The Complete n8n Webhook Guide: Receive, Process, and Respond to Any Event (2026)

{
  "nodes": [
    {
      "name": "Webhook",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.webhook",
      "parameters": {
        "httpMethod": "POST",
        "path": "my-webhook",
        "responseMode": "onReceived",
        "responseData": "allEntries",
        "options": {}
      },
      "position": [240, 300]
    }
  ]
}

curl -X POST https://your-n8n.com/webhook-test/my-webhook \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"event": "order.created", "order_id": "123", "amount": 49.99}'

$json.body.event          → "order.created"
$json.body.order_id       → "123"
$json.headers["x-api-key"] → the API key header
$json.query.source        → query string param ?source=...

const body = $input.first().json.body;
const event = body.event;
const orderId = body.order_id;
const amount = parseFloat(body.amount);
return [{ json: { event, orderId, amount, processed: true } }];

{
  "name": "Respond to Webhook",
  "type": "n8n-nodes-base.respondToWebhook",
  "parameters": {
    "options": {
      "responseCode": 200,
      "responseData": "{"status": "received", "id": "{{$json.order_id}}"}",
      "responseHeaders": {
        "Content-Type": "application/json"
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "name": "GitHub PR Merged",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "name": "Webhook",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.webhook",
      "parameters": {
        "httpMethod": "POST",
        "path": "github-pr",
        "responseMode": "onReceived"
      },
      "position": [240, 300]
    },
    {
      "name": "Filter Merged",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.if",
      "parameters": {
        "conditions": {
          "string": [{
            "value1": "={{$json.body.action}}",
            "operation": "equals",
            "value2": "closed"
          }, {
            "value1": "={{$json.body.pull_request.merged}}",
            "operation": "equals",
            "value2": "true"
          }]
        }
      },
      "position": [460, 300]
    },
    {
      "name": "Slack Notify",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.slack",
      "parameters": {
        "operation": "postMessage",
        "channel": "#engineering",
        "text": "✅ PR merged: {{$json.body.pull_request.title}} by {{$json.body.pull_request.user.login}}"
      },
      "position": [680, 200]
    },
    {
      "name": "Log to Sheets",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.googleSheets",
      "parameters": {
        "operation": "append",
        "sheetId": "YOUR_SHEET_ID",
        "columns": {
          "value": {
            "pr_title": "={{$json.body.pull_request.title}}",
            "author": "={{$json.body.pull_request.user.login}}",
            "merged_at": "={{$json.body.pull_request.merged_at}}",
            "repo": "={{$json.body.repository.full_name}}"
          }
        }
      },
      "position": [680, 400]
    }
  ]
}

{
  "name": "Stripe Payment Success",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "name": "Webhook",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.webhook",
      "parameters": {
        "httpMethod": "POST",
        "path": "stripe-payments",
        "responseMode": "onReceived"
      },
      "position": [240, 300]
    },
    {
      "name": "Verify Signature",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
      "parameters": {
        "jsCode": "const crypto = require('crypto');\nconst secret = 'whsec_YOUR_SECRET';\nconst payload = $input.first().json.rawBody;\nconst sig = $input.first().json.headers['stripe-signature'];\nconst timestamp = sig.split(',').find(p => p.startsWith('t=')).split('=')[1];\nconst signed = crypto.createHmac('sha256', secret).update(`${timestamp}.${payload}`).digest('hex');\nconst expected = sig.split(',').find(p => p.startsWith('v1=')).split('=')[1];\nif (signed !== expected) throw new Error('Invalid signature');\nconst event = JSON.parse(payload);\nreturn [{ json: event }];"
      },
      "position": [460, 300]
    },
    {
      "name": "Filter Paid",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.if",
      "parameters": {
        "conditions": {
          "string": [{"value1": "={{$json.type}}", "operation": "equals", "value2": "payment_intent.succeeded"}]
        }
      },
      "position": [680, 300]
    },
    {
      "name": "Send Receipt",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.gmail",
      "parameters": {
        "operation": "send",
        "to": "={{$json.data.object.receipt_email}}",
        "subject": "Payment confirmed — thank you!",
        "message": "Hi,\n\nYour payment of ${{($json.data.object.amount/100).toFixed(2)}} has been received.\n\nThank you for your purchase!",
        "messageType": "text"
      },
      "position": [900, 300]
    }
  ]
}

const crypto = require('crypto');
const secret = 'your-webhook-secret';
const rawBody = $input.first().json.rawBody;  // requires n8n v1.x with raw body enabled
const receivedSig = $input.first().json.headers['x-hub-signature-256'];
const expectedSig = 'sha256=' + crypto.createHmac('sha256', secret).update(rawBody).digest('hex');

if (receivedSig !== expectedSig) {
  throw new Error('Webhook signature mismatch — request rejected');
}

return [{ json: JSON.parse(rawBody) }];