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

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3. Configure VMware Workspace ONE to send webhooks

VMware Workspace ONE can send webhook requests to your app when events occur in Workspace ONE UEM. To register for those events:
  • Sign in to VMware Workspace ONE.
  • Click LAUNCH SERVICE for Workspace ONE, then MANAGE for Unified Endpoint Management.
  • Go to GROUPS & SETTINGS > All Settings > Advanced (System) > API > Event Notifications.
  • On Event Notifications, select Override and click ADD RULE.
  • In Add Event Notification, enter a Target Name (for example, My Webhook) and your ngrok URL in Target URL (for example, https://1a2b-3c4d-5e6f-7g8h-9i0j.ngrok.app).
  • Choose JSON as Format, click TEST CONNECTION, and confirm your app receives the request and “Test is successful” appears.
  • In Events, set ENABLED for the events you want and click SAVE.

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Run webhooks with VMware Workspace ONE and ngrok

To trigger events (e.g. device enrollment):
  • In Workspace ONE, go to DEVICES > List View > ADD DEVICE.
  • Select a user, enter a valid Email address in Messaging, and click SAVE (create a user if needed).
  • The user receives an activation email; opening the link and enrolling the device triggers events.
Confirm your localhost app receives notifications 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 VMware Workspace ONE 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 VMware Workspace ONE, go to Event Notifications (as above), click your webhook, and EDIT.
  • On Edit Event Notification, enter Username and Password (and Confirm Password), then click SAVE.
  • Create a Traffic Policy file named vmware_policy.yml. Replace {username} and {password} with the values you set: 
    on_http_request:
  - actions:
      - type: verify-webhook
        config:
          provider: vmware_workspace
          secret: "{username}::{password}"
  • Restart ngrok with the policy file: 
    ngrok http 3000 --traffic-policy-file vmware_policy.yml
  • Trigger an event again (e.g. device enrollment) to send a request.
Your app should receive the request and log it in the terminal.