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If you don’t see your preferred webhook provider, you can request support for it.
This guide shows you how to use ngrok to receive Zoom webhooks on your localhost app. By integrating ngrok with Zoom, you can:
  • Develop and test Zoom webhooks locally without deploying to a public environment or setting up HTTPS.
  • Inspect and troubleshoot requests from Zoom in real time via the inspection UI and API.
  • Modify and replay Zoom webhook requests with a single click instead of reproducing events manually in your Zoom account.
  • Secure your app with Zoom 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 Zoom.

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3. Configure Zoom to send webhooks

This guide uses the Webhook Only app type, which works with a free Zoom account. Follow Zoom’s documentation for setting up webhooks, and set the following:
  • Event notification endpoint URL: your ngrok URL (for example, https://1a2b-3c4d-5e6f-7g8h-9i0j.ngrok.app).
  • Events: select the events you want (for this example, Start Meeting and End Meeting).
Zoom generates a Secret Token that you note for the verification step below.
Before Zoom saves the webhook, it validates the endpoint URL by sending an endpoint.url_validation event that your app must answer within a few seconds. The sample app does not handle this, so use an app that responds to Zoom’s validation request. See Zoom’s webhook documentation for how to build the response.

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Run webhooks with Zoom and ngrok

Start a meeting in your Zoom account and end it after a few seconds to trigger both events. Confirm your localhost app receives the notifications and logs both the headers and body in the terminal.
Zoom sends different request body contents and headers depending on the event. Each request includes an authorization header with the Secret Token, which you can validate in your app or with ngrok’s webhook verification below.

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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 Zoom 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:
  • Use the Secret Token you copied when configuring the webhook (see Configure Zoom to send webhooks).
  • Create a Traffic Policy file named zoom_policy.yml. Replace {your secret token} with that value:
  • Restart ngrok with the policy file:
  • Start and then end a meeting in Zoom to trigger the webhook.
Your app should receive the request and log it in the terminal.