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

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What you’ll need

This integration requires an ngrok Pro or Enterprise license because Facebook validates your ngrok domain and certificate.

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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 run startFacebook
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.
  • In the dashboard, expand Universal Gateway and click Domains.
If you don’t have an ngrok Pro or Enterprise license, sign up for one by clicking Update Subscription and following the subscribe procedure.
  • On the Domains page, click + Create Domain or + New Domain.
  • In the Domain pane, enter a value in the Domain field (for example, myexample.ngrok.app) and click Continue.
Make sure your domain is available.
  • Close the Start a Tunnel pane and then close the Domain pane.
  • Start ngrok with your domain: 
    ngrok http 3000 --url myexample.ngrok.app
  • Copy the URL ngrok displays. Your app is now exposed at that URL for use with Facebook.

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3. Configure Facebook to send webhooks

Facebook can send webhook requests to your app when page or account events occur in your account. To register for those events you need a Facebook page and a Facebook app associated with that page; create them before continuing.
  • Sign in to Meta for Developers.
  • Click My Apps and then click your app.
  • On the app dashboard, click Add Product and then Set up inside the Webhooks tile.
  • On the Webhooks page, select Page from the combo box and click Subscribe to this object.
  • In the Edit User subscription popup, enter your ngrok URL with /webhooks at the end in the Callback URL field (for example, https://myexample.ngrok.app/webhooks).
  • Enter 12345 in the Verify token field, set the Include values slider to Yes, and click Verify and save.
  • Confirm your localhost app receives the validation request and logs WEBHOOK_VERIFIED in the terminal.
  • Back on the Webhooks page, click Subscribe for the feed field.
You can subscribe to multiple fields under the Page object and other objects; use the same URL for each.
  • Click Test for the feed field, click Send to My Server, and confirm your localhost app receives the test post request.
  • Set App Mode to Live at the top of your app page.

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Run webhooks with Facebook and ngrok

Facebook sends different request body contents depending on the object and field you subscribe to. With the feed action you can test by creating a post on your page or liking a post:
  • Under Your Pages and profiles, click your page.
  • On the Manage Page screen, click Create post, add content, and click Post.
Confirm your localhost app receives the feed message 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 Facebook 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:
  • In Meta for Developers, go to My Apps, then Settings and Basic.
  • On the Basic Settings page, click Show next to App secret and copy the value.
  • Create a Traffic Policy file named facebook_policy.yml. Replace {your app secret} with the value you copied: 
    on_http_request:
  - name: "Facebook Webhooks"
    actions:
      - type: "webhook-validation"
        config:
          provider: "facebook_graph_api"
          secret: "{your app secret}"
  • Restart ngrok with the policy file: 
    ngrok http 3000 --traffic-policy-file facebook_policy.yml
  • Send a message from the Facebook page you use for your webhook to trigger a request.
Your app should receive the request and log it in the terminal.