw webhook payload.
​
sigHeader
string
required
The workos-signature header value.
​
secret
string
required
Your webhook secret key.
​
tolerance
number
default:"180000"
Time tolerance in milliseconds.

​
Response

Returns a Promise that resolves to true if the signature is valid.

​
Compute Signature

Computes the expected signature for a webhook payload. Useful for testing and debugging. 
const expectedSignature = await workos.webhooks.computeSignature(
  timestamp,
  payload,
  secret
);

​
Parameters

​
timestamp
any
required
The timestamp from the webhook signature header.
​
payload
any
required
The webhook payload object.
​
secret
string
required
Your webhook secret key.

​
Response

Returns a Promise that resolves to the computed HMAC signature string.

​
Get Timestamp and Signature Hash

Parses the signature header to extract the timestamp and signature hash. 
const [timestamp, signatureHash] = workos.webhooks.getTimestampAndSignatureHash(
  't=1234567890,v1=abcdef123456'
);

console.log('Timestamp:', timestamp);
console.log('Signature:', signatureHash);

​
Parameters

​
sigHeader
string
required
The workos-signature header value in format t=<timestamp>,v1=<signature>.

​
Response

Returns a tuple [timestamp: string, signatureHash: string].

​
Webhook Verification Examples

​
Express.js

import express from 'express';
import { WorkOS } from '@workos-inc/node';

const app = express();
const workos = new WorkOS(process.env.WORKOS_API_KEY);

// Use raw body parser for webhook routes
app.post('/webhooks', 
  express.raw({ type: 'application/json' }),
  async (req, res) => {
    const signature = req.headers['workos-signature'] as string;
    
    try {
      const event = await workos.webhooks.constructEvent({
        payload: JSON.parse(req.body.toString()),
        sigHeader: signature,
        secret: process.env.WORKOS_WEBHOOK_SECRET!,
      });
      
      // Handle event
      console.log('Received event:', event.event);
      
      res.json({ received: true });
    } catch (err) {
      console.error('Webhook error:', err);
      res.status(400).send(`Webhook Error: ${err.message}`);
    }
  }
);

​
Next.js API Route

import { NextApiRequest, NextApiResponse } from 'next';
import { WorkOS } from '@workos-inc/node';

const workos = new WorkOS(process.env.WORKOS_API_KEY);

export const config = {
  api: {
    bodyParser: false,
  },
};

export default async function handler(
  req: NextApiRequest,
  res: NextApiResponse
) {
  if (req.method !== 'POST') {
    return res.status(405).send('Method not allowed');
  }

  const signature = req.headers['workos-signature'] as string;
  const chunks = [];
  
  for await (const chunk of req) {
    chunks.push(chunk);
  }
  
  const payload = JSON.parse(Buffer.concat(chunks).toString());

  try {
    const event = await workos.webhooks.constructEvent({
      payload,
      sigHeader: signature,
      secret: process.env.WORKOS_WEBHOOK_SECRET!,
    });

    // Handle the event
    switch (event.event) {
      case 'user.created':
        // Handle user creation
        break;
      case 'session.created':
        // Handle session creation
        break;
    }

    res.status(200).json({ received: true });
  } catch (err) {
    console.error('Webhook verification failed:', err);
    res.status(400).send(`Webhook Error: ${err.message}`);
  }
}

​
Fastify

import Fastify from 'fastify';
import { WorkOS } from '@workos-inc/node';

const fastify = Fastify();
const workos = new WorkOS(process.env.WORKOS_API_KEY);

fastify.post('/webhooks', async (request, reply) => {
  const signature = request.headers['workos-signature'] as string;
  
  try {
    const event = await workos.webhooks.constructEvent({
      payload: request.body,
      sigHeader: signature,
      secret: process.env.WORKOS_WEBHOOK_SECRET!,
    });
    
    // Process event
    console.log('Event:', event.event);
    
    return { received: true };
  } catch (err) {
    reply.code(400);
    return { error: err.message };
  }
});

​
Event Types

The Event object returned by constructEvent can be one of many types. Common event types include:
  • Authentication: authentication.sso_succeeded, authentication.password_failed, etc.
  • Users: user.created, user.updated, user.deleted
  • Organizations: organization.created, organization.updated, organization.deleted
  • Connections: connection.activated, connection.deactivated, connection.deleted
  • Directory Sync: dsync.user.created, dsync.group.created, etc.
  • Sessions: session.created, session.revoked
  • Invitations: invitation.created, invitation.accepted
For a complete list of event types, see the Events API documentation.

​
Security Best Practices

  1. Always verify webhook signatures before processing events
  2. Use a reasonable tolerance window (3-5 minutes) to prevent replay attacks
  3. Store your webhook secret securely as an environment variable
  4. Use raw body parsing for webhook endpoints to ensure signature verification works correctly
  5. Return a 200 status code quickly and process events asynchronously if needed
  6. Log failed verification attempts for security monitoring

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