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

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3. Configure Stripe to send webhooks

Stripe can send webhook requests to your app when events occur in your account. To register for those events:
  • Sign in to the Stripe dashboard.
  • Click Developers and Webhooks in the left menu.
  • On Webhooks, click Add an endpoint.
  • On Listen to Stripe events, enter your ngrok URL in Endpoint URL (for example, https://1a2b-3c4d-5e6f-7g8h-9i0j.ngrok.app).
  • Click + Select events, choose the events you want (for this tutorial, expand Product and click Select all Product events), then click Add events and Add endpoint.
Stripe may show sample code for running an app; for this tutorial use the sample app from Start your app instead.
The Webhooks page shows your new endpoint.

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Run webhooks with Stripe and ngrok

Create a product so Stripe notifies your app:
  • In the Stripe dashboard, click Product and Add product.
  • Enter a Name and Price, then click Save product.
Confirm your localhost app receives the product creation notification. You can review sent messages under Developers, Webhooks, and your webhook.
Stripe sends different request body contents and headers depending on the event.

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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 Stripe 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:
  • On the webhook page for your endpoint, click Reveal under Signing secret and copy the value.
  • Create a Traffic Policy file named stripe_policy.yml. Replace {your signing secret} with the value you copied: 
    on_http_request:
  - actions:
      - type: verify-webhook
        config:
          provider: stripe
          secret: "{your signing secret}"
  • Restart ngrok with the policy file: 
    ngrok http 3000 --traffic-policy-file stripe_policy.yml
  • Create a new product in the Stripe dashboard to trigger the webhook.
Your app should receive the request and log it in the terminal.