> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://guide.form.gov.sg/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://guide.form.gov.sg/user-guides/advanced-guide/webhooks.md).
# Webhooks
Webhooks are a standard means for applications like Form to **send real-time data to other applications and servers,** thus removing the need for a person to periodically export form response data from Form, then upload manually to an internally-used application.
{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Examples" %}
**Examples of Webhooks**
1. **TemperatureSG**: One of the early responses to COVID was to record and report temperature daily. Many agencies did that with FormSG, but sifting through the data, to figure out who had a fever or who had not responded was too onerous. TemperatureSG was a webhook integration, which made it easy to automate handling temperature responses. It would alert admins when one of their staff had high temperatures, and check daily for staff that had not reported their temperature.
2. **Zendemic operations:** When people were tested positive for Covid, a form was sent to them, so they can list their close contacts and give additional details about their health situation. As cases grew, handling the form responses became too onerous to do by hand, hence webhooks were implemented to read and process covid form responses, and inject data into a case management system.
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Why integrate with webhooks?" %} Recommended for:
* forms with high response volumes
* internal systems/workflows that needs integration with form data collection
* creators with IT expertise capable of using our [software development kit](https://github.com/opengovsg/formsg-javascript-sdk) to prepare an internet endpoint for receiving response data
Not recommended if:
* Email or Excel spreadsheet is sufficient for form responses.
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Are webhooks secure?" %}
**Are webhooks secure?**
Yes. Your data is encrypted. Our [software development kit](https://github.com/opengovsg/formsg-javascript-sdk) (SDK) provides instructions on setting up your receiving system to:
* verify that each submission was sent by FormSG and not any other server.
* decrypt submissions using the secret key that only you own.
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}
{% hint style="info" %}
Webhooks are available for all Storage mode forms. For Multi-respondent forms, webhooks only support connecting to [Plumber](https://plumber.gov.sg) and don't support other tools. You'll need to set this up directly in Plumber.
{% endhint %}
{% hint style="success" %}
Consider using [Plumber.gov.sg](https://Plumber.gov.sg), a solution by OGP to help you automate some simple workflows and decrypt your FormSG responses.
{% endhint %}
### Setting up Webhooks (Developers)
{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Validation: IP Addresses" %}
Most agencies validate FormSG webhook calls based on payload and signature. If you need to validate webhook calls by whitelisting a fixed origin IP, please whitelist the following fixed origin IP address:.
* Production: **52.76.82.38 / 52.74.128.195** **/ 122.248.228.153** (form.gov.sg)
* UAT & Staging**: 3.0.137.48 & 18.140.124.240** (uat.form.gov.sg / staging.form.gov.sg)
We are now using [NAT Gateways](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/userguide/vpc-nat-gateway.html) for ALL our outbound traffic from FormSG, and so it is **guaranteed** that all webhook calls FormSG will originate from one of the 3 IPs listed above.
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Text Tutorial" %}
### Text Tutorial: Webhooks
**a) Set-Up Webhooks**
**Pre-requisite:** A HTTPS endpoint must be exposed over the **Internet**.
1. Follow [these instructions](https://github.com/opengovsg/formsg-javascript-sdk) to prepare your system to receive, verify and decrypt form responses.
2. Navigate to the form's settings and enter your endpoint URL in the ‘Webhook Endpoint URL’ field and save changes.
3. Test that responses are received at your endpoint URL. If your IT system returns any [HTTP-2xx response code](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Status#successful_responses), the webhook is considered to have been successful.
:exclamation: **Important to note**
* Please lock down the version of the SDK you are using and disable automatic upgrades to avoid disruption from breaking changes.
* You are responsible for correctly setting up your system to receive, verify and decrypt Form responses using our SDK. FormSG is not responsible for your setup, and only bears responsibility for ensuring our servers are correctly routing responses in accordance with our SDK.
* Most agencies validate FormSG webhook calls based on payload and signature. If you need to validate webhook calls by whitelisting a fixed origin IP, please see the "**Validation: IP addresses**" tab.
* Quickly return a successful status code (`2xx`) prior to any complex logic. FormSG will treat the attempt as a failure if the response is not completed within a reasonable timeframe.
**b) Enable Webhook retries**
If you switch on “Enable retries” under the Settings tab, Form will resend webhooks if your IT system fails to receive them. In order to safely receive webhook retries, your system *should* be designed to handle duplicate webhooks, out-of-order delivery, non-realtime submissions and submissions even after the form is no longer active.
The webhook is first attempted once immediately after the form is submitted. If this first attempt fails, the webhook will be retried up to 6 additional times over the next 24 hours, at the following intervals from the time of submission:
* 5 ± 1 minute
* 60 ± 15 minutes
* 2 ± 0.5 hours
* 4 ± 1 hours
* 8 ± 2 hours
* 20 ± 4 hours
Retries will cease whenever the webhook is successful. If your system fails to receive the final retry 16-24 hours after the form is submitted, the webhook will no longer be attempted. You may still retrieve the submission data under the Data tab.
{% hint style="info" %}
If you would like to try set-up webhooks on your own without a developer, you may explore this guide instead: (*not updated as of Dec 2022*).
**IMPORTANT**: Do note that this is for demonstration purposes only and does not explore the full capabilities of webhooks in FormSG. Some of the form fields like attachments, checkboxes and tables will not work in this demonstration unless you make changes to the payload.
{% endhint %}
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}
---
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