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If you don’t see your preferred webhook provider, you can request support for it.
This guide walks you through using ngrok to receive Xero webhooks on your localhost app. By integrating ngrok with Xero, you can:
  • Develop and test Xero webhooks locally without deploying to a public environment or setting up HTTPS.
  • Inspect and troubleshoot requests from Xero in real time via the inspection UI and API.
  • Modify and replay Xero webhook requests with a single click instead of reproducing events manually in your Xero account.
  • Secure your app with Xero 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:
Then start the app:
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:
  • Copy the URL ngrok displays. Your app is now exposed at that URL for use with Xero.

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3. Configure Xero to send webhooks

Follow Xero’s documentation for creating a webhook, and set the following:
  • Delivery URL: your ngrok URL (for example, https://1a2b-3c4d-5e6f-7g8h-9i0j.ngrok.app).
  • Event types: select the events you want (for example, Contacts or Invoices).
Xero sends an “Intent to Receive” validation request before it activates the webhook, so confirm your app receives it, then save. Xero also generates a Webhooks key that you note for the verification step below.

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Run webhooks with Xero and ngrok

Xero sends different request body contents depending on the event. To trigger a notification, create a record for one of your subscribed event types, such as a new contact. Confirm your localhost app receives the event and logs both the 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 Traffic Inspector 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 Xero 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 Xero Developer, open your app and Webhooks.
  • Copy the Webhooks key value.
  • Create a Traffic Policy file named xero_policy.yml. Replace {your webhook key} with the value you copied:
  • Restart ngrok with the policy file:
  • Create a new contact in the Xero dashboard to trigger the webhook.
Your app should receive the request and log it in the terminal.