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

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3. Configure Jira to send webhooks

Jira can send webhook requests to your app when events occur in your instance. To register for those events:
  • Sign in to Jira with an account that has Jira Administrators permission.
  • Open the Settings icon and select System.
  • Under Advanced, select WebHooks and then Create a WebHook.
  • In Name, enter a description (for example, ngrok Integration Webhook).
  • In URL, enter your ngrok URL (for example, https://1234-abcd-5e6f-7g8h-9i0j.ngrok.app).
  • Under Events, select the events that should trigger the webhook.
  • Optionally, enter a JQL query in JQL to limit scope (for example, project in (ABC, XYZ)).
  • Click Create.

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Run webhooks with Jira and ngrok

After you create the webhook, Jira sends a POST request to your app through ngrok when the selected events occur. To trigger an event:
  • In your Jira instance, create a new issue or update an existing issue in a project that matches your webhook scope.
Confirm your localhost app receives the webhook 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 Jira 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 your Jira webhook settings, find the Secret field, generate or set a secret, and copy the value.
  • Create a Traffic Policy file named jira_policy.yml. Replace {your secret} with the secret from Jira: 
    on_http_request:
  - actions:
      - type: verify-webhook
        config:
          provider: jira
          secret: "{your secret}"
  • Restart ngrok with the policy file: 
    ngrok http 3000 --traffic-policy-file jira_policy.yml
  • Create or update an issue in Jira to trigger the webhook.
Your app should receive the request and log it in the terminal.