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This guide explains how to use ngrok to receive Coinbase webhooks on your localhost app. By integrating ngrok with Coinbase, you can:
  • Develop and test Coinbase webhooks locally without deploying to a public environment or setting up HTTPS.
  • Inspect and troubleshoot requests from Coinbase in real time via the inspection UI and API.
  • Modify and replay Coinbase webhook requests with a single click instead of reproducing events manually in your Coinbase account.
  • Secure your app with Coinbase webhook validation provided by ngrok. Invalid requests are blocked by ngrok before reaching your app.

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What you’ll need

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1. Start your app

For this tutorial, you can use the sample Node.js app on GitHub. To install the sample, run the following in a terminal: 
git clone https://github.com/ngrok/ngrok-webhook-nodejs-sample.git
cd ngrok-webhook-nodejs-sample
npm install
Then start the app: 
npm start
The app runs on port 3000 by default. You can confirm it’s running by visiting http://localhost:3000. The app logs request headers and body in the terminal and shows a message in the browser.

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2. Expose your app with ngrok

Once your app is running locally, you’re ready to put it online securely using ngrok.
The ngrok agent uses your authtoken to authenticate when you start a tunnel.
  • Start ngrok: 
    ngrok http 3000
  • Copy the URL ngrok displays. Your app is now exposed at that URL for use with Coinbase.

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3. Configure Coinbase to send webhooks

Coinbase can send webhook requests to your app when events occur in your account. To register for those events:
  • Sign in to the Coinbase homepage.
  • On the Home page, click your avatar in the top right and then click Settings.
  • On the Settings page, click the API tab and then click New API Key.
  • On the New API Key popup, click all under Accounts, click Select all under Permissions, enter your ngrok URL in the Notification URL field (for example, https://1a2b-3c4d-5e6f-7g8h-9i0j.ngrok.app), and click Create.
  • Copy the API Key and API Secret from the API Key details popup.

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Run webhooks with Coinbase and ngrok

Coinbase sends different request body contents depending on the event. To trigger new calls from Coinbase to your app:
  • In Coinbase, go to Trade, click Simple in the top menu, and click Buy for one of the assets.
  • On the Buy popup, enter an amount, click Preview Buy, and then click Buy now.
Confirm your localhost app receives the event and logs both headers and body in the terminal.

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Inspecting requests

ngrok’s Traffic Inspector captures all requests made through your ngrok endpoint to your localhost app. Select any request to view detailed information about both the request and response.
To avoid exposing secrets, accounts only collect traffic metadata by default. You must enable full capture in the Observability section of your account settings to capture complete request and response data.
Use the traffic inspector to:
  • Validate webhook payloads and response data
  • Debug request headers, methods, and status codes
  • Troubleshoot integration issues without adding logging to your app

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Replaying requests

Test your webhook handling code without triggering new events from your service using the Traffic Inspector’s replay feature:
  1. Send a test webhook from your service to generate traffic in your Traffic Inspector.
  2. Select the request you want to replay in the traffic inspector.
  3. Choose your replay option:
    • Click Replay to send the exact same request again
    • Select Replay with modifications to edit the request before sending
  4. (Optional) Modify the request: Edit any part of the original request, such as changing field values in the request body.
  5. Send the request by clicking Replay.
Your local application will receive the replayed request and log the data to the terminal.

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Secure webhook requests

ngrok can verify that incoming requests are from your Coinbase webhook so only that traffic reaches your app.
Webhook verification is limited to 500 validations per month on free accounts. If you need more, you can upgrade to Hobbyist or Pay-as-you-go. See TPU Pricing for details.
To add verification:
  • Create a Traffic Policy file named coinbase_policy.yml. Replace {your api secret} with the API Secret you copied when configuring the webhook: 
    on_http_request:
  - actions:
      - type: verify-webhook
        config:
          provider: coinbase
          secret: "{your api secret}"
  • Restart ngrok with the policy file: 
    ngrok http 3000 --traffic-policy-file coinbase_policy.yml
  • Buy an asset in Coinbase to trigger the webhook.
Your app should receive the request and log it in the terminal.