WEBHOOK-BRIDGE

Webhook bridge is the webhook-bridge integration pattern — push integration where an external source emits an HTTPS POST to the EDI broker as soon as an event happens, with no polling. A low-latency alternative to polling bridge.

Definition

Webhook bridge inverts the logic: the source pushes, the broker listens. Advantages: near-zero latency, CPU/network savings (no empty polls). Drawbacks: requires a public HTTPS endpoint, strict idempotency (the partner may retry), signature validation to prevent spoofing.

Origin

Pattern from the Web 2.0 era and Jeff Lindsay's WebHooks standard (2007). Massively used by Stripe, GitHub, Slack and progressively by modern EDI operators.

Use

A cXML platform pushes every new OrderRequest to https://broker.example.com/cxml. Each POST carries an X-Signature: HMAC(secret, body) header to authenticate the source. The broker returns 200 OK after internal ack and publishes the order on Kafka.

Related terms

• Polling bridge — pull counterpart.
• HMAC — authentication.
• Idempotency — required property.
• TLS 1.3 — transport.