Webhooks (UI Setup)

A webhook is like a doorbell for your automation. When something happens in an external service — a payment comes in, a ticket is created, a form is submitted — that service rings the doorbell, and your automation runs.

This article covers the UI-based setup path. For the developer API path, see Webhooks (Developer Setup).

Before you start

You need:

• An automation you want to trigger from an external event.
• Access to the external service's webhook or developer settings.
• Editor access in the Obvious project that contains the automation.

Set up a webhook trigger

1. Open the Automations page and find your automation.
2. Open the card's overflow menu (⋯) and select Edit.
3. In the Schedule & Mode section, click Webhook.
4. Obvious generates a webhook URL for this automation.
5. Copy the URL.
6. Paste it into your external service's webhook settings.
7. Select the events you want the service to send.
8. Save your changes in the external service.
9. Save the automation in Obvious.

What happens when an event arrives

When the external service sends a matching event, Obvious receives it and starts the automation. Each run gets its own thread, so you can see what the agent did and review the results.

Find and review the run

After an event triggers the automation, check the automation's run history. Running automations also appear in the activity panel with live progress.

Open the run to review what happened. If the automation includes an approval gate, the run may pause until someone approves or rejects it.

Pause or remove a webhook trigger

To temporarily stop the webhook from triggering:

1. Open the Automations page.
2. Find the automation.
3. Open the card's overflow menu (⋯) and select Edit.
4. In the Schedule & Mode section, toggle the webhook trigger off.

To remove the webhook entirely, delete the trigger from the automation's settings.

Troubleshooting

The webhook isn't triggering. Check that the webhook URL is saved correctly in the external service and that the service is sending the event type you selected. If the webhook trigger is paused, events sent during the pause are ignored.

The automation starts but pauses. The automation may be waiting on an approval gate. Open the run from your run history to approve or reject it.

I need to change the webhook URL. Edit the automation and regenerate the webhook URL. You'll need to update the URL in your external service's settings as well.

Still stuck? Email help@obvious.ai with the automation name and what you expected to happen.